helpe the king as fauters of heretikes To answer the same and for the more briefe and easie vnderstanding of this matter of excommunication it is requisite to diuide it into foure parts The definition of the thing shall be the first The second shall comprehend the authoritie and calling of those who ought to excommunicate The thirde shall haue regarde to the qualitie of the crime together with the ende of the censure The fourth shall intreate of the commodities and rightes of this present life to knowe whether ecclesiasticall iurisdiction hath power to depose them from their proper rights or not The worde Excommunication is defined in this manner Excommunication is a bannishment or reiecting of an obstinate sinner beeing hardened in his sinne the which is throwne out of the company of the faithful by the iudgement and sentence of the Church by the authoritie of Iesus Christ following the rule which is contained in hys worde The which ecclesiasticall punishment is ordained as well to cause the sinner to repent and amende as also for the edification of the foresaide Church The seconde parte is touching the persons which ought to pronounce such sentence of excommunication for if it be proffered done by a man hauing no calling it is nothing like as a band made without forme of lawe It is necessary therefore to knowe in generall that the power of excommunication is giuen to the church as Iesus Christ doth witnesse in the Gospell written by S. Mathew Mat. 19. where speaking of him that will neither hear in particular nor in the presence of one or two witnesses his brother which then hath offended commaundeth the partie offended to tell such his rebellion to the Church as to the which the iudgement and acknowledgement of the censure which falleth to him that hath offended doth belong After the Maister Saint Paule his Disciple speaketh thus of the proceeding of excommunication holden agaynst the incestuous Corinthians 1. Cor. 5. I haue determined saith he as being present that he which hath done this thing be deliuered c. And afterwards adding you and my spirit being assembled with you in the name of our Lord Iesus Christ to deliuer I say such a man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh to the end that the spirit may be saued in the day of our Lord. It may be seene then that this iudgement is deferred to the Church which chuseth a certayne number of men to the which shee giueth charge to watch ouer the flockes and to haue certaine knowledge of him which hath offended to bring him backe againe to the trueth to the ende that if there doe fall out the censure of excommunication it maye bee doone by the sight and agreement of the Church Mat. 16. according to the authoritie which Iesus Christ hath giuen her This is then a certaine token that the obstinate sinner ought to be excommunicated in the same Church whereof hee is a member and in the which the fault hath beene committed to her greate offence And because that excommunication is the last and moste seuere ecclesiasticall censure against the sinner therefore it is good to proceede in all thinges deliberately by good counsaile Epist lib. 3. Epist 19. and manifest proofe of the cause Wherefore S. Cyprian sayth that the Bishops of his time did call the other Bishops of their prouinces when there was any question of excommunicating the rebellious and obstinate Where it appeareth that there is found no such matter as in the Romish proceedinges seeing that they excommunicate not onely those which be not of their diocesse but all other out of their prouinces as they thinke good ouer the which they haue no more to do than this my leagued Monke hath ouer the Tartarians This abuse doth aggrauate it selfe the more in as much as the Popes beeing accused of manye crimes doe notwithstanding iudge them which are their accusers where we may not omit that of old time our Fathers did ordaine and appoint those things which they thought conuenient profitable and necessary for the correction of those which did belong vnto the French Church without going into Italie a as is prooued and shewed amongst others by the authour of the abuses and nullities of the Bulles of Pope Sixtus that dyed last the which dooth shewe by many examples Aim lib. 5. cap. 26. that the Bishoppes of Fraunce warned Pope Gregorie the fourth which came into the Realme with menaces of excommunications to the king that if hee did enterprise any thing against him in steade to excommunicate hee shoulde returne excommunicated Likewise it was tolde him that it was neuer seene that a Pope not being desired should euer meddle with iudging the rightes belonging to kingdomes and that the Frenchmen had alwayes accustomed to liue in libertie for the maintenance of the which they were resolued not to spare their owne bloud And lastly they tolde him that kingdomes were neuer gotten by excommunications From all which reasons it followeth that the French men haue no reason to seare the Popes encommunications If it falleth out that anie of them do cōmit anie offence they may go to the Bishops of Fraunce which ought to reduce them by faire meanes censure them accordingly without suffering them to go to Rome And for the third parte of the excommunication touching the person excommunicated together with the ende of such censuring First I sayde that it is necessary to admonish the culpable by all faire meanes euen with teares as also to heare and vnderstand him in all his reasons plaintes and