here in the worlde benethe which is a straunge case hath force and effect in heaueÌ„ aboue The poure of all potentates vnder the maiesty of the blessed Trinity in heauen and earthe is extreme basenesse compared to this By this graue authority therfore the pastors and priestes imitating goddes iustice haue exercised continually poonishement froÌ„ the springe of Christian religion downe till these daies vppon al sinners perpetually enioyning for satisfiyng of goddes wrathe poenaunce and woorkes of correction ether before they would absolue theime as the oulde vsage was or elles after the release of theire offensies wiche now of late for graue causes hath bene more vfed In whiche sentence of theire iudgment we plