knowledge how to distinguish aright But what is this to proue all distinctions good euen those that Iesuites make only to auoyde the power of trueth Simples generally are good seruing for the health of man but what is this to proue those euill simples good which haue lost their vertue and which an euill Apothecarie may serue in place of good for a triall of the Iesuites distinctions you referre me to their disputation but I may haue a sufficient triall of them and of their disputation before hand in this your booke if there were no other proofe to iustifie my report As you would bring your quilits into credit so you labour to bring my arguments and interpretations into discredit as lying and false but in a good conscience and according to the trueth I haue auowed them true and good as will easely appeare to the indiffereÌ„t reader You that before made me much inferiour to Edmund Campion now make mee inferiour to thousandes of the Iesuites scholers Whatsoeuer I am to the meanest of them the Lorde I trust wil inable me to mainteine his trueth euen against Campion your great champion to say nothing of his disciples I confesse your distinctions offend 〈…〉 as being full of 〈…〉 ltie and sometimes so darke and vnlearned that there appeareth neither good cause nor good vse of them yet you take it to heart that I should account them vnlearned and peruish As for the accusatioÌ„ of Iude against the despisers of good 〈◊〉 ses it was corrupcly brought against mee for reiecting your sophisticall deuises against the trueth for proofe whereof I referre me to these your distinctions chosen out of many for your purpose which one excepted are all vnlearned and peeuish seruing to put darkenesse for 〈…〉 ght and â—â—olâ—trie in place of Gods seruice For as they that distinguish not where the word hath distinguished may soone fall into schisme and heresie so also you in distinguishing where the worde admitteth no distinction do offend in like â—orâ— and with no lesse danger There is you lay cleare difference betweene an Idol and an image Surely this is somwhat that you saye for an idol is the image of the superstitious Gentiles and an image is the 〈…〉 and 〈◊〉 named Christians There is I graunt a cleare difference in the letters but no difference at all in the word no more then is betweene Omnipotent and Almightie For to passe by Phauorine Hesychius and some places in Plutarch who all make these two wordes of one signification Plato maketh the matter most euident who mouing a question what 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 should be maketh this answere 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 It is manifest we will make answere that those things are idoles which are seene in water and in looking glasses and those moreouer that are painted or set out in types or portratures other things of this sort whatsoeuer By these words of Plato the Censurer may learne that any image carued paynted represented by a glasse or seene in water is among the Grecians where the worde is in his owne countrie and proper vse called an Idol Tullie moreouer who could aswell iudge of the Greeke worde 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and of the Latine word image as the Censurer be in his translatioÌ„ maketh them one Lastly to returne to the holy Scriptures God in the second Commandement forbiddeth both the making and worshipping of an Image to represent the true God or any of the false Gods Thus much to she we your vnlearned and most vntrue distinction betweene an Image and an Idol which you and your fellowes repeate so often and vrge so much You doe it to vpholde Idoles vnder a more honest title of Images as you suppose but as they differ not in name so in nature they are all one euen stumbling blockes of offence the worshippers whereof are open idolaters I am taught by the word of GOD that there were materiall and are still spiritual sacrifices in the Church but for sinne I read y â— there is no sacrifice without bloud So that your second distinction of bloudie and vnbloudy sacrifices is plainly against scripture Iustice by faith wee acknowledge but merite by workes is proued to be against the worde So the mediation of Christ is according to faith but your intercession of saintes against the scripture For who is more mercifull then the Lorde that he may saue or who more ready to heare vs that he may be the Lordes remembranceâ— faith that beleeueth the promise and hope that patiently wayteth for the issue of faith we acknowledge and the distinction I haue layde downe in the ninth article Your counterfeit traditions of men and of the Apostles are al without warrant in the causes necessary to saluation But why haue you left out the distinction of the two worshippings Latria to God and Dulia to images Is it left out because wee condenine it and you now allowe no more of it All these distinctions are most daungerous when you will with some distinction or change of a name reteine still the same iniquitie forging such wicked deuises of man to disanull the truth of God Therfore they are but your vntrue assertions and vaine bragges that you distinguishe things into their proper natures that you can proue eche part of your distinction consonant to the word of God that when you haue so distinguished wee haue no more to saie that wee bewray our ignorance and finally that the truth is made manifest to euery mans eyes When any one of these fiue definitiue sentences is proued true I will acknowledge the rest I much maruaile that in such vanting speach you would not set down one true assertion of so many But you care not what you say to reproche the godly making account that your owne side will take it in good part be it neuer so vntrue neuer so reprochfull The fourth argument touching the libertie of your pen I haue answered already but I answere further you may haue it without print and if that will not content you there are printes inough neerer hande beyonde seas where you are if we may beleeue you so often affirming it The daunger persecution you speake of is a fruite of your murmuring spirits complaining without a cause For you go safely away w t many matters as much as you coÌ„playne against vs openly as intercepting all your bookes other Popish stuffe I thinke you doe much more brag among your selues of many escapes But if you had as many prints as you can set a worke what can you of lesser giftes write that the most learned of your side haue not written long agoe as Ecchius Pighius Hosius and which nowe Turrianus Andradius doenot furboish in a vaine hope at last to make an ende of Sifyphus labour What issue all these haue had of coursing discoursing againe the questious betweene you and vs we may consider it with great ioy of heart
you in this kingdome and in our neighbour kingdomes may behold it with vexatiō of spirit Therefore notwithstanding your bragges before you come to the triall and that you tell vs misusing the place in the forehead of your booke of the fier in the moūtame yet we feare no more to encountre with you then they that see their enemies without armoure or ouerthrowne before they come to giue them the charge Lastly you like not my opinion that only the Scriptures should bee admitted for iudges in disputation But the opinion is good and the practise needefull seeing the holy scripture is the onely touchstone to make triall and the onely iudge to giue sentence in all questions apperteyning to the doctrine of fayth and saluation Howe reuerently I thinke of the chiefe councils of the fathers and doctors and what profit I acknowledge to come by their great labour it was declared in my answere But you euermore omit that which maketh not for your purpose where in you take an euil but yet a readie waye to condemne a good cause Notwithstanding to determine controuersies in iudgement of religion I admit them no seate but refuse them al not onely with one breath but with this one short sentence The rule is not ouerruled You shoulde haue proued that the doctours and councils haue not places contrary one to another and sometimes contrary to themselues If you had cleered them of this warre among themselues you had made them somewhat fitter to make peace amongst vs. In affirming that I say some of the fathers are condemned of forgerie you doe manifestly peruert my playne wordes for I spake of the places and you drawe it to the persons It is one thing to say some places in Austen are forged and an other to say Austen him selfe is forged Now that places in Austen are forged and namely many of his short sermans to the brethren in the wildernes it appeareth by the iudgement of Erasinus and by the notes of bastardie set downe in your owne editions Cyprians places are also acknowledged by your selues especially that notorious booke of the reuelation of Iohn Baptistes head where Cyprian maketh mention of king Pipin that liued fiue hundred yeeres after that Cyprian was dead But I neede not to alleadge any more you wil not deny but there are many Now there followeth a comparison that you ground your beliefe onely vpon the word of God and make it the onely obiect of fayth more thē we do Your reports here and in the ninth place confirmed 〈◊〉 an othe can haue no credit against your knowen doctrine and dealinges to the contrary For doe you not in this verie question pleade the authoritie of men as the warrant whereby we receyue the Scriptures Doe you not denie that wee are saued by faith onely Howe then doe you buylde your beleefe onely vpon the word of God or make that the onely obiect of faith more then we doe In the wordes following you keepe on your course prouing that which is graunted and affirming that which shoulde bee proued I dyd graunt that Councils Fathers and stories yeeld profitable helpes to shewe the estate of the Church from time to time and also for the better vnderstanding of the worde of God yet this is that which you make y ◠questiō as denyed by me and to be proued by you After this strange order of disputation you myght as fitly in forme and more truely in matter proue your doctrine blasphemous and your practises full of rebellion If you woulde proue this it were a true proposition but no confutation of that I say affirming the same So in prouing that doctors bring great helpes to learning you proue a trueth but not in any ouerthrowe of my answere For I haue acknowledged as much The questiō in deede is whether Councils and Fathers be iudges to giue sentence in controuersies and rules to ouer rule interpretations to the proofe whereof you shoulde haue tyed your selfe but without any further proofe you affirme it as a cleare matter and altogether out of dout Is this that disputation which you so boast of to proue that is graunted and to leaue that without proofe which is in question I shall not escape the note of audacitie If vpon your Censures false report I shal be thought to denie that which I doe most manifestly anouch But this note of audacious bouldnes cleaueth to you who blush not to say that the authoritie of Scriptures dependeth vpon the testimonie and allowance of men and that otherwise we know not which is the word of God and which not As many as hold this opinion had neuer their eares bored nor their heartes opened by the Spirite of GOD to heare and see more then the bare letter they neuer felt the lyfe and spirite thereof which is the holy spirite of God not onely bearing witnesse with our spirite that we are the sounes of God but also that the holy scriptures are the worde of God and his power to saluation that they are also the rule which should rule all and not be ouerruled of any Neither haue those disciples of the word humbled them selues at the footestoole of the Lorde to behold his absolute perfection in all his wayes especially in the full reuelation of his will to the sonnes of men by his holy scriptures neither haue they considered y ◠vanitie of vanities y ◠infinite hardnesse of heart and corruption of iudgement which is in all flesh This humilitie would confirme them in the faith of that saying no man knoweth the things of God but the spirit of God This Spirit leadeth vs into all trueth to knowe it and to proue it and to be comforted thereby not in the iudgemēt or after the sense of man but according to the worke of God opening our hearts and sanctifiyng our vnderstanding so that the worke and iudgement is of the spirite according to the woorde of God Herein also standeth an answere to your seconde assertion that by the fathers wee knowe which is the right meaning of the word of God for as the authoritie of the worde is confirmed by the spirit so are the interpretations thereof also As man is not the author so he is not the interpreter of the worde of God otherwise then by the autoritie of the worde it selfe This saint Peter proueth making it a reason why no Scripture is of a priuate interpretation because it came not from man but the holy men of God spake as they were moued and caried with the holy Ghost so that the holy Ghost doeth deliuer and warrant and interprete vnto vs the holy woord of God expounding scripture by scriptures and not leauing this high office to men otherwise then to ministers conteyning themselues within the faithfull seruice of their charge in their written and authenticall commission And you dare not say who dare say much y ◠an interpretation is true because an ancient father hath it
Although the sentence were true yet woulde you not censure him that should giue sentence against your vnholie father according to Martin Luthers testimonie Why then doe you thinke that we will any more admitte Lindan and his fellowes against Martin Luther then you will admit him against the Pope Therefore in alledging Lindan Cochleus Hosius and Xaintes with some others you commit many faultes without any gayne to your cause First you abase your selfe more then needeth in not thinking your owne credit as sufficient with vs to proue any thing against vs as their credit is For although these witnesses are dashed in to make a shewe in the margent and to deceyue the ignorant readers that knowe neyther their names nor their weake authoritie yet the Censurer if his name were well knowen hath against vs as much credit in his owne cause as Lindan hath or Hosius albeit hee was your great president in the Councill of Trent Secondly in citing your owne partiall men more carryed I thinke with malice against Luther and these causes then your self their sentence can haue no more authoritie then when a man doth stande out to beare witnesse in his owne cause or when one thiefe giueth in euidence to acquite an other Wee goe not about to ouerbeare you in the like causes with the bare authoritie or reportes of Martin Luther of Iohn Caluin of Peter Martyr or other like men for these are all parties and the law alloweth no such for sufficient witnesses in their owne causes Therefore howe vnequall is your measure how insufficient is your trial in bringing such testimonies against vs as your selues would hisse at if the lyke or better were brought against you 〈…〉 Lastly in alleadging such partiall and forsworne witnesses you bewray an euill cause that can not otherwise bee maintayned then by such vnlawfull insufficient proofes But seeing there can be had nothing from you and your witnesses but slauÌ„ders let vs examine how small cause you haue so bitterly to slaunder those that are gone before and for so wicked purposes to infect the iudgement of such as shal come after Entring into the slaunders of Martin Luther you giue a note that he was the beginner of the newe Gospel Doe you not still bewray Campions spirit in charging the religion nowe established in this lande with nouelties and most scornefully calling the Gospel of Iesus Christ which we preache a newe doctrine This is not vpon good grounde to speake against a fewe Fryers but in a blasphemous spirite to speake against God But before I answere the particular slaunders layde downe against Martin Luther I must againe adde that which you haue left out namely howe Luther was begotteÌ„ of a deuil Surely this is as true as the rest and Proteolus as much to be beleeued as the others Therefore the same sparke of modestie which made your paper blush to receiue this as a thing incredible as offensiue to euery mans eares and as bewraying your vnsatiable malice myght also haue refused to tell the other slaunders of lyke bitternesse and no lesse vntrueth Nowe that Martin Luther was stroken with a thunderbolt in a medow though you easily dare report it from an enemie yet you shall hardly â—â—nde a wise man that will beleeue you the matter being of it selfe so incredible A thunderbolt woulde haue taken awaye lyfe or lefte a marke behinde it for a manifest and sure note of that which otherwise can not bee proued I will no more beleeue Lindan in this then in his large and wonderfull tale of a madde dogge pursued with a multitude of armed men whose venemous teeth Lindan himself escaped by the helpe of Saint Hubert as they call him for the which deliuerie he and all his house were afterwarde dedicated to the worshippe of the same Hubert I will beleeue him no more against Martin Luther then agaynst our owne countrey men of whom he writeth that they of the religion in Englande whom he calleth Caluinists doe worship the image of y e deuil Of like credit is your other tale of y e deuil horribly crying out of Martin Luthers mouth and as much to be beleeued from Cochleus alone as froÌ„ him and a thousand such making no conscience to cast out in their writings so malitious and so intollerable libels You adde these wordes that vpon a certaine emulation contention betweene him and the Fryers of Dominiks order hee left his religion cast away his habit broke his vowes maried a Nunne and by litle and litle began to preache strange newe doctrines especially tending to all libertie and carnalitie Howe roundlye are these things written and howe calme doth the floud of malicious wordes seeme to flowe partly to disgrace that y t was lawfully done partly to charge him with that euill which he neuer thought For when the Lord did open his eyes to see as many before haue seene the abhominable hypocrisie and superstition of your religion and orders no otherwise then for hatred thereof he left his former superstition which you call religion he cast away also his superstitious order the pharisaicall habit thereof and thinking him selfe no longer tyed to his vnaduised and superstitious vowe he maried in the Lorde and all this was lawfull That by litle and litle he began to preach straÌ„ge and newe doctrines especially tending to all libertie and carnalitie it shalbe founde an vntrueth deliuered against the man and a malice agaynst the doctrine which hee taught your owne examples shall make the proofe First therfore you charge him to teach there is no sinne but incredulitie neither can a man damne himselfe doe what mischiefe he can except he will refuse to beleeue I will not here measure vnto you as you haue measured vnto me I wil not disgrace you first and then examine the matter for therein you haue offered me great wrong as shall appeare when I come to answere those places But I may plainely pronounce that in this place you doe in wordes and matter report an opeÌ„ vntruth For Martin Luther hath no such doctrine First it was farre from him to thinke there was no sinne but incredulitie and therfore he woulde neuer write so manifest an vntruth He is vehement in condemning many other sinnes as beside infinite other places it appeareth in his expounding the xv Psalme and more largely in his briefe exposition vpon the tenne commaundementes This it is that you haue wonderfully peruerted Martin Luther saith Incredulitie y t is not to beleeue the promise of God doth argue the promise of God to be a lying promise which is a most high sinne of all other Againe he doth not saye as you report a man can not damne him selfe for that is against all knowledge either of mans iniquitie or of Gods iust iudgementes but he speaketh of the baptised which beleeue of the trueth of Gods promise who cannot denie himself Wherin he sheweth that it doth woÌ„derfully comforte a mans
ag 〈…〉 Pope and against Rome But if a former copie imprinted at Strasbrough gaue it credit here it was a lesse offence yet a great ouersight Now what vantage doe you take by that vayne and lying Pamphlet will you haue all the faithfull charged with the fault of one or two Printers and for a fault so ordinary in all other like cities your marginall notes are like the wordes of a craftie seller y â— promiseth more then the buyer can find For your margeÌ„t in a disgrasing note promiseth to lay open lying for the game and you haue chosen two places to proue it against me For the first of Cardinall Pooles purpose to reforme some grosse things at Popery and Steuen Gardiners answere I appeale to many which are witnesses to me of this known and vndoubted reporte To proue the second lye you doe openlye peruert and falsifie my plaine wordes and meaning For in my answere I say Papists yeelde in nothing and proue it to be so Neuertheles I giue a note that our bastarde Papists in Englande neyther true to vs nor faithfull to their owne side as since Howlets authour complayneth woulde seeme to b 〈…〉 ashamed of images pardons pray 〈…〉 ints and seruice in an vnknowen tongue saying they verily hold theÌ„ as wicked things Which I spake to note their hypocrisie But you to shew a lie for the game lay downe my words as if I had not said they would seeme ashamed but as if I had directly affirmed that they confesse the same thinges to bee wicked Which if I had saide of some it had beene no lye but I spake onely of their dissi 〈…〉 lation Therefore what is it for you to say our resolution appeareth which we haue made to auonch any thing bee it neuer so false to blushe at nothing bee it neuer so shamefull and to inuent whatsoeuer may serue for your purpose to intertaine and 〈◊〉 the people In this short conclusion without all cause you haue crowded vp together many great wordes of reproche against the greatest and against the least of them that loue the Gospell But I haue proued who they bee that 〈◊〉 the people with such lles and intising erroutd The Lord hath in such sort put the feare of his name and the loue of his truth into one heates that we are free from charging out aduersaries vntruely hauing a strong 〈…〉 way to worke by then to take away 〈◊〉 by euil and one lie with another God hath giuen vs y â— light to chase away your darkenesse and the trueth of his Gospell to confute your errours with al your popish traditions Iewish ceremonies and damnable superstitions whatsoeuer Now followe the other three partes dispatched for haste or want of matter al three in as litle roome as halfe the first wherein your order againe may be noted that haue filled twenty leaues of your booke to Censure one leafe handled by the way in mine and againe haue made shew of answere to fiftie leaues of mine with ten of yours If you had kept on your proportion of twentie for one your Censures would haue staied a longer time made a larger volume Touching the Man Concerning Edmund Camâ—ion although you misse not your ordinary taunts against me in place of arguments for the cause yet hauing spoken nothing agaist him but a truth I â—raâ—â— not your 〈◊〉 hauing dealt but w t a seditio us Iesuite you could not wel accuse me of 〈…〉 〈◊〉 thinke neither of his fatherhoode nor of his practise as you do either to reuerence the one or defende the other Out of my answere you haue gathered together diuers accusations layd downe against him but make nomention of the reasons wherupon those accusations were grounded which iniurie you haue also done me in other places But if the same reasons bee briefly remembred it will easely appeare that whatsoeuer he sayeth or doeth it is to hinder the course of the Gospell to trouble the peace of the lande and therefore to be taken in most euill part For notwithstanding your defence if he speake humblie hauing the worke of pride in his heart and in his hand he dissembleth If he yeelde coÌ„mendation where he hateth it is daungerous fla 〈…〉 If he shew confidence in his weake arme and against the Gospell that so preuayleth euery where hee onely vaunteth If he vnlaâ— fully offer a triall of disputation denied by his fathers and being him selfe in daunger of an other tryall he meaneth no perfourmance If he protest peace against his open and knowen practise of commotion he 〈…〉 dited If hee desire audiencâ— to open his mouth against the religion of God established and to exalt the authoritie of Antichrist whose double banne by his two 〈◊〉 and double curse hath beneÌ„ openly denounced against this noble Realme For answer hereunto I leaue him to them that may admitte and commit him to But heere the reader may beholde howe litle you haue to say in your Captaines defence who allowe him in your booke 〈…〉 more then iii. leaues of the which ii are spent in prouing a question not denyed and making much against your cause For prouing that religion standeth with obedience to magistrates which you tall temporall obedience you must needes conclude that your Romish religion is no religion because it casteth off this yoke of subiection layed vpon vs by the worde and bringeth in a forraine supremacie to rule and ouerrule all by his vsurped power and most vngodly practises Therefore taking in hande to confute it you haue in deede confirmed my general conclusion that Papists can not teach or mainteine the pretended Catholike religion but they must be traytours to GOD and enemies to the State But because you bring euill argumentes to proue this good conclusion I must examine them and lay open that errour which is secretly and sophistically conueyed vnder a shew of probable and true propositions First to proue my conclusion against God hee affirmeth Poperie to be the Catholique faith which is to craue and beg the cause and to affirme the chiefest matter in question Your argumentes laide downe at large will make this your order of disputation more playne and the errour more sensible Your former reason is this whosoeuer calleth him an enemie to God that mainteyneth Poperie vttereth the reproch of an vncleane mouth All professors of the Gospell so holde and so call the maynteyners of Poperie therefore all professors of the Gospel vtter the reproch of an vncleane mouth In this reason the first proposition is brought against all art to proue and should it selfe be proued it is placed first and shoulde be placed last for the conclusion for if hee could in a true argument proue and conclude that which is onely affirmed in the first assertion the controuersie were at an ende Therefore you speake in a purpose to disgrace the trueth not with arguments to proue your cause Your second argumeÌ„t is thus framed Whosoeuer speaketh against
A REPLIE to a Censure written against the two answers to a Iesuites seditious Pamphlet By William Charke 1. Reg. 20. 11. Let not him that gurdeth on his armour boast as he that putteth it off ⧠Imprinted at London by Christopher Barker Printer to the Queenes most excellent Maiestie ANNO. DOM. 1581. To the Christian Reader AS there haue risen vp in the Church from time to time false Prophets teachers which oppose them selues to the holye Prophets of God and true teachers of his worde so among the people where such contrarietie of doctrines hath bene deliuered like contrarietie of hearers hath alwayes followed not onely in iudgement but also in their affection For as some through the mercie of God and the sincere preaching of the Gospel haue yeelded obedience to his worde so many caried away with corrupt teachers haue for want of iudgement embraced errour in place of trueth and carnall worshippings in steade of the pure worship of God which euermore consisteth in spirit and trueth Against this so dangerous infection of false teachers the holy Apostle Saint Iohn hath giuen vs a most wholesome counterpoyson willing vs not to beleeue euery spirit but to trie and examin the spirits whether they be of God But to speake of our times this examination and trial may seeme very hard seeing the teachers on both sides are thought learned and al pretend to teach the trueth For it is not denyed but both sides haue had their education in schooles of learning they haue also laboured in the liberall artes to furnish them selues to greater matters wherupō they al bring very good words some shewe of reason seeme to haue no small force of perswasion Howe then shall the simple people iudge howe shal they discerne whose iudgement and discretion should be framed by their teachers and setled by their sownd and plaine doctrine To this I answere S. Iohn in that place maketh the matter more easy then it appeareth at the first shewe For exhorting vs not to beleeue euery spirit he doeth drawe our consideration to the spirit and doctrine of the teachers and not to these outwarde giftes of an eloquent stile or a sweete sownde of pleasing wordes which may be common to good and euil yea wherein the euil for want of a good cause labour to excell and from which the godly absteine for the sufficiencie of their cause without it are also restrayned lest our faith should stande in the wisedome of men and not in the power of God But Saint Iohn to make this his trial of spirits yet more ful plaine addeth that euery spirit which confesseth Christ Iesus to haue come in the fleshe is of God and euery spirit which confesseth otherwise is of Antichrist Now therefore let vs see bowe the Apostle frameth vs to a spirit of discretion to discerne the spirits of true and false teachers If any man shall teach and consesse that Christ was made man and ordeyned of God the Father a Prophet alone to teach a King alone to rule and a Priest alone to sanctifie vs and to reconcile vs to his Father by the obedience of faith this confession and doctrine is of the holy spirit of God and to be receiued what spirit soeuer shall mightily or cunningly perswade the contrary On the other side if any spirit shall teach that Christ is not our only teacher by his holy Gospel but that we must admit vnwritten beleefe and traditions from we know not whom to be of like authoritie with the written worde secondly if any spirit make not Christ alone our King and head to rule vs by his holy spirit but teache that a mortall and sinfull man must sit in our consciences and for hatred or gaine which is his practise bynde or loose at his pleasure lastly if any spirit impeach the alsufficiencie and entier vertue of Christs sacrifice offered vp once for euer teach that themselues must renforce it from day to day by the continuance of their dayly sacrifice of the Masse offered for the quick dead it appeareth manifestly that such spirits are not of God nor their doctrine to be receiued though it be deliuered with neuer so much perswasion of eloquent speach or offered to vs with neuer so much expectation of worldly honour For to denie the most absolute vertue and effects of Christes offices is in effect to denie the authoritie of his person and to lose the benefite of all his graces because they withdrawe a part To this examination of spirits without regard of persons the godly Reader is to be exhorted For the doctrine that giueth al glorie to God is of God the doctrine that attributeth some glory and ascribeth some merites to man is of men the religion also that is agreeable to flesh and blood making an acceptable sounde and shewe to the outward senses is carnall and vayne finally what religion so euer is not ioyned with the knowledge and exercises of the worde of God that is no true religion but a disguised and blinde maske full of deuilish superstition The aduersaries take a contrary course in making triall of their doctrine for they woulde haue this examination of spirits vtterly suppressed and vnder one title of that falsly named Catholique Church of Rome they would bind all men to receiue for vndoubted true religion what corruptions so euer they teach without any further question Which being graunted them the examination of spirits neede not for if Rome affirme it the matter is sufficient and must not be denied Also these enemies of the trueth leaue the touchstone which tryeth al metalles namely the doctrine and for it they drawe the teachers into examination supposing that if they can discredit or disgrace the men they shall easily vndermine and ouerthrowe their doctrine For triall of this long practise there are so many bookes that I neede not alleadge any but this late Censure written as in defence of popish religion but the authour shifting his hands very cunningly of the direct and plaine maintenance of the questions in controuersie doth but offer at them or giue some false fire his leauell and batterie is against their persons and credit that maynteining the trueth cannot but assaile the doctrines and put in hazarde the authoritie of the popish Church Therefore I am in the name of the trueth to craue it of the good Reader to lay aside respect of men the regard of those giftes that may please him much and deceiue him more and if it be his desire not so much to see the fight as to beholde the issue enioy the victory then let him imbrace that doctrine most that attributeth least to the broken arme or blinde iudgement of man that in the Church al the power and wisedome of our saluation may be ascribed to God alone through Christ Iesus our Lorde Amen W. Ch. A Replie to a Censure written against the two answers to a Iesuites seditious Pamphlet IT
is much to be lamented that in the things of this life there is not a cause so good nor a title so iust but when it is brought into question the quarelling partie will readily finde out some forme of pleading against it in the iudgement of y e ignorant or partial hearer seeme to haue a good cause great reason on his side when in deede he hath neither the one nor the other But it is much more to be lamented that in the thinges of a better life namely in the matters of our saluation there is nothing so plaine in the word of God nothing so agreeable with the vse of the primatiue Church but it hath enemies that crie out against the light as if it were darkenesse and against the trueth as if it were falshoode whereby the ignorant are interteyned in their ignorance and the obstinate hardened in their rebellion Yf the trueth be subiect to such iniuries and reproches they that mayntaine the trueth must partake with it also but alwayes with an affiance therein that it is mightie and will preuaile As many also as loue the trueth yet for want of knowlege do as it were stagger in so great contrariâ—rie of opinions they must not haue their faith in respect of persons or be caried about with euery blast of doctrine in the vncerteintie or hazard of men who are exercised in cunning waies and lye in waite to deceiue For this Religion is not true because such learned men teach it or that false because such wise men doe condemne it but whatsoeuer is truely taught and playnely proued by the holy worde of God if thou â—â—care it with feare and reuerence that wil confirme thy iudgement and establish thy heart in a good conscience of the trueth But in handling these controuersiâ—s because an earnest zeale of the trueth doth prouoiâ—â— the godly to a great hatred of error and a blind loue of superstition carie away others to the slaunder of wholesome doctrine let both sides remember that there is one that sâ—eth and iudgeth in these actions whose final sentence shal stand in that great day of the Lord Iesus against al that withhold the trueth in vnrighteousnesse This being well considered will ioyne christian loue with godly-zeale on the one side and somewhat stay the other that they breake not out into a defyaunce of the trueth and into the same open faultes wherewith they so much and so vniustly accuse others For many in great want of arguments recômpense the matter with vnchristian taunts and slaunders and not being able to ouerthrow the trueth are yet alwayes armed with varietie and colout of wordes to charge it as a lye and the defenders thereof as forgers of lyes and as maynteiners of daumable absurdities Notwithstanding as the trueth was not tied when Paul was in bandes so good causes are not confuted though the defenders thereof be neuer so scornefully reproched This may appeare as by many other treatises against our brethren heretofore so by the late Censure of Ed. Campion or some other for him that was more ready before hand to deale somewhat with the answers made to his proud and seditious libel For in a round stile this quareler would cary away the maintenance of an euil cause and vnder the title authoritie of a Censurer ratifie his manifold and vniust accusations that so finally he may sit downe to giue open sentence against the truth But for an answere to those accusations and a repeale of his false sentence I mind to follow him as from line to line where iust occasion is offered that vpon examynation it may appeare howe little force there is against the naked truth of Gods causes in the painted wordes of mans wisedome This Censurer taketh in hand the open defence of y e Iesuites seditious Pamphlet and as a man of authoritie and iudgement to censure my answere to it but as he hath nor perfourmed the one so hee hath greatly missed of the other For the argumeÌ„ts alleged to proue Campions seditious enterprise in euery part of his libel to open the like practises in his fellow Iesuites and other Papistes that imploy all their labours against the Church of God and the good estate of this kingdome they remaine all vnanswered the Censurer did not think it safe to giue his sentence in these matters although he knewe well they were the chiefe things that he should haue answered The matters handled by the waye as of the sect and doctrine of Iesuites of Ed. Campions person of disputation of Christian Frankens treatise against the Iesuites they are the matters that the Censurer hath chosen out to abide his bitter taunts and receiue his vniust sentence Thus this iudge that for the skill and authoritie hee taketh vpon him should haue censured the matter it self hath dealt only with certaine accessaries leauing the principal cause in ful force against the Iesuite But for proofe hereof to come now to the Censure Campion oâ— the like spirit in some other petie champion doth at his entraunce giue an aduertisment to abuse his reader that the Iesuites offer required not so much an answere in writing as shorter triall in disputation In which wordes he would seeme to make it a matter out of doubt that he his confederates can soone confute the religion established and by a short way defende their Popish superstition if they might come to the triall But these few wordes do bewray much vanitie For who is Campion or who are the rest of these seedmen that they should presume so much of themselues as to make so short worke in anowing that popish religioÌ„ that hath nothing to vphold it but tyrannie nothing to defend it but lies nothing to restore it but hypocrisie rebellion Where haue these disputers staied so long time Now they are come what can they get by renewing the battaile so often and so lately refused and auoided by their chiefe fathers auncient captaines Surely if your studied prepared bookes be a sure argument what you can doe in a present disputation then I doubt not if it were graunted but you would therein make a short triaâ—â— of your vaine ch 〈…〉 ge and leaue a sure testimonie of your 〈…〉 tichristian religion This your aduertisement is ioyned with a bolde and malicious accusation not so much against Mâ—st Hamner and mee as against the religion and as many as professe y e same For not hauing a watch before your lippes you affirme it as cleare that there can be had nothing from vs but wordes Mast Hamner hath with his words brought more reason and trueth against you then you wilbe wel able to answeare Whether I bring nothing but wordes or no I leaue it to them that 〈◊〉 measure my answere by their own indifferent iudgemeÌ„t not by y e preiudice of your vnlawfull Censure Whereas you would seeme briefly to gather y e effect of my bookâ— in steade thereof you
your common obiection that our faith began with Martin Luther I answere you may asâ—el say the religion of the Iewes and knowledge of the Lawe began in Iosias time and that Hilkia was their progenitour because hee founde the booke of the Lawe in the house of God who notwithstanding found no new thing but onely the authenticall booke of Moses whereupon the king and his people by a diligent reading and regarde thereof were wonne the rather to a notable reformation For our faith is the same that hath bene euermore laid and builded vpon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets Christ Iesus being the chiefe corner stone which hath also continued from age to age although sometimes with small shewe to the world because of many persecutions and great falling away both in life and doctrine Wherefore it is your euill speach so basely to speake and bitterly to deface the religion of Iesus Christ that hath receiued in the eyes of all the world so great testimonie from God to proue the worke is his owne worke and the Gospell his owne euerlasting trueth the power wherof is stil dedlared from day to daye in many wonderfull issues for the inlargement of his kingdome and most of all by adding to the Gospel dayly such as appertaine to his holy election Concerning the praise you giue to Iesuites as reformers of vice in my answere I haue prooued that your religion must first be reformed and your intolerable dispensations and indulgences taken awaye For so long as these marchandises are to be bought so commonly and for so small a price sinne must needes abounde and the complaint of the Lord will bee most iust against you which was made against the couetous and vncleane priestes in Israel They eate the sinnes of my people and lift vp his minde euery one to their iniquitie The Iesuites abandoning of all worldly pleasures possibilities of preferment in the same so farre forth as none of that societie hath or may take any spirituall or temporall liuings or commodities whatsoeuer is nothing els but a superstitioâ—s worship without commandement as hath bene declared inuented by themselues being moreouer against the order of the prâ—mitiue Church and sauouring not a little of Anabaptistrie in condemning the prâ—pertie or priuate poâ—â—ession of earthly blâ—ssings But howsoeuer you sound a trumpet one before another to shewe the Iesuites contempt of worldly riches and that they receiue not the preferrements wherwith mightie Princes haue pressed them yet I thinke your meaning is not â—ut y â— if the Pope intreat them they wilbe sone intreated The humilitie of their spirit was noted in y â— answere They can be content in hâ—pocrisie to abase themselues as to the duâ— but it is that afterward they may rule oâ—â—r all estates in the lande as he did whose 〈◊〉 was to the Pope I my king So also I proued that the Iesuites come to meet meddle with matters of estate offered them 〈◊〉 wrong therin as shal appeare in a â—â—tter place wheÌ„ you assay to proue the contraâ—y The Censurer in the next place commeth to a discourse of three leaues touching Ignatius Layolas Martin Luther but altogether from the purpose for proofe whereof let his two arguments be examined the one for Layolas and the Iesuites the other against Martin Luther and the professors of the trueth For the Iesuites he bringeth this reason Whosoeuer leauing his former calling shall betake him selfe to a votaries lyfe and therein winne soules may be fâ—ther of a Societie Layolas did so therefore Layolas may be father of a Societie The first propositioÌ„ is omitted by the Censurer but without it â—e can proue nothing for the Iesuites For if any man leauing the fielde or the like calling maye not begin a newe order as Layolas did howe can Layolas his broode â—ustifie their Societie The second proposition y â— Layolas leauing his former calling proued so good a man and wonne soules is more then doubtfull Thus it appeareth that vpoÌ„ two former propositions the one false the other doubtfull the Censurer can make no true or cleare conclusion that the Iesuites haue a good warrant for their newe Apostleship Against y â— professors of the Gospell there is another argument made but with aâ— ill arte and successe For thus the Censurer doth reason If Luther were a wicked man taught many beastly doctrines the Protestantes may be ashamed of their progenitor but Luther was such a one therefore the protestantes may bee ashamed of their father and religion The first proposition is altogether false for Luther is not our progenitour nor the father of our faith If he had offended yet the trueth and professors thereof are not guiltie or thereby iustly touched in credit The seconde proposition is also false for howsoeuer false witnesses come in one vpon another to sweare against him Martin Luthers worthy praise shall continue in all ages the Lord hath shewed him a token of good they that hate him shal see it and bee ashamed Wherefore these two propositions being false must needes bring forth a false and sâ—auÌ„derous conclusion Thus the Censurer appeareth much more carefull smothely to deliuer foule reproches then to bring a good reason for maintenance of his cause His arguments being thus layde open it remaineth to consider the particular speaches whereby he setteth such colours vpon his slaunders deliuered against that holy and learned man Martin Luther and vpon his praises for Ignatius Layolas And first for the life of Ignatius Layolas I passe it ouer as a thing from the matter and hauing in it nothing to bee answered when it commeth into the Legenda it may haue some credit in your Church but as it is nowe reported I see no honour that coÌ„meth to you by the tale nor harme to vs. But to you this harme maye growe that hereafter by so slender an example other Fryers may bee brought in as much to raygne ouer you as you woulde raygne ouer all the Monkes and Fryers that haue bene before you 〈◊〉 maruel howe in this storie of Layolas you left out y t which if it had bene true would haue made more for you then al his life beside It is his wonderfull vision when in a traunce he did behold Iesus receiuing him and his fellowes into protection You knowe that without a myracle your newe creatures of the Pope haue neyther lyfe nor soule For Martin Luther what may truely bee sayde fâ—r his iust honour that shall appeare afterward nowe I am to answeare vnto your reproches against him And first howesoeuer you thinke your credit discharged by alledging them Hosius Cochleus Lindanus Xaintes haue no voyce where trueth or reason are admitted for witnesses For in this action they are specially sworne and forsworne agaynst Martin Luther the ruine of their estate beyng all agreed to lende and borowe lies and in one tale to conspire the death and detestation of his name
auoyding of sinne are counsailed to marrie all that haue the gift for them it is more profitable many wayes to abstayne This Luther teacheth out of Christ and Paules doctrine not to ouerthrowe virginitie but to condemne your vngodly vowe of chastitie without due examination whether you haue the continent gift 8. The eyght report is lyke the former making it as necessarie for euery man to haue a wife as it is to eat drinke or sleepe It is as necessarie for him that hath not the gift to marry for auoiding of sinne as it is to eate and drinke for auoyding of famine that is not so dangerous as sinne When you drewe so deepe as these matters you were desirous rather to bryng nothing in deede then nothing in shewe 9. Your last report is that M. Luther should make all Christias as holy as iust as 〈◊〉 mother of God as y â— Apostles were These wordes are true in respect of Christ in whome all the faythfull haue holinesse and honour equally notwithstanding there may bee inequallitie in their giftes and in the measure of their glorie I will not stande vpon the comparisons of these distinctions seruing litle to edification He that is but a doore keeper in the house of God the new Ierusalem hath infinite glorie Yet because you make the virgin Marie and Apostles to beare more rule with Christ in heauen then they dyd while they lyued vpon earth Martin Luther teacheth vs there is no such respect of persons with God but in Christ Iesus whether in heauen or on earth there is neyther Iewe nor Grecian bond nor free neither male nor female but we are all one in him They haue all the same glorious inheritance as they had al like precious faith For the diuersity of measures I haue not bene a coÌ„panion of your bastarde Denis in his iourney to heauen to describe the degrees and dignities there or to determine that which Christ referred to the determination of his Father who shall sit at his right hande in his kingdome who at his left Thus I haue answered these places of M. Luther faithfully without any of your bitternesse in scoffing and vassting at a vantage of nothing as if you had thereby gayned the whole cause By my answere it may appeare these nyne places contayne no straunge newe doctrine as you haue reported without that regarde of trueth or modestie which is pretended But what is that you dare not write to bryng the mans diuine and cleare doctrine into contempt with as many as will be caried away with your smooth stile and bold accusations For as not contented with these vntrueths you woulde make y â— reader beleeue y â— you leaue other infinite beastly doctrines of his inuented by much coÌ„ference with the deuil as you auouch the matter out of Lindan But touching the broken and insufficient credit of this Lindan other your authors I haue noted somewhat before and such as your witnesses are such are their testimonies also the witnesses not lawfull and the testimonies not true For Lindan that hath here filled one page of your Censure as a false witnesse writeth that the deuill hath bene seene talke bodily with Martin Luther by men of very great credit The men are not named nor the matter probable therefore we may beholde a conspiracie to leaue the matter and disgrace the man one beginneth a slaunder and the rest come in one after another to iustifie the same vpon that foremans credit If we had no better testimonies this practise woulde bee as plentifull and strong for vs as for you but we haue not so learned Christ neither doe we stande in neede of euill euidences to auow a good cause But in this matter because you bryng in Luthers wordes against himself to proue some part of your reporte let vs see your misconstruing brought for a defence of your misreport It is well knowen M. Luther felt many tentations and endured great conflictes with the enemie which are very strange to the most of your religion Christ hath rendered the reason of your quiet and godly mens disquiet in this affliction of conscience when a strong armed man sayth he keepeth his Palace the things are in peace which he possesseth As long as SataÌ„ had Luther in possession kept in the chaynes of ignorance and superstition hee felt not the malice of his spirituall enemie Satan had no cause to disquiet a superstitious man whome hee had for the time in quiet holde but when the Lord opened his eyes to see and framed his heart to withstande the kingdome of Satan and Antichrist the the enemie assailed him greuously as himselfe complaineth in many places All which conflictes were not as you dreame in an outward or bodily conference with the deuill but in those inward battailes in those spirituall combates betweene the flesh and the spirite betweene the tentations of Satan and the desires of the Newe men such as the Apostle noteth in diuers places Though the Iesuites be not by experience acquainted with this greeuous whippe of God wherewith he scourgeth many of his deare children yet by reading they myght haue knowen what it meant For Christ endured such tentations 〈◊〉 Paul acknowledgeth 〈…〉 in y â— flesh giuen him and the angel of Satan to buffet him But to make all thin playne that Luther was not otherwise tempted then in the exercise of his conscience and with these inwarde conflictes of the flesh fyghting agaynst the Spirit and againe with the agonies of the spirit resisting the assaultes of the Deuill which as was noted other â—â—intes of God haue suffered and Christ himselfe it appeareth by his owne words in the farre places cited for your purpose I see â—yght well sayth Luther in Dauid and in the other Prophetes 〈…〉 greatly they dyd wraste and gro 〈…〉 in those battayles and the lyke agaynst Satan and his horrible assaultes Christ also him selfe thouth without sinne what teares what anguish and what agonies indured he for vs against Satan He doeth infinitely presse our heartes and ceaseth not but when hee is beaten backe with the worde of God Wherefore you doe not onely in this slaunder intollerablie reproche Martin Luther but you speake euill also of the wayes of GOD whereby hee worketh in the heartes of his children true mortification and strength in Iesus Christ to ouercome such sharpe and dangerous tentations The treatise of Luther de missa angulari so ofteÌ„ aledged by your felowes I coulde neuer see therefore it is as the allegation of his testimonie that is dead or can not bee founde to giue in euidence face to face when he is reuiued commeth forth to beare witnesse he shall bee ansered Touching Luthers death slaine as you think by y â— deuil going drunken to bedde ouernyght you shoulde neuer haue dis 〈…〉 ed your owne discretion in reporting so foule a lie from so
transgression of the law be it neuer so litle or done without either consent or knowledge or by a mad man or bruite beast should be properly a mortal sinne Here you playnely conclude that nâ—gaâ—â—uâ—ly which Saint Iohn him selfe layeth downe affirmatiuely saying afterwards in the 〈◊〉 Chapt. Euery iniquitie or transgression is sinne if sinne a mortall sinne as hath bene proued Thus the Câ—â—surer hath not added nor altered alone but playnely denyed that to conde 〈…〉 mee which Saint Iohn hath worde for worde to iustifie mee All my places that you so condemne being written and layde together haue I thanke God no cause to make mee blushe but this alone hath â—ause to moue you to the repentance reâ—antation of this speache so directly contrary to the wordes of the holy Ghost But the Lorde remooue all blindnesse from our eyes and haâ—dnesse from our heartes that wee may not struggle agaynst the trueth and so fall into these grosse denials of the manifest worde of God You that charge me in this place with transposition your selfe may be as worthily charged with alteration of the text putting one verbe for an other and two wordes for one both the Greeke and the vulgar translatioÌ„ hath Euery one that committeth sinne and you haue agaynst them both Euery one that sinneth This you woulde haue made a â—olde part in me but I am contented to gâ—aunt it is neither bouldnesse nor ignorance iâ— you 〈◊〉 though the first may stande better yet your translation is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 You 〈◊〉 perhappes to serue the Lorde in your 〈◊〉 and I knowe I serue the Lorde his cause is to be had in high estimation and the examination thereof must be without such disgracing quarrels otherwise he will punish euen him that shall not vse good meanes in the handling of a good cause But to conclude you graunt the question though as you say it commeth not to be so haynous a blasphemie For your vsual taunts of confounding and hudling you may worthily receiue them backe agayne with this vaâ—â—tage that you haue manifestly denyed that which the Apostle doth manifestly affirme and so stande vpon a contradiction not onely agaynst my wordes but against the holy and perfect word of God In the second poynt the Iesuiâ—es doctrine is thus reported Concupiscence remayning in the regenerate although it be against the lawe of God yet is it not sinne properly in it selfe or of his owne nature I am charged for mine authour that these wordes although it bee agaynst the lawe of God are not founde in the â—ensure oâ— Colen To what purpose 〈◊〉 the caâ—ill agaynst these wordes which if they had not beâ—e 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 neuer 〈…〉 of necessitie 〈…〉 is of conâ—upiscense against the lawe and you so take it and so defend it Also by your owne graunt the Iesuites of Colen expresse those wordes in effect saying Albeit this concupiscense doe styrre or moue a man sometimes to doe things which are repugnant to the lawe of God yet if no consent of heart bee yeelded vnto it it reacheth not to the nature of a mortall sinne worthy of eternal damnation That concupiscense which doeth styrre or moue a man to doe thinges against the lawe of GOD is it not also it selfe agaynst the law As you thus graunt the words which before were denyed so vnderhande or at vnwares you graunt the matter wherwith you are charged For saying that concupiscense without consent reacheth not to the nature of a mortall sinne worthy of eternall damnation in some sorte you giue vs to vnderstande that it is neuerthelesse some kind of sinne which is to graunt the question or to loade and disguise the sentence with many waste woordes that you may in so doing hide the errour Moreouer you and the Iesuites confesse concupiscense to be sinne by Saint Paules manifest woordes who as you graunt sometimes calleth it sinne But as you wrangle with mee so you misconster the Apostle saying hee meaneth not that it is a sinne properly but by a figure Wherefore his large disputation is shortly to bee layde downe that thereby it may appeare howe corruptly you interprete his meaning The Apostle hauing declared that the Lawe doth thorow our corruption worke in vs the lustes passions of sinne to meete with a doubt that might bee made against the law as if it were sinne because through our rebellion it stirreth vs vp thereunto answereth saying The Lawe is holy and wee solde vnder sinne the Law spirituall and we carnall In which answere it is diligently to be considered by the waye that were it not holy and the commaundement holy and iust and good euen the Lawe should seeme to bee sinne for occasion of sinne that commeth thereby through our corruption But this occasion is not giuen by the Lawe but altogether taken by our corruption rebelling against the commandement So the Lawe being of it selfe holy altogether and giuen against sinne is not to be charged with our rebellion which is sinfull of it selfe and prouoked by such restraint If the Lawe which hath in it nosinne nor shadowe of sinne come notwithstanding to the question of sinne for the fruite of our corrupt 〈…〉 re prouoked and discouered thereby what shall wee saye of concupiscence that is it selfe vncleane and of it selfe maketh sinne exceedingly sinfull S. Paul following the question doth open the nature of concupiscence in his owne person comparing his estate before the knowledge of the tenth commandement with his state afterwarde Vpon which comparison hee declareth that hee knewe not sinne 〈◊〉 hee knewe the Lawe that saith Thou shalt not couet He knewe other sinnes before by the Lawe and light of nature but he knewe not concupiscence to be sinne So the very Gentiles in their Lawes condemned adulterie murder and other like sinnes but the iustice of God condemâ—ing concupiscence the Gentiles could not see the Philosophers could not finde it neither will the Papistes acknowledge it although they knowe with the Apostle the Lawe which saith Thou shalt not couer Therefore the Apostle hath set before vs by his owne example what wee may learne by that tenth commandement which sheweth most cleerely y t the Lord our God is a spirituall Lawgiuer binding our spirites our very thoughtes least desires to y â— obedience of his most holy most pure most perfect Law If any of these bee beside the Law it is against y â— holines wherein we were created which is required of vs by the Lawe and so plainely and properly a sinne howsoeuer the Iesuites distinguishe betweene sinne properly so called not properly called sinne Euery sinne is sinne these sinnes which by the Iesuites doctrine are so called figuratiuely except we finde mercie they will bring no figuratiue condemnation in y t day when y â— secretes of all heartes shall be layde open and wee called to giue an account of euery idle worde Your similitude of the Latine tongue taken out of Austen
is doubtfull for the tongue is the instrument of speache and not such a cause The naturall knowledge of the latin speach or the knowledge thereof by arte is the cause If the tongue were the proper cause whosoeuer had a tongue should speake latin because where the cause is the effect followeth By which reason your owne woordes againe make concupiscense to bee sinne saying it is the affect of originall s 〈…〉 because such as the proper cause is 〈…〉 is also the proper effect the â—ause sinne and sinneful the effect also sinne and sinful But you that make many demaundes to me let me aske you what you meant to bring in the example of Christ who is called sinne in thâ—â— chapter and â—epâ—stle to the Corâ—th forwhich you falsely quote the 8. â—o the Râ—man 〈◊〉 you make the example like Shall 〈◊〉 expâ—â—â—de the former speach of Saint Paul calling concupiscense sinne Surely hereby you proue that Paul calling concupiscense sinne meant notwithstanding that it was altogether no sinne for Christ is altogether no sinne Againe howe vnlike are these examples Christ is called sinne because hee was a sacrifice for sinne that is to take away sinne concupiscense is called sinne because it is the effect fruite of originall sinne not taking it away but increasing it continually If you made conscience of your speach you would neuer misconâ—â—er the plaine woâ—rdes of the Apostles bring nothing for your defeÌ„ce but such impertinent similitudes For I appeale to your conscience may you not as fitly by these similitudes proue that the Apostle calleth fornication sinne by a figure or any other sinne neuer so great Saint Austeâ—â— place making it no sinne in y e 〈…〉 rate without conâ—â—t is expounded by himselfe afterwarde saying Concupiscence is not so forgiuen in Baptisme that it is not sinne but that it is not imputed as sinne For a clearer proofe hereof in another booke hee saith plainely it is 〈◊〉 For when Iulian obiected that conâ—â—piscence is wortâ—y praise because it is a punishment of sinne Austen tooke that away by an example of the wicked deuils whâ— though they in respect of Gods hande doâ— iustly punish yet themselues are vniust and sinfull whereupon this similitude fol 〈…〉 eth to proue concupiscence sinne euen when there is no consent As the blyndnesse of the heart which God remoueth who alone doth illuminate is both sinne whereby we beleeue not in God and the punishment of sinne whereby a proude heart is punished with worthie punishment the cause of sinne when any euill is committed by the error of a blind heart so the concupiscense of the flesh agaynst which the good spirit â—usteth is both sinne because there is in it a disobedieÌ„ce against the regiment of the minde and a punishment of sin because it is rendred to y e merites of the disobedient the cause of sin through the defect of that y t consenteth or the conâ—agion of that that springeth You were deceiued in citing Austen twise as hauing written but one booke De Nup. et Concup Clement hath no such place but against you hee hath these woordes in the booke of his exhortation to the GeÌ„tiâ—â—s speaking of the seuenth commandement among others 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Thou shalt not lust for by concupiscense alone thou hast committed adulterie Which sentence sheweth what a sinne bare concupiscense is that alone without consent commeth so neere a degree of actuall adulterie You were also deceiued in quoting Ambrose for he hath no such place where you cite him Nazianzen I thinke hath no such oration as you dreame of such is your cause and such are your testimonies Wherefore it is false that all those good fathers are partakers with the Iesuites of that doctrine which blasphemously maketh the breach of the tenth commandement no sinne And because you so often presse the worde blasphemie so seldome vsed by me you must vnderstande that such doctrines especially now after so great reuelation of the trueth are the doctrines of deuils blasphemoâ—s against God and his holy woorde which teacheth the contrary as hath and shall bee further declared But nowe followeth the place of Gotuisus brought to proue the contrary doctrine Whosoeuer shall see a woman to lust after her hee hath already committed adulterie with her in his heart The Censurer in this place to note my ignoraunce bewrayeth his owne confounding hudling the first last part of the proposition which in Scholes are called subiectu and praedicatum For the question sta 〈…〉 th in y â— former place where Christ vsetâ— a word of concupiscence affirming that 〈◊〉 a man see a woman to lust or in concupisâ—enâ—e to desyre her where the force of sinne worketh in the first degree it is with content of heart brought to a further degree and becommeth actuall adulterie before God though it bee not actuall before men Therefore if I had as you miâ—conâ—â—er alleaged this place of Matthewe altogether in respect of the effect and as it is a breach of the seuenth commandement it had not made against the doctrine of concupiscense without consent But I cite it for the former part of the propositioÌ„ which sufficiently proueth bare concupiscense to bee sinne For if the consent of the heart make concupisceÌ„se to be adulterie theÌ„ must concupiscense it selfe be also sinne because otherwise the consent of the heart cannot make any lawful desire to be adulterie but the fruite and the tree must be of the same nature Saint Iames doeth moreouer proue this who wil not that a man should say God tempteth him and so charge the Lord with sinne but he turneth vpon man the whole worke and al the blame of sinne froÌ„ the first sinne of tempting to the ripe ful birth thereof The Apostles wordes in this place are full to make this proofe calling it a mans owne lust or lusting adding moreouer that a man is tempted therwith drawen away and as with a baite intited which thinges can not bee in bare concupisâ—ense except it were sinne and a sinful cause of sinne from the which Iames doth carefully quite the Lorde Also this concupifcense because it hath â—entation violence and a baite to sinne before câ—nsent of heart be giuen and before the secret adulterie of the heart be coÌ„mitted it cannot be of faith and therefore the Apostle giueth sentence that it is sin for whatsoeuer is not of faith is sinne be it before or after the consent of heart Therefore out of these woordes of Christ it is truely proued by the nature and effect of concupiscense that it is sinne of it selfe seeing presently with consent it is made a sinne in so high a degree as is adulterie Also herein my alleadging of Scripture is founde to be according to the matter and argument without any error of doctrine alteration of sense or appiying it otherwise then it may be truely and profitably applied wherefore you gaue to much
Censurer hath brought his cole to set his markes vpon my translation which is neuer thelesse so faithfull that no one of y â— fiue words by him so marked as wickedly added can wel be wanting without some iniury to the text or to the propertie of our language in expressing the same In translating the propertie of euery tongue is to be obserued for as tongues differ in language so they differ in their peculiar forme order of words That which may be well vnderstoode in one tongue must needes be supplied in an other And to translate word for worde is to haue the wordes English or Frenche when yet the phrase shall remaine Greeke or Hebrewe and be as litle vnderstoode Yet this is that obscure and fruitelesse translation which the Censurer exacteth at my hand But let vs see how iustly All scripture is not so plaine as All y â— scripture and the Censurer afteÌ„ saith the scripture The verbe is must be supplied whether you regard the English tongue or Lâ—gicke for the copulatiue coniunction following in y â— Greeke doth make the whole proposition compound and not simple Otherwise what sense or sentence were it to say all scripture giuen by inspiration of God profitable to teach c. The addition of this verbe was so necessarie that the vulgar translation addeth it in the seconde place but by no better reason then why it should be added in both The first and was childishly and vnlearnedly noted as superfluous being expressed in the Greeke text and corruptly left out by the olde translation which deceiued you The wordes and throughly were added the one to ioyne the sentence and the other to expresse the force of the compound word which Paule vseth signifying throughly or perfectly perfect In this signification is the compound vseâ— in many other places also Thus you see I misuse not the Scriptures in this place for my translation is sufficiently approoued and some faultes be wraied in the old translation and ignorance in your Censure Neuerthelesse I must remember you that it was your ouersight to leaue out y â— note of a third and which might aswell haue bene set vpon your score with the rest and raised the number vp to site Also you that so exact a strayght translation of worde for word why did you not Censure me for adding v. wordes at one clap in this sentence to expresse one Greeke worde Paul hath 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is word for worde Godinspired I haue to expresse it vsed v. wordes giuen by inspiration of God But your Censurers eye may without blame passe ouer the sight of such small matters I craue pardon of my Reader that I haue bene drawen on into so trifeling poyntes But he hath beene exercised in sifting and shifting to finde somwhat y â— may serue his turne and yet greatly misseth of his purpose if he were so searched perhaps hee would not easely answere it Now against my translation he vseth words that should be by a new worde called raileciue speache in me saying If I had vsed such audacitie in translating Acsopes fables it woulde haue bene tollerable but in translating the Scripture it is impious Surely if the Censurer had bene well censured and exercised in translating Acsopes fables when 〈◊〉 went to the Grammer schoole hee woulde haue bene better acquainted with Greeks phrases and the translation of the new Testament But it may be he hateth the kingdome and skill of Grammarians Thus much to answere my translation which you haue so vnlearnedly marked and so vniustly coÌ„demned Now it foloweth to consider what you bring agaynst the alleadging of that place to reproue the Iesuites doctrine and your vnwritten verities Your first reason y â— this place is not full ynough to proue y â— sufficiencie of y â— Scripture for which it is alleaged standeth vpon and word in y â— text where the Apostle saith the Scripture is profitable and hath not the worde sufficient But you say these are two diuers thinges to bee sufficient for a purpose and to be profitable for it as may appeare in meate which is profitable for our lyfe yet wee cannot saye it is sufficient because it alone without naturall heate clothes and other meanes sufficeth not Whereupon you leaue the reader to conclude that this place is too slender for my purpose The force of which your reason is of the difference of these two words affirming that profitable is not so much as sufficient Whereunto I answere that as sometimes it is true which you affirme and as it appeareth in your example so of the other part it is true that many times a thing may be saide profitable for a purpose where profitable shal import sufficient and not barely profitable as for example when some reason is adioyned why it shoulde be profitable and nothing else applyed or seruing to that effect For proofe hereof when the Apostle writeth that Godlines is profitable to all things hauing the promises of this life of the life to come it can not be denyed but by profitable here he meaneth it is sufficient for all things that is for the obteyning of all good thinges which sense of this worde is prooued by that which followeth of the effect hauing the promises of both lyues For if godlinesse bryng all good things of this lyfe and of the lyfe to come it must needes folowe that the Apostle saying it is profitable to all things vnderstoode it was so fully sufficient that hee which hath it needeth not the supplie of any thing else For like reason in this place I say the Apostle speaking of the Scripture as profitable for doctrine for confutation for correction and reformation by profitable vnderstandeth sufficient If your example were of the like it woulde proue the same If as meate and drinke are profitable to nourish so they were profitable also to cloth to giue rest and to make a man perfectly healthie and strong to euery good action I woulde also conclude vpon such causes that it were both profitable and sufficient to mayntaine life But you stande in neede of an other Censurer to Censure your comparisons and examples so often brought in easily to dereyue the reader that doth not see howe vnequallie they are yoked as like thinges to make like proofe being in deede vnlike and of vnlike effectes To returne vnto the text the sufficiencie of scripture is moreouer prooued by the wordes which got before and followe Before the Apostle had sayde that all the Scripture is inspired of God whereupon he inferreth and is profitable to teach for doctrine and confutation as if he had sayde it is profitable to teache the trueth and reproue errour The strength of which reason lyeth in this that the light of knowledge which sometime was in man by his creation is damped and gone out so that nowe wee haue no meanes except God by his holy Spirite doeth inspire vs to discerne betweene trueth and vntrueth or
Lent If this be not hudling and confounding of things together of vnlike sort I knowe not what may be called confusion For what order is it to repeate vpoÌ„ the Censurers occasion y â— which was noted in the fourth article to match the baptisme of children with the fast of Lent The one being by plaine argument gathered out of the worde as namely out of the wordes of the conenant I will bee thy God and the God of thy seede and thy children after thee for euer This couenaunt dyd appertayne to both a like to Abraham and his seede whereunto the seale and practise was adioyned in circumcising infantes of eyght dayes as well as Abraham of great age and that by expresse commaundement of God Thus the doctrine is so prooued out of the written worde as that no doubt remayneth Nowe circumcision was the sacrament or seale of that righteousnesse which is by fayth as Saint Paul teacheth wherein it is equall our baptisme But this is your great learning when you are not able for your ignorance to prooue a doctrine out of the written worde to say we haue it by tradition and by worde of mouth from the Apostles Now your Lent fast as you vse it hath not onely no grounde out of the worde but is agaynst the worde as I prooued before If this bee your methode and discretion I maruell not if good order be huddling and confounding in your accompt For the number of the bookes and for the Lordes day I myght likewise make proofe out of the worde so that if you can bring vs nothing by worde of mouth from the Apostles but your Lent fast your letters of credence will not serue you to be deleeued The seconde Censure is that the place alleadged by me to confuce the aucthoritie of traditions should be impertinent This the Censurer woulde shewe by three differences betweene it and this purpose First of the diuers cause of those traditions which our Sauiour Christ inueyeth against whereof they had beene authors to them selues and of these which he affirmeth to descende from Christ and his Apostles But as in deede the difference woulde be great if this were true so being false and vntrue as it is it can make no difference at all Theirs were in deede such as they affirme and though you deny it so are yours also For which of all your traditions came eyther froÌ„ Christ or from his Apostles wheÌ„ you proue them froÌ„ either of them your difference shall be allowed Secondly you say Christ reprehendeth not al obseruation of meÌ„s traditioÌ„s but the naughtie obseruing of theÌ„ which was as you affirme in that y â— Pharises esteemed them more then Gods word brake it for the keeping of them which you condemne This also if it were true were a sufficient difference but it is vntrue that our Sauiour Christ reproued onely the esteeming of them more then Gods commaundementes It can not bee denied but he reprooued this in them in the same chapter before but in the woordes alleadged You worshippe mee in vaine teaching doctrines that are but traditions of men which are no wordes of comparison our Sauiour simplie rebuketh them for esteeming the keeping of mens traditions to be any seruice of GOD to which â—ude the sentence had bene first vttered by the Prophet The thirde note is double first that these traditions were idle foolish of which sort are yours and whatsoeuer the idle brayne of man deuiseth to serue â—od withall the second that some of them were impious direct contrary to the word of God such as were certayne corrupt expositions of the lawe where you are as like to them as the sonne may be to the father For neuer were there more false gloses vpon the word of God violently thrust and by litle and litle secretly conueyed into the Church peruerting the true meaning of the Scriptures and corrupting the simple worshippe of GOD then haue beene brought in by your Rabbines that haue obtayned the highest seates and the most honourable names more then euer did any among the Iewes You speake of the Talmud as dyd bastarde Denis of the orders in heauen but this florish of your skill in those bookes because it hurteth not the cause let it serue you and your frendes for as much credit as it may Lastly the Iesuites are reported to teach that we must worship y e image of Christ with like honour that wee doe the holy bookes of the Gospell In this article the doctrine is graunted without any word of contradiction your Censure onely toucheth the second to the Corinthes the sixt chapter as not alledged to the purpose In deede if you list not to vnderstand to what end it is vouched you may well complaine against the alledging thereof as from the matter You take it as brought to proue that we may worship the image of Christ with greater honour then the bookes of the Gospell but you mistake the matter and wilfully as it shoulde seeme to haue some what against the cause for how could you think that he which detesteth al idols would alledge a place to prooue that the image of Christ is worthy honour more then Gospels Or howe may not any maâ— note you of open contradiction against the word of God that being deuoutly madde vpon idols would for their loue prophane the temple of God and therefore dare to say there is more agreemeÌ„t betweene them which yet the Apostle maketh most contrarie then there is betweene the place of Saint Paul the matter which the same place doth fitly disprooue But if you liâ—â— to vnderstand the place serueth to prooue that no image at all is to be worshipped for which the wordes are so pertinent and is strong as all the wisedome of your Censureship and of the rest will neuer bee able to answere them Therefore you lost your labour in framing arguments to prooue why the material booke of Gospels should be no lesse worshipped then the image of Christ for neither of bath are to bee worshipped nor any other creatures whatsoeuer according to that which was before alledged to this purpose Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serue You can not escape for saying you giue no diuine honour vnto them for this bowing downe before them which is one of the least deuotions you vse is chalenged as diuine honour and expressely forbidden in any respect of religion or deuotion to images or any other creature as hath beene often declared But here saying the honour done to the image of Christ and to the letter of the Bible is not done to them selues you dissemble your owne idolatrous doctrine which alloweth the same honour to the image that is due to the paterne and namely the same most honourable and diuine worship of Latria to the Crucifix which is due to the Lord Iesus Christ himself Your bookes that teach this are many and not vnknowen So