burthen light The which moueth a man to conceiue great hope of eschewing euill and liuing wel which hope consequently hart to do well a man cannot haue who perswadeth himself that Gods commandements be vnpossible to be obserued as I shewed before Againe it teacheth that as a man may by grace auoid sinne and easily keepe Gods commandements by doing good workes liue well so this good life is pleasing acceptable vnto God and these good workes as proceeding from grace and receiuing vertue froÌ„ the merits of Christ of which this grace doth depend are meritorious and such for reward whereof God will giue to them that perseuerantly do them euerlasting blisse in the kingdome of heauen The which doctrine will doubtlesse if it be duely considered breed in a mans mind great loue and delight to doe well as the contrary must needs breed at least a coldnes in deuotion if not a contempt loathing of good deeds and specially of those good deeds which haue any difficulty annexed to them It teacheth also that for sinners are prepared exceeding great punishments in the next life and that though there be meanes in the Church to get remission of sin pardon of the paine yet it teacheth that a man caÌ„not ordinarily be absolutely certaine that hee hath so vsed those meanes as that hee hath thereby gotten that remissioÌ„ or pardon which is a great motiue to make men wary not to fall into sinne and to moue them Cum metu tremore operari salutem with feare and trembling to worke their saluation whereas Protestants vpon supposed certainety of saluation cast away this holesome feare and so may easily become carelesse of auoiding any sinne Furthermore it prescribeth holesome lawes and customes of fasting and prayer and of other exercises of vertue piety wherby the flesh may be subiect to the spirit and the spirit to God It maintaineth also secret confession of sinnes to a Priest as being a thing necessary and commanded by our Sauiour himselfe the which both is a great bridle to hold men backe from sinne as experience teacheth and is a speciall meanes whereby the Pastours of the Church knowing the inward coÌ„science of their flocke may better apply fitte remedies to their spirituall diseases prescribe to euery one fit exercises for their practise and progresse in vertue Finally the profession of this Church is such that euen simple Protestants when they see any Catholique do a thing amisse will ordinarily say You should not thus or a man of your profession should doe otherwise So that those which be sinful in the Roman Church cannot in any sort ascribe their sinnes to any defect or peruersity of the doctrine of the Church but must needes acknowledge theÌ„ to proceed froÌ„ their own frailty or malice coÌ„trary to the teaching of the Church sometimes eueÌ„ coÌ„trary to their owne conscience actuall knowledge Wherefore I may conclude that although there be some sinfull men in the Romane Church yet it may well be called Holy because the doctrine which it beleeueth and professeth of it owne nature enclineth and directeth a man to the true holines and consequently is of it selfe holy and also because there be many holy persons in it some of which are certainely knowne in particuler to be such by proofe of miracle others are onely knowne by this probable reason to wit that they hold the same faith which was holden by those who haue bin certainely knowen holy men and houlding the same faith which must needs be the true faith sith none are truly holy or can possibly please God without the right faith which is but one they haue in them a root out of which true holines is apte to spring and therefore when wee see no apparant euill fruite whereby wee may discouer some euill roote but only good which is apt to spring of this good root and especially when we see the fruite of their good workes to be conformable like to the workes of those which are knowne Saints wee haue great cause to iudge that they also are iust men and in some sorte holy if not perfectly Saintes Sith therfore many men which haue bin and are members of the Romane Church haue beene and are knowne either by absolute proofe of miracle or at least in this other manner to be holy Of these as of the better more worthy and principall part the whole may be as I said before tearmed holy as a tree that hauing a roote apte to giue life to the braunches some of which being deade others haue life is absolutely said to be aliue which if wee should see to haue a corrupted roote and could not perceiue it to haue any liuing braunches wee should haue cause to affirme absolutely that it were dead and not aliue §. III. That the Romane Church onelie is Catholique THIRDLY I finde that the Protestants company is not Catholique that is to say vniuersall neither in time nor in place for it came vp of late and is but in few places of Christendome neither in points of doctrine for their doctrine consisteth chiefely of negatiues that is to say in denying diuers pointes which haue beene generally held in former ages as appeareth by the Chronicles of the Magdâ—burgenses their owne doctors who confesse that the ancient Fathers held this and that which they now deny And there is no learned Protestant vnles he be too too impudent but he will confesse that there cannot bee assigned a visible company of men professing the same faith which they doe euer since Christ his time continuing without interruption till now And therefore will he nill he he must confesse that the Protestants Church is not vniuersall and therefore not Catholique as out of Scripture I shewed Christs true Church must be But the Romaine Church is Catholique For first it hath bene continually without ceasing since Christ and his Apostles time stil visibly though sometimes in persecution professing the same faith which is receiued from the Apostles without change tilâ— this day It is therefore Catholique or vniuersall in time It hath also had and hath at this day some in euery countrey where there are any Christians which is almost if not absolutely euery where that communicateth and agreeth with it in profession of faith Therefore it is also Catholique or vniuersall in place It teacheth also an vniuersall and most ample vniforme doctrine of God of angels of all other creatures specially of man of mans first framing of his finall end of things pertaining to his nature of his fall by sinne of his reparation by grace of lawes prescribed vnto him of vertues which hee ought to embrace of vices which hee ought to eschew of Christ our Redeemer his Incarnation life death resurrection ascension and comming again to IudgemeÌ„t of Sacraments and all other things that any way pertaine to Christian religion Neither doth it at this day denie any one point of doctrine of faith which in former times
any reason The which briefe compendious resolutioÌ„ of faith whosoeuer will as euery one may securely and as in the discourse following shall bee declared must necessarily embrace beside the ease he shall also reape this commoditie that cutting of all occasions of needlesse and fruitelesse doubtes questions and disputes concerning matters of faith wherein vnsettled mindes spend their time and spirit hee shall haue good leisure and better likinge then ordinarily such vnquiet mindes can haue to emploie his endeuoures more fruitfully otherwaies to witte in building vpon the firme foundation of stedfast faith the gould pretious stones of Gods loue and other vertues in practise whereof consisteth that good life which maketh a man become the liuing temple of almightie God the which temple Gods spirit will not only visitte with holy inspirations blessings oftentimes in this life but he will also inhabite and dwell continually in it both by grace here and by glory in the other most happy and euerlasting life A TREATISE OF FAITH CHAP. I. That true faith is absolutely necessarie to saluation WHosoeuer hath a true desire to please God an earnest care to saue his owne soule the which should bee the chiefest desire and care of euery Christian man must first resolue and settle himselfe in a sound beliefe of matters of faith holding it for a most assured ground That there is a faith which whosoeuer wanteth cannot possibly please God nor consequently be saued sith none are saued that do not please God This ground is set downe by S. Paul himselfe who saith Sine fide impossibile est placere Deo without faith it is vnpossible to please God The same is confirmed by S. Augustine who saith Constat neminem ad veram posse peruenire beatitudinem nisi Dâ—o placeat Deo neminem placere posse nisi per fidem Fides namque est bonorum omnium fundamentum Fides est humanae salutis initium Sine hac nemo ad siliorum Dei consortium peruenire potest quia sine ipsa nec in hoc seculo quisquam iustificationis consequitur gratiam nec in futuro vitam possidebit aeternam It is certaine that none can come to true happines vnlesse he please God and that none can please God but by faith For faith is the foundation of all good things Faith is the beginning of mans saluation Without this none can come to the fellowship of the children of God because without this neither doth any in this world obtaine the grace of iustification neither shall he in the next possesse eternall life Thus faith S. Austen And the same might bee confirmed out of other Scriptures and Fathers but that the matter is cleare enough onely this I will adde that when the Scriptures do require faith as a thing absolutely necessary to saluatioÌ„ the common tradition of councells and Fathers do interpret not only that there is a positiue precept of faith for if it were but a positiue precept ignorance might excuse in some case but that at least some kinde of faith is necessaria necessitate medij that is to say is ordained as a necessary meanes without which no man can attaine saluation in any case and that in this matter Si quis ignorat ignorabitur If any man by ignorance doe not know he shall not be knowne as S. Paule speaketh CHAP. II. That this faith necessary to saluation is but one THis faith which I haue shewed to be so absolutely necessary to saluation is but One only This is plainly proued out of S. Paule who saith Vnus Dominus vna fides vnum baptisma signifying that like as there is but one Lord one Baptisme so there is but One faith The same is confirmed with the auctoritie of the ancient Fathers Nisi vna est saith S. Leo. Fides non est dicente apostolo vnus Dominus vna fides vnum baptisma Vnlesse it be one it is not faith sith the Apostle saith one Lord one faith one Baptisme Omni studio saith S. Hierome Laborandum est primùm occurrere in fidei vnitatem We must labour with all