¶ AN Oration of Ihon Fabritius Montanus VVherby he teacheth that Christian men cannot resorte to the Councel of Trent without committing an haynous offence Englyshed by L. A. ☜ ⸫ ☞ ¶ Newelye set forth and allowed accordynge to the order appoynted in the Quenes Maiestyes Iniunctions I C ¶ The Preface of the Translatour to the Reader IOHN Fabritius Montanus a man as it appeareth both lerned and zelous at what time this last generall Counsell was solemly proclamed and publyshed to be holden at Trent by thaucthoritie of the Pope seing such large placardes and priuileges of safeconduicte for al nations to resorte thither so formally by him sent abroad in euery quarter and fearing lest emongest the people of God some such as were simple might thereby easelye be entrapped and vnder the glorious name of their priuileges fall into their enemies handes thoughte it good yea to be his duetie also beynge him selfe a ministre of the Churche of God not onelye to publyshe to the christian worlde that if they should ioine them selues with thys denne of theefes and Sinagoge of Sathan where Antichryst himself â—…etteth as Iudge it should not be onelye perillous for theyr owne persons but also contumeliouse to the maiestie of God hurteful to theyr neyghbours yea and iniuriouse to Gods truth The whych thyng truly in my opinion he hath so fully so eloquently so compendiouslye and so sufficientelye done in this shorte oracion that this onelye maye wel suffice to harnesse anye man agayne the subtil perswasions of oure aduersaryes and to strengthen otherwyse the weake conscieÌ„ces of Gods people who thoughte it theyr bounden duetye to be presente at suche assemblyes there to dyspute of matters of Religion or at the leaste wyse to propone or make protestacion of theyr saith This oracion althoughe it were by Iohn Fabritius Montanus published in Latin to al that vnderstode that tonge in due tyme before the councell was fullye assembled so that thereby some fruit and commoditie was or myght haue been taken thereof yet I thou ghte it not altogether vnprofitable nowe also to translate the same into our Englishe tong to thend that such as are vnlearned and ignoraunt in thother may sée the censure and iudgement of this learned man in this behalfe especially seing euen thunlearned of our aduersaries do so much at thys daye crye out for generall Councels for the stablishment of religion and geue so muche credyte and aucihoritie to them as to the most holy worde of God Take this gentle reader for the fyrste fruictes of my labour vntyl suche tyme as God by hys heauenly dewe shall multyply and increase the same ¶ An Oration of Ihon Fabritius Montanus whereby he teacheth that Christien men can not resort to the Councell of Trent without committing an haynous offence HAuinge alwaies wythdrawen my mynde from trouble some consultations in this so great a broyle both of mindes and studies I thought it good to be in quiet and at rest vntill such time as I might frely both in truth and conscience do the saine especyally because I knewe well enough that men both of excellent wit and learninge haue he therto pleaded defended this oure common cause mightelye and with suche greate force as was sufficient and able to breake the fearcenes of our aduersaries But this notwithstandyng their malapart and leude bragges haue at the length vanquished and broken of thys my longe sylence They are now assembled at Trent wherevnto they do call verye arrogantly by a cercayne wryting publickely to that ende set forth at Venyse all and euery of vs whiche do professe the Gospell of Chryst whiche thing truelye is not at all to be meruailed at seing they according to their aucthoritie which to themselues they do chaleng and vsurpe do imperiously tryumph both ouer Kynges and Monarches But yet they handle this their cause so craftely subtilly that vnlesse their put poses be preuented it is a great halsard to be feared lest there w t thei begile such as be simple Now therfore the time requireth that good men shoulde arme them selfes and ioyne their powers and force together In thys armye or expedicion if I were assigned only to go with the cariage truely I woulde willingly take it vpon me But forsomuch as we are set vpon and assalted of our enemies by ambusshes I thinke it good y t we fight aloofe the whyche thinge I woulde the Christian reader to whom I now speake to vnderstand lest any man should sclaunderouslye say y t I did refuse againe y t battaile which euen nowe I semed so hastly to requyre Our enemies haue chosen Trent as a place for theyr am bushes in my opinion truelye not much vnlike to the forkes or Gibettes of Caudis wherinto wheÌ„ the Romaine hostes had ron hedlong being entrapped by the pollicie of theyr enemies thei made amendes for theyr folye with theyr old accustomed manhod and prowesse Those forkes of Caudis those Dennes I meane of Counciles haue sondrye tymes deceaued and endomagid oure menne It is tyme therefore that wee shoulde at the length awake and wyth wysedome take head of and foresee those wyles whyche once or twyse we haue alreadye felte Yet notwythstandynge in the meane tyme suche as are simple must be taughte why we seynge oure enemyes wyll not encounter wyth vs in playne batcayle oughte not to goo into their campes lest we shoulde seme by forsakynge oure standinge to forsake also the ryghte of oure cause If I therefore shall also take