iustifications to knowe thereby whether he bee duely informed of the accusations or not Now there hath beene no such obseruations in the foresaide sentence of excommunication from thence therefore againe it followeth that it is not onely a nullitie but also a detestable abuse That which doth also againe appeare for the third is the qualitie of the pretended crime of heresie wherewith the Pope accuseth the king forasmuch as it is verefied that suche a proposition the Romane Church hath neede of reformation is nothing at all erronious and much lesse hereticall Lette vs now behold the end of excommunication It hath beene sayd that it hath respect vnto the repentance and saluation of the sinner wherefore I desire all that be truly religious to confider whether the Pope indeuoreth himselfe to this ende when he excommunicateth kinges they shall find that he doth not Beholde let a Prince bee a tyraunt a whoremaister adulterous a rauisher a drunkard a blasph emer and an Atheist doing as much of these thinges as he will yea although hee bee quallified with all such vertues yet the Pope will not once deigne to tell him of the least of them no not to his Bishops so farre off is hee from speaking of the excommunicating either of the one or the other for such respects reseruing the thunderbolts and threatninges of the same onely against those which doe talke of the abuses
worlde knoweth that the king is accused of heresie by this Monke and his like forasmuch as hee sayth and holdeth for certaine that the Romish church hath need of reformation vpon the which proposition is demaunded wherefore the king raigning shall bee sooner accused of heresie than infinite others of his like others as wel in Europe Asia or Affrica Besides that which hath beene sayde else where wee faie that in our region the last King constrayned but too late to knowe this truth had giuen charge to a learned personage to set foorth certayne Articles concerning the necessitie of reforming the Church The last Duke of Sauoy sayd to an Italian named Castro Caro professing the reformed religion Thou doest wel to maintaine thy faith Afterwards he placed him as gouernor ouer the vallyes of Angrongne Apol for Herod A Duke of Florence with like purpose answered the Ambassadour of the souldan of Egypt that in Christendome the fooles were shut vp in Monasteries The Venetians haue of long time detested the persecutions of the Popes The best part of Christian kings doe confirme this truth and the noble men in deede as much for it is proued that there are a great many Gentlemen throughout Europe which do euen grone and breath after this reformation If we come to the Ecclesiasticall persons the quantitie of them swarming out of the Couents and monasteries doeth likewise preach on high the same thing vnto vs. The like also is found by the Popes being constrained to produce such a like kinde of cōsent when as one of thē vpon the abuse of the Romane Church which was obiected and proued to him sayde to the protestant Princes of Germanie that his intention was to vnderstand it Sleidan and remedie it To whom it was answered that that did not appertaine to one Bishop alone As for philosophers councellers of lawe-rights and people of the third estate knowing the same truth and necessitie will be found euerie where such a great number that they will be innumerable In Asia an infinite number of Iewes doe deferre their conuersion to the Christian religion for the great abuses and idolatries which they see in the Romish church Let vs passe into Affrica then Presbiter Iohn great gouernour ouer the Ethiopians making profession of Christianitie verifieth the same by the generall permission of holy matrimonie instituted by God by the intire distribution which the Bishops doe make of the sacred signes of the holy supper following the ordinance of Iesus Christ What will then this malecontent saie when as for this cause onely hee accuseth his king of heresie seeing that so many Monarchies Princes Lordes Prelates of the Church Councellors Philosophers and other great godly and learned personages throughout all Europe haue holden sayd reproued confessed the same truth the which hath beene confirmed by so many Doctors and so many arguments that it is impossible for the gainsaiers to answere them The which doctors and arguments durst and dare maintaine and proue that if there be anie Prince in the world clere and purged from the crime of heresie it is our king for following the greatest reformation of Christian religion as euer hath beene sithence the death of the Apostles That it is so thou shalt finde by reading and considering the profession of faith which he hath shewed towards the two last kings which is come to light a long time sithence Therefore take a little paines with patience to conferre it with the holy Scriptures Now let vs come to the examination of the first Article conteining as we haue sayde seuen texts of the Scripture with the which this ligall Monke woulde helpe himselfe for his better reiecting the king if he could The first therefore is taken out of the seuententh Chapter of Deutronomie Deut. 17.17 where it is commanded to the people of Israel to constitute ouer them the king whome the Lorde their God should chuse comprised in the couenant which he had contracted with him from the which place the aaforesayd Monke doth drawe his conclusion as aforesaid that is to saie that the king for being an heretike ought not to be admitted to the crowne of France no more then in oldettme a Pagan might to that of the Iewes Therefore saith he the lawe of Moses concerning the election of the kings of Israel is morall and by consequence doth binde all Christians to the obseruation of the same The answere to this is that seeing Phisicke must be applied to the bodie that is diseased let vs put the case whether the question was concerning a king being an Infidell or an heretike For the regard namely of such a soueraigne I denie the proposition the which I maintain to be false for foure resons to be considered in the examination and circumstance of the text Deut. 17 where Moses saith thus Thou shalt make him king ouer thee whome the Lord thy God shall choose from amongst thy brethren thou shalt not set a stranger ouer thee which is not thy brother Where first of all is to bee vnderstoode that the king which the Lorde woulde giue vnto his people called in the Scripture the annointed of the Lord should be chosen after another fashion and to another end than others were Therefore Moses sayd that God himselfe woulde choose this king differing from them of other nations for that hee woulde haue him represent and figure the Messias his sonne beeing king euerlasting and redeemer of the world and that he would haue him to raigne ouer an holy nation which priuiledge giueth vs to vnderstand that these sacred kings were holy and separated from others Wherefore Moses in this text 1. Sam. 10 and the historie of the Kings doe witnesse that theyr election proceeded from God not from the people for which respects there was a separation and a difference put betweene them and others So as is seene in the election of Saul 1. Chron 28. Iug. 9 Dauid and Salomon The cause why Abimelech being before appointed king of Sichem indured but a while was for that that hee was not so called of God the time of the kings being not yet come Where it appeareth that such proceedinges are not conuenient at this daie for other nations If thou doest replie that christian kings haue one and the selfe same holines as those of the Iewes had proceeding from one common God I answere that it sufficeth to proue that the Christian nations neuer had this particular commandement nor this speciall promise to haue power alwayes to constitute ouer thē a king of their owne religion so giuen of GOD this is a priuiledge onely which the Iewes had for the Christians haue ben and are bound by the generall commandement of God to abide subiect to their Princes which hee hath giuen them of what religion soeuer they haue ben or be as shall be more at large discussed in his place To that which remaineth thou oughtest to proue that this realme is a
Signifiyng thereby that euerie one ought to contente himselfe and to follow his vocation vnto the which the Lorde hath called him without busying himselfe in anye other mens for feare least some greeuons punishment shoulde fall vpon him according to the example of Ozias king of Iuda 2. Chro. 20. who was striken with leprosie when as hee woulde haue vsurped the office of the high Priest which did altogeather belonge and appertayne vnto the children of Aaron Euen so then the Bishoppe ought to contente hymselfe with his Ecclesiasticall administration and the Nobleman onely with the handling of his sworde So then when euerie tree shall contente it selfe with the qualitie of his owne fruite shall all thinges goe well This beeing heere graunted as necessary rightfull and reasonable what will this Leaguerer saye when as hee tormenteth hymselfe so diuerslye agaynst the Noblemen which doe not take vppon them at his will and pleasure the affayres of the Romish Religion for to defende it without anye further knowledge the passions of his prelates to the vtter ruine and ouerthrowe of theyr king of themselues and of theyr countrey The which they haue taken vppon them to defende leauing the disputations of Religion vnto Diuines And thus much for the first aunswere And nowe to the seconde where I hope to contente the Reader with reasons of some force taken from the holie Scriptures and not from lyes and false suppositions according to thy fashion And that wee maye the better doe this lette vs knowe what this worde Catholicke Church dooth meane and what are the markes and who are the true members of the same This knowledge is heere most necessarie forasmuch as in the steade of the Christian Church instituted by Iesus Christ this Leaguerer dooth alwayes propose vnto vs a Romish Church containing the idolatries and superstitions of the Bishop of the same In thy opinion if Rome should be lost what would become of all Christendome Leauing then this abhominable errour to thinke anye further that the vniuersall Church hangeth on the Romane we wil speake of the thing that followeth the description which the holy Scripture maketh Ephe. 4. Rom. 8. Iohn 6. 1. Cor. 12. Ephe. 5 calling the Christian Church an assembly of Saints being called according to the ordinance of God in Iesus Christ and gathered from all the nations of the worlde by the preaching of the Gospell to the ende that they maye obtaine life euerlasting Also the Apostles haue spoken in the same sorte of the Christian Church They haue called it the house of God the body of Christ the edification of the same body For the building and entertainement of the which Saynt Paule sayth that God hath giuen fiue sortes of men Eph 4. which are the Prophets Apostles Euangelistes Doctors and Pastors The same Apostles doe alwayes witnesse that Iesus Christ hath receyued this honour of his Father to bee the onely head and soueraigne Pastor of his Church Furthermore Ephe. 1. hearken what Saint Paule sayth God saith he hath set Iesus Christ at his right hande in the heauenly places and hath subiected all things vnder him that he might be the heade of the Church where wee ought to note this that the Apostle wrote this after that Iesus Christ was ascended into heauen To the ende that the Pope which hath inuested himselfe into the Empyre of this diuine tytle Col. 2. might not saye that after his ascension the Church shoulde neede an other heade The which if it had beene a thing that were necessary the Apostle woulde neuer haue omitted and let passe such an Article of so great importance This is then a monstrous thing 1. Pet. 5. to giue to the Church two heads and soueraigne pastors It is to bee seene also then that concerning the gouernment and conduction of the same the holy Scripture maketh no mention of the primacie of Rome when as otherwise it nameth it a reuolt and an Apostate 2. Thes 2 thereby to describe and make it seeme odious to all good and well disposed people To be briefe the holy Scripture doth represent the holy Catholike christian church as one entire bodie hauing the mēbers therof dispersed throughout the whole world of the which bodie Christ is the onely head and the Churches dispearsed heere and there are members of the same Ephe. 1 Seeing then that there is but one Catholike Church it followeth that the Church of Rome cannot be it but onely a parte as a member of the bodie These reasons and authorities doe maintaine that the abouesayd Catholikes are nothing at all traiterous to the Christian Church when as they defend themselues their king and their Countrie as well agaynst the Spaniard Italian Lorraine as also finally against the Leaguers of the Countrie be they ecclesiastical or others Besides that the Catholikes which are enimies to the leaguers will answere that it is sufficient for them to auouch and acknowledge for their spirituall mother Hierusalem Gal. 4 which is on high which is free and called in the holy scriptures the mother of vs all they haue nothing then to doe with the terrestriall which is below 1. Cor. 12. Ephe. 4. and which ingendereth her children vnto bondage declared by Saint Paul to be enimies to the Church and not the others It is sufficient for Christians to be of the Christian church described by the Apostles in the which we consider three principall markes Rom. ◠The first consisteth in the doctrine as well of the lawe as of the Gospel being well applied and vnderstood The second in the right vsage of the Sacramentes The third in the obedience to the doctrine and ministrie therof when thou canst not denie but that by the wicked office and tyrannie of the Popes the essentiall markes of all things most necessarie to Christian religion are wanting for the most parte as hath beene amplie shewed vnto you in the discourse dedicated to the Nobilitie where hath beene prooued that yee haue lefte none of the Articles of the faith pure nor intire and that if there bee anie heretikes in the worlde thou and thy companions are they namely 1. Cor. 1. who by your traditions haue buried the benefites of the passion death resurrection and ascention of Iesus Christ which God onely hath made vnto vs wisedome righteousnesse sanctification and redemption Thus leauing this fountaine yee send your schollers to the Italian parchments bulles and traditions of Rome and yet notwithstanding thou giuest the allarum and causest fyre to come forth from the brambles Iudg. 9. to burne those that will not augment and defend thy cookerie together with thy tyrannie and Spanish inquisition and doest call the refusers of such treasons and cruelties heretikes and vnbeleeuers agaynst the Church sayth the pilgrime But thou oughtest to knowe that these good people are appointed to defend the veritie and puritie of christianitie and not the abuse of the Romish Church This beeing
considered applie that which thou doest adde vnto thy selfe and to thy fellowes that is that this heresie is the cause of all these present euilles remembring with thy selfe that for the massacres treasons and rebellions vengeaunce doth manifest it selfe from heauen agaynst the authours and executers thereof and not agaynst those which desire the reformation of the Church Gal. 5 Heere thou doest complaine that the vse of your Churches are diuerted and chaunged This is great pittie if it bee thus that they are not nowe prophaned as when the praises of the creatures were sung 1. Cor. 1. the which yee dyd there worshippe in the steade of the creator and as when hee preached the Romish tyrannie 2. Cor. 6 in stead of Christ crucified If one ought so to torment himselfe for the beating downe of the Churches alasse then how many of the faithfull haue yee massacred beeing the true temples of God I perceiue alwayes that thou fearest more some ecclesiasticall reformation than anie other thing causeth thee so to insist vppon the examples of the Emperours and kings which after theyr example haue induced the people to the chaunge of religion But remember thy selfe that in the eight Article I haue counselled thee to commit thy selfe and thine affayres vnto the Lorde and thou shalt finde reste in thy soule And as for the second remember thy selfe of the counsell which Gamaliel did giue vnto the chiefe Priests of Ierusalem saying If thy counsell bee