diligence first to meete in the vnity of faith Hanc fidem saith Irenaeus ecclesia in vniuersum mundum disseminata diligenter custodit quasi vnam domum inhabitans similiter credit ijs quasi vnam animam habens vnum cor consonanter haec praedicat docet tradit quasi vnum possidens os Nâ— quamuis in mundo dissimiles sint loquelae tames virtus traditionis vna eadem est This faith the Church spreade ouer the vvhole world doth diligently keep as dwelling in one house and doth belieue in one like manner those things to witt which are proposed for pointes of faith as hauing one soule and one heart and doth preach and teach and deliuer by tradition those things after one vniforme manner as possessing one mouth For although there be diuers and different languages in the world yet the vertue of tradition is One and the same Thus saith this Father By whose words we may vnderstand not onely that there is but one faith but also how it is saide to bee one which might seeme not to be one considering there are so many points or articles which we beleeue by our faith and so many seuerall men who haue in them this faith yet One saith this Father it is because the whole Church doth beleeue those pointes in one like manner That is to say because the beliefe of one man is in all pointes like and nothing different from the beliefe of another or because euery faithful maÌ„ beleeueth euery point or article for one and the like cause or formall reason to witt because God hath reuealed it and deliuered it to vs by his Catholike Church to be beleeued For which reason euery one should beleeue whatsoeuer hee belieueth as a point of Christian faith CHAP. III. That this one faith necessary to saluation is infallible THIS one faith without which we cannot be saued must be infallible most certaine This is cleare because faith is that credite or inward assent of minde which we giue to that which God who is the prime or first veritie which neither can deceiue nor be deceiued hath reuealed vnto vs by meanes of the preachinge or teachinge of the true church as we may gather out of S. Paule when he saieth Quomodo credent ei quem non audierunt quomodo andient sine praedicante quomodo praedicabunt nisimittantur c. ergo fides ex auditu auditus autem per verbum Christi The sense of which wordes is that sith we can not beleeue vnles we heare nor heare vnles some lawfully sent do preach vnto vs faith is bredde in vs by hearing and yeelding assent or credite to the worde of Christ made knowen vnto vs by the preachinge of the true Church which onely is lawfully sent of God wherefore like as the worde of Christ being God
neglect all endeuour in the study and practise of vertue and to cast away care of auoiding sinne and vice consider whether this can bee a good tree which of it owne nature bringeth forth so bad fruite And see whether this company which teacheth and beleeueth such points of vnholy doctrine can possiblie be a Holy Church In the Romane Church I confesse there be some sinfull folke all in it are not good For the Church is called nigra formosa blacke and faire in it are mixed good and bad as out of diuers parables of our Sauiour I proued before But there are two differences betwixt the sinfull which are in the Romaine Church and those which are among Sectaries The first difference is that among heretiques there are none which wee may call truely holy of which as of the better or more worthy part their congregation may be tearmed holy as the Romane Church may It may bee perhaps that one may finde diuers of them who abstaine from grosse outward sinnes as stealing swearing c. And that some of them doe many workes morally good as to giue almes to the needie and that they liue at least in outward shew in vpright and moderate sort But alas these be not sufficient or certaine signes of sanctitie all this perhaps farre more we may reade of heathen Philosophers these outward actions may proceed of naturall sometime of sinnefull motiues and consequeÌ„tly they may be very farre from true holines which must be grouÌ„ded in true charitie for as S. Paule saith to distribute all that one hath to feed the poore or to giue ones bodie to burne doth nothing auaile without charity which charity must proceede de corde puro conscientia bona fide non ficta out of a pure harte a good conscience and an vnfained faith The which things being most inward and consequeÌ„tly hidden and secret cannot sufficiently be shewed to others by those outward actions which may come from other causes as soone as from these Nay they can not be knowen certainely of the party himselfe For nâ—sâ—it homo vtrum odio vel â—more dignus sit a man knoweth not whether he be worthy of hate or loue and quis potest dicere mundum est cor meum who can say my hart is cleane but these things are reserued to him onely qui scrutatur cordâ— who searcheth the harts to witte almightie God and it cannot be perfitely knowen of men who haue them truely and consequently who be truely saints vnles it please him to reueale it by miracle or some other certaine way vnto vs. But hitherto it was neuer heard that almightie God did by miracle or any such certaine way giue testimony that either Luther or Caluin or any of their fellowes or followers had in them this true holines or that they were Saints but rather while as they presumptuously attempted to worke miracles it hath pleased God by giuing either none or euill successe to testifie that they were not Saints Whereas on the contrary syde it hath pleased God to giue testimony by miracles of the faith and holines of life of diuers which professed the Romaine faith of which sort I might bring in many examples but I will at this time onely name S. Bernard S. Dominike S. Frauncis who on the one side were certainely knowen to haue bin professours of that religion which was then is now professed at Rome as may appeare both by that which is left written of their liues also by this that they were chiefe fathers and founders of certaine Religious orders of Monkes and Friers which yet continue there on the other side they are certainly knowen to be holy men partly by their sober chast vertuous life partly by the guift of miracles in so much that euen Luther himselfe and other of our aduersaries confesse them to haue beene Saints The which being confessed of these must needes inferre the like confession of the sanctitie of many other who were also professors of the same Romane faith whose names we may finde registred in the Calender euen in bookes sett out by Protestants and whose vertuous life holy death miraculous deedes we may find in good authours See Saint Athanas. in vita S. Antonij apud Surium S. Bernard in vita S. Malachiae S. Antoninus 3. parte hist. titulo 23. 24. Surius throughout his large volumes of the liues of Saints others Now this being coÌ„fessed that diuers whom we know to haue bene members of the Romane Church are saincts we may well inferre that at least some part of this Church is holy and that therfore of this part per synecdochen the whole may be tearmed holy especially considering that the faith of this part which was a principall roote out of which their holines did spring is all one in substance with the faith which we all professe and therefore we may say that our faith and profession enclineth and leadeth to the same holines of life that theirs did And therefore though many through their owne fault faile in the practise of vertue and holines yet our profession being all one with the professioÌ„ of these holy men is to be tearmed holy as theirs was Of which holy profession in some sort all our whole companie may be called holy as of the art of painting or any other art all that professe them are commoÌ„ly tearmed by a name proper to their professioÌ„ though it happen that diuers of them be not very skilfull nor doe not much exercise his art And from hence riseth the second difference betwixt Protestantes and vs to wit that the very doctrine it selfe which Protestantes teach doth as I shewed before induce men to libertie and consequently to lewde life whereas the Romane faith which wee professe both expressely forbiddeth all vice and prescribeth lawes contrary to liberty and loosenes of life containeth most soueraigne meanes to incite and moue a man to all perfite vertue and holines of life As for example It teacheth that notwithstanding the presence or predestination of Almighty God maÌ„ hath free-will wherwith being ayded by Gods grace which grace through the merit of Christs Passion is ready for all that with humble deuout and perseuerant prayer will aske by frequenting in due sort the holy Sacraments will seeke for it he may auoid sinne and embrace vertue the which taketh away despaire of shunning euill and doing well which easily followeth of the contrary opinion It teacheth also that Gods commaÌ„dements be not vnpossible to be obserued nay nor hard through helpe of grace which is alwaies at hand to be obserued of one which hath but a good will according as S. Iohn saith mandata eius grauia non sunt his commaÌ„demeÌ„ts be not heauy yea that they may by the same grace be easily obserued according to that of our Sauiour Iugum meum suaue onus meum leue my yoke is sweet my
continued against it as in all heresies that haue spronge vp of new we can doe If there could not a little ceremonie be added to the Masse but that it was set downe in history when and by whom how could the whole substance of the Masse which consisteth in consecration oblation and consumption of the sacred Hoast be newly inuented and no mention made when or by whom or that euer there was any such new inuention at all If also historiographers were not afraide to note personall and priuate vices of the Popes themselues which they might well think Popes would not willingly haue made open to the world why should they haue feared to haue recorded any alteration in religion Which if it had beene had beene a thing done publikely in the view of the whole world or if there were any feare or flattery which might tye the tongues and pennes of those that liued neare hand that they durst not or would not mention such a matter yet doubtlesse others which liued in places further off should not haue had those causes and consequently would not haue kept secret such an open and important a thing as this If lastly the histories which make mention of these priuate vices of Popes and other Christian Princes could not onely first come out but also continue without touch till these latter times what reason can any haue to doubte or dreame but that the like would haue beene set out about the alteration of religion if it had happened and that if any