vpon me to teache this thinge what teacher of y e gospell caÌ„ accuse or blame me but he muste also accuse and blame himselfe of neglectynge and lettynge passe his owne office and dewety For howe manye soeuer wee bee in nomber we are called euerye one vnto this Councile what meruaile is it then if I thinke that whyche we al and euery one of vs are equal lye carged with to be also common to me aswel as to the rest of the ministers of the church that is to say to wytnesse and declare to the Christyan worlde that there can no iuste and mete causes be founde for vs to go to this Councile but rather that innumerable and great causes may be shewed to esche we and fiye the same For there is none so doltishe who dothe not see that there canne be no iust cause why any maÌ„ should hassarde and cast himselfe into open peryll which is ioyned with the damage of the truth the contumely of God the harme of his neighbour In a matter so playne and manifest I neade not longe to stand aboute the profe thereof The holye men of God do knowe that all Chrystian actions are chyefelye to be referred to thonely Glorye of GOD as to a marke from the whiche if they go a wrye it must neades be that both y e truth muste be in hassarde and the healthe of the soule also in daunger and ieopardye But here some may doubt whether our going to Trent if we
to entre into y e dore therof But graunt that we should be better vsed whiche neuerthelesse is not credible what shalbe or can be the cōditions of this disputation so long as these lawes which our aduersaries prescribe do stād Or what certentie cā we haue whē thonly rule of certain tie is taken awaye But admit y t al things are redy that both Gods lawe mans lawe agree to vs yet who shalbe our iudges who shalbe our vmpires Truely euē they whō experience hath taught long sithēs to be our deadly mortal enemies who also haue solemnly sworne expresly cōspired oure destruction what equitie or iustice cā any man loke for at these iudgeshāds What if the Papistes such is their boldenes do forthwith write thactes of the Councel what if they faine y t a matter is lawfully discussed after diligent knowledge therof had do decree that we should be published for most greuous heretikes worthy of most seuere sharpe punishment Truely we shall neuer hereafter so wel wipe away this crime but that some suspition therof wyll for euer remayne in the mindes of the symple Here peraduenture some of oure menne wylbe earnest and thynke thus with hym selfe that althoughe all other thynges be denyed vnto theym yet at the least wise they shall haue liberty to propone and set sorth our doctrine before theyr eyes and that this proposicion shal containe a forme of protestacion as they cal it or rather of confession But I truelye do not see what it profiteth to doble repete or witnesse one thynge so often tymes to these felowes especiallye whyche of the thynge it selfe haue geuen vnto our men the name of Protestāts because they forsothe often declared by professinge alwayes on thyng of what opinion they were We reade also y t the holy Martyrs of Christe haue defended their causes beefore wycked Iudges but we neuer read that they haue wyllyngly presented theyr causes before them Our Lord also wylleth his to beware of those menne whych shal delyuer them vp to the Counciles and scourge them in theyr Sinagoges He dothe not then saye thruste youre selues willyngelye into their Councels and take them to be Iudges of you and your causes whom you knowe wyl be enemyes and Iniuriouse bothe to you and youre cause also Paule the apostle rather then hee woulde cōmit his cause to the Iewes whō he knew to be his enemies thought it better to appeale to y e Iudgment of Themperour This exāple folowed Athanasius Cirillus Nazianienus and wyth al diligence eschewed the conuenticles of Heritykes Therefore where so manye and soo greate difficultyes be I cannot see what we haue to do at Trente this one thinge excepte that is to saye to offre agayne wyllyngelye to our enemyes that thing for thobtayning and gettinge by force whereof wee haue beene at this great and continuall warre with them so long For if the right of Calling Sinodes doe not pertayne to the Popes neither by the lawe of God nor manne No more trulye although some tyme it had appertained it is now to be permitted or graunted to them in their owne case beyng called vnto Iudgement to be bothe Iudges and parties We therfore which are not called to a Coūcile but to the dragges and filth of the Courte of Rome wil neuer so behaue our selues that we shall be sayd by oure Obedience to haue deliuered and as it wer sealed into their hands that power which bothe the lawes of God and also of men haue cleane taken from them But if the obedience of subiectes be limitted wyth the power and right of the Superioure and yet suche as we oure selues are do cal forth Kinges and Emperours to Counciles by our presence trulye to our power and as muche as in vs doth lye we shoulde arme the Pope also against Christin Princes and thorough our most vniust iudgemēt we shold not only offēd al other Christiās which vpō waightie occasions haue abstained frō this meeting but also make thē both hate vs and also to be more hated of y e Papists This y e Princes of Germany vnderstod wel enough who in their last metig at Neoburgh did stoutly reiect y e stinking request of the Pope They sayde that they meruayled much to se him so shamelesse that he was not a bashed to prescribe things also to them of whō he was him selfe accused of treadinge religion vnder foote who also had made a violēt vniust title to y e possessiō of y e Church wherfore that he shold mocke others who knewe not as yet the Romish fraudes guiles as for thē selues who knew thē sufficientelie enoughe they would not seine onelye to knowe them but also to foresee them Mooreouer this is not to be omitted that if at any time wee shoulde be admitted to theyr assemblyes we muste vouchsaufe to terme this rable of mitred felowes by the name of Fathers yea and that moste holye or at the leste wyse moste reuerende Fathers For it is not mete that any man should come to speake his minde withoute some Preface of dignitye and honor especiallye in their presence whose pride and ambicion wil neuer be satisiied But with what countenaunce or cōscience shall wee speake vnto them reuerentlye to whome what honor or reuerence so euer we shewe wee pull that all frome Chryste and his Churche I haue nowe proued I thinke sufficientelye that there bee no iuste causes at all why we should go to Trent but rather verye many and those moste wayghty occasions to be agaynste this Iorneye and so consequentlye that oure menne can by no meanes goe to this Councile withoute committinge a most haynous cryme And albeit we do condemne and eschewe theese Romishe Sinagoges we doe not also therefore abhorre and flie from all Christian assēblyes but we acknowlege and confesse most playnely that if anye excellynge others in Learning Godlynes and Iudgement be dewlye called to a lawful Councile thei cannot refuse this charge laid vpon them withoute incurringe the greuous indignacion of God and also y e iust displeasure of al estates of mē But y t there may be a good ende of Counciles it is also requisite that y e things tending to this ende should be wel set in order If therfore Christian Prynces to whom this charge doth chiefeli pertaine do settle their myndes earnestelye to reforme the church they wil set to their helping hāds al together so that y e Councel may bein very deade Catholicke as it is in name termed But it as the tymes be nowe theyr godlye enterpryses cannot haue good successe then it remayneth that euery one of them shoulde employe that care and diligence in his one kingdom countrye which they purposed al at once to bestow in general Let thē therefore endeuor to call nationall or prouinciall assemblyes the whyche not wythstanding I woulde not so restrayne but that straungers also shoulde haue free accesse thereto so that they were suche men by whose presence the companie might be adourned and helped Lette them also prouide that the place maye be free and voyde from al kynde of feare dreade let there also bee sufficiente Pryuileges and warrauntes of safe conducte Let the voyces and elections be also free Let the wayes be also safe and not perillous thorough Ambushes and wiles And yet lette all this libertye bee bounden and limytted with the lawes of equitie so that no manne maye do anye thing more then the rule of piety shal permytte And that this maye the better be doone this Councile must be Chrystian whyche notwythstanding stretcheth farre wyde For y e cānot be Chrystian whych doth not referre all his doings to the rule of Chryste and his Apostles comprehended in holy Scriptures whiche doth not also agree altogether in al poynts whych Chrystiā manners and finallye wyth the Chrystian examples of the pure Churche That this Coūcel also shuldbe Christiā let y e matters which are incontrouersy be debated not w t hatred but modestly according to Christiā charity bi such lawes as seme to be apoynted for tho pening of the truthe not for the darkening thereof But how far am I gone mine entente was to teach you y e we ought vpon greete consideracions not to go to Trent The whyche thynge yf I haue broughte to passe then haue I also fynished and accomplyshed that whyche I toke in hande And thus I make an ende Imprynted at London in Powles Churcheyard by Humfrie Toye dwellynge at the sygne of the Helmet Cum priuilegio ad imprimendum solum 7. Aeneid Psalm xv Psal ◠Math.
pryuate brayne but of the consent and agremēt of the whole Churche Se how these felowes haue al at ones cast of al shame We do not refuse thagremente of the pure Churche consentyng wyth the Scripture but reuerentlye embrace the same But oure chefest controuersy with our aduersaryes whyche abuse the woorde or name of the Churche is about the certaynetye and aucthorytye of the Scripturs For they whē they haue once presumed to take the Scripture to be vnperfecte they do forthe wyth inferre that it is also vncertayne and therefore they saye that it hathe neade not onelye to be supplyed wyth tradicions but also to be determined and established by the Churche We on thother side do teache that the holye Scryptures the very word of God I saye comprehended in wrytyng doth perfectly and sufficiently contayne in it self al the chiefe poyntes of our salnaciō and therfore that this is thonlye certayne and infallible rule to examine al doctrynes opinions And thus it is playne and manifest vpō what poynt this controuersie dependeth For the questiō is whether the scripture be of greater perfectiō certaintie aucthoritie or y t tradicions by what name soeuer they cal thē whiche notw tstāding they haue boūded limitted almost w t the lyuely wordes of Thapostles y e custome of the Church y t answers of y e bishops and y e determinacions of y e fathers but by what ryghte or wronge it is not now to be spokē But if y e Scriptur which we presently haue be y e voyce of y t prophetes apostles lefte vnto vs in writing If the Church be gathered together knowen preserued by this doctrine whiche is the word of God If Coūciles haue for y e more part erred maye yet erre◠and as it were doe kill one another wyth mutuall decrees If the Bis◅ops of Rome for the space of some hundrethes of yeres past haue done nothing well nor from henceforth perchaunce can do any thinge well so longe as they occupye and enioy this pestilente See If finallye the fathers them selfes which be of the better sort do sende vs to the scryptures Tell me I beseche you for Gods sake what cause can their be any more why we should suffre ourselues to be caryed and ledde away from the Scriptures vnto tradicions from a thinge certaine to that which is more vncertayne And albeit the case standeth thus as you see yet these vnholye felowes are not ashamed yet stil to sai that ther controuersy with vs is onelye touchyng thinterpretation not thaucthoritie or certentie of the Scryptures The which thing if they wyll graunt vnto vs they must neades also confesse them selfes to be dryuen awaye from theyr chefest bulwarke For yf we must wholye rest in thaucthoritie of the Scripture then away with al other by waies and startinge holes wherein they put al the whole strength and some of their disputation But you wyl say the Scripture hath nede of interpretaciō I agre therto Againe it maketh much to y e matter what sense euery man frameth thereto True it is in deade But seing the Scripture doth interprete and expounde it selfe we wil also vse that rule of interpretation which it selfe hath heretofore taught vs and we will not herevnto bryng any other thinge then faith and loue ioyned with sobre and syncere dexteritie But I am gone further thē I purposed for to entreate hereof requyreth both an other place and also tyme But this one thing I saye If theese felowes take the Scriptures to bee of suche aucthoritie as they make a shew and countenaūce of Whye do they not leaue that to vs as an onelye rule whye do they restrayne it wyth so manye impedimentes and lettes why do they call backe agayne with their craftie triflynge that whyche they did once graunte fynallie why do they torne and chang themselues into so many formes and shapes at once For if they go about to bryng al the whole controuersie to thinterpretacion of the Scripture onely go to in Gods name let vs haue equall iudges let vs encountre together and let it also be knowen whither parte doth folowe or refuse thoose lawes of interpretynge whyche we haue receyued of Christ and his apostles But seynge that hitherto we coulde obtayne no such thing of our aduersaryes it is manifeste that they doe mocke vs wyth iouglyng wordes haue some other secrete meaning then they seame openlye to shew But this is no newe or vnacustomed thyng vnder y e clocke of truthe to go aboute to suppresse the truthe This chaunceth hereof that Satan who transformeth himselfe often times into an Angel of lyghte hath bene accustomed to set goodly gloryous titles before his wickednes For yf all assēblyes whatsoeuer they be whiche are reckoned vnder the name of Coūciles had neuer erred nor cold at this daye erre then most woorthelye and of moste righte the chefest iudgemente ought to consist in Counciles but now seing y t honorable name of a Councile may also fal vppon the Sinagoge of y e deuil it ought not to be so But because in al matters exāples be of great force so that there be an equal and indifferent respect to the thinges which be compared together me semeth it shal not be besydes our mattre purpose if I should set forth here be fore your eyes a shewe and declaration of that Councell wherof mētion is made in this wise in thistorye of the Gospell When Easter was at hand the cheefe Preestes Scrybes and elders of the People were gathered together into y e Haule of the hygh Preest that was called Cayphas and they sayd what shal we do for thys man doth many myracles If we let hym thus alone al mē wil beleue in him and the Romaines wyll come and take away both our place and the nacion And so forth as foloweth in the texte of Thistorye Here I praye the Christian reader fyrst of all to consyder well the fathers of this Councell They be assembled together which excell other both in aucthoritie and also in opinion of holynes vppon whose shoulders the Churche which was at that tyme did rest euen as thoughe it had bene shored vp with pillers And the highe priest him selfe by whose aucthoritie thys assembly is gouerned woulde seme so to be touched with Gods glorye as he that was most touched for he witnessed with the rentyng of hys clothes the greefe of his harte whiche be conceiued of the blasphemy But let vs come from the fathers vnto the forme it selfe and consider the processe of the lawe as they call it Those holy fathers woulde seme to do nothing vnaduisedly or by vyolence They cal a Councell they laye their heades together they pretend the safegard of theyr countrye whiche they crye oute to be in daunger vnlesse thenterprises of Christ be quickely stopped but whē they came to the pointe of the matter they examine Christ of his religion and Doctrine the knowledge whereof they