of men it shall quickly fayle but if it be of God it will not moue Act 5. Now for the third it will bee proued that thy maxime is not alwayes true as the Christians of the primitiue Church doe witnesse and the faythfull of our time which doe loue better to die than to imitate the idolatrie of theyr forrayne Princes Finallie thou saiest that the plaintes contayned in this Article are sufficicient to draw downe the starres from heauen In deede you haue done that by the ministerie of your persecutions when as yee haue ouerthrowen and caused so many thousands of the faythfull to fall which are compared to the starres in the heauen Therefore thou doest falsely impute such slanders vppon those which doe defend theyr king and their Countrie Apoc. 6 as also thou doest declare thy selfe a traitor to Iesus Christ when in steade of defending the puritie veritie of his christian Church thou doest defende the abuses of the Romaine which is resistance and violence offerep vnto him The twelfth Article LOoking into the contents of the twelfth article wee shall finde that this leaguall aduocate saith that the Catholikes to whom he speaketh doe betray theyr kingdom and procure the desolation ruine of the same for proofe whereof first he saith that about thirtie yeres sithence this heresie made some woundes which do bleede yet Secondly that within these fifteene yeeres the king of Nauarre hath spoyled the realmes by strangers and hath vsed verie many barbarous actes of hostilitie and cruelties against the orders of the same Thirdly that he is a Nero in maliciousnesse and crueltie Fourthly from whence it followeth that it is verie badly done to giue the swoord of S. Paul into his hand and the key of Saint Peter And heerevpon this leaguer tormenteth himself cryeth help help my friends for these Catholikes are traitours vnto the Romish Catholike Church the which they would chase out of this Countrie of France contrarie to the prophesie of Saint Remye and such like as followeth And now for answere first I desire thee that seeing thou hast tooke paines to haue beene deliuered of these lying affirmations to bee patient to heare the denialles which are most true beginning then at the most generall pointes We answere in the first place that the aforesayd arguments haue beene sufficiently declared and verified that the Catholikes whereof thou speakest are not anie kinde of waie traiterous to Christian religion seeing that they are obedient vnto the commandements of the same inasmuch as they doe acknowledge the soueraigne magistrates Which it approoueth and commendeth in the behalfe of God their father Secondly we haue proued that the christian religion being folowed in the reformation of the same containeth no poynt of heresie Thirdly wee haue produced the diuersities of estates and difference of charges where it hath beene already shewed that the Noblemen and all other men of warre ought to suffice themselues with the corselet and sworde leauing the disputations of religion vnto the ecclesiasticall assemblies Fourthly heere must bee recited againe the fundamentall lawe which bindeth the Nobilitie to the establishing of the French Monarchie within the line of the bloud royall what loosenes woulde it bee accounted in the Noblemen if they should not imploye themselues with care against the enemies of the kingdome and aboue all against the Spanyardes which would at this daye not onely thrust out but also exterminate the king for euer if they could For the which cause I will alleadge a forceable saying of a Doctor being a late writer to this purpose speaking thus And as for this kind of people which do no seruice in the worlde but to shedde innocent bloud couering theyr cruelties with a cloake of religion I esteeme them worthie no other aunswere but that which is to be giuen to theeues which should pleade agaynst those which are impannelled for the country because they shoulde not carry the sworde for their defence And it maketh mee to remember this execrable Romaine Fimbria sayth hee the which hauing fayled to kill Sceuola threatned not to delay it because hee should not be left vnslaine Consider and apply this aunswere whilest that I doe visite the other arguments of thy Article Thou sayest that within these thirty yeares this heresie hath made some wounde that bleedeth yet vnto the which thou hast beene already aunswered that the abuses behauiours and conspiracies of the Guyze haue caused this mischiefe and not the reformation of the Church Thou addest also that within these fifteene yeares last past the king hath wasted Fraunce in exercising diuerse and moste cruell actions of hostilitie And to aunswere the same it hath beene sayde that by his meeknesse tollerations sufferances weet and gentle be hauiours his enemies haue obiected the contrary against him 1. Cor. 11. saying that hee vsed subtletie thereby to get the good will both of the one and the other Read and see and thou shalt finde that it was the Guize that playde the part of Nero and not the king But hee is an heretike saiest thou To this song hauing beene a thousand times repeated thou hast beene aunswered a hundred times pertinently and sufficiently and so much for this In the ende thou concludest that it is very ill doone to giue the sword of Saint Paule and the keyes of Saint Peter into his hande that is to saye to constitute him king The which poynt also hath beene amply and diuersly answered in the Articles going before where hath been proued