such history reporting any true accident of alteration or change of religion had come out it should partly by Gods prouidence partly by humane diligence haue bin preserued till these our daies especially cōsidering that such records had beene so requisite for discerning the ancient vnchanged true Christian religion from vpstart nouelty which must needes bee false So that we may well conclude that if Christian religion had since the Apostles time altered in Rome it would haue bin recorded in histories as other things and especially such notable alterations are recorded and those histories would haue beene preserued till this day as other Christian monuments haue beene preserued euen in time of persecution yea euen then when the persecutors made particuler enquiry for Christian bookes to burne or consume them But in those auncient histories there is no mention made of any such alteration of religion in Rome Wherefore it followeth that there was no such alteration or change at all No such alteration being made it is euident that the same faith and religion which was in Saint Paules time hath alwaies continued is there now That which was there then was the true faith and religion as appeareth by that high commendation which Saint Paule hath left written of it Therefore that which is there now must needes bee the onely true holy and Catholique faith and that company which professeth it must needes bee the Onely true Holy and Catholique Church Neither can I see what answere can with any probability be forged against this reason For to say that the errours of the Church of Rome crept in by little and little and so for the littlenes of the thing or for the negligence of the Pastors were not espied is an Idle fiction already refuted For first those matters which the Protestantes call errours in the Romane Church be not so little matters but that lesse euen in the like kinde are ordinarily recorded in stories Nay some of them are in the Protestants conceipts consequently if men of olde time had beene Protestants they would haue beene also in their conceipts as grosse superstition as Paganisme it selfe namely to adore Christ our Sauiour as being really and substantially present in the Blessed Sacrament the which Sacrament Protestants hold to be really and substantially but a bare peece of bread Also the Protestants account the vse of the Images to be Idolatry and say very ignorantly or maliciously that wee adore stockes and stones as the Panims did The which thinges could not so haue crept in by little and little but they must needes be espied Neither could the Pastours of the Church at any time be so simple and ignorant so sleepy and negligent but they must needes haue seene and seeing must needes in some sort haue resisted as before I haue said For to imagine all the Pastours of any one age to haue beene in such a deepe Lethargicall and deadlie sleepe that they could not onely not perceiue when the enemy should ouer sow Cockle in the harts of some but also when this Cockle of false beliefe should grow to outward action and especially to publike practise the which could not be but most apparant to imagine I say all the Pastors to be so simple and sleepy not then to marke or not to resist is rather the dreame of a proud man in his sleepe who is apte to thinke all men fooles beside himselfe then a iudiciall conceipte of a waking man of any vnderstanding who ought to thinke of things past either according to the verity recorded in stories or when this faileth by comparing the likelihood of that which hee thinketh was done by men of that time with that which most men of their quality would do in like case Finally if these were so and that the Church did by this meanes for so long space in such important matters vniuersally erre neglexerit Officium Spiritus Sanctus as Tertullian speaketh refuting the like cauill of heretiques the holy Ghost should haue neglected his office which is as I haue proued before out of Scripture not to permit the vniuersall Church to fall into errour but to suggest vnto it all things that Christ said vnto it and to teach it all truth §. IIII. That the Romane Church onely is Apostolique FOurthly I finde that the Protestants Church is not Apostolique Because they can not deriue the Pedegree of their preachers lineally without interruption from the Apostles but are forced to acknowledge some other as Luther or Caluin or some such for their first founders in this their new faith from whome they may perhaps shew some succession of the preachers of their faith but they can neuer shew that Luther or Caluin themselues wsto liued within this hundred yeares did either lawfully succeede or was lawfully sent to teach this new faith by any Apostolique Bishop or Pastour Nay Luther himselfe doth not onely confesse but also bragge that he was the first preacher of this new found faith Christum à nobis primo vulgatum audemns gloriari saieth hee we darre boast that Christ was first published by vs. For which his glorious boasting me thinkes hee deserueth well that title which Optatus giueth vnto Victor the first Bishop of the Donatists to wit to be called filius sine patre Discipulus sine magistro a sonne without a father a disciple without a maister On the cōtrary side the Romane Church can shew a lineall succession of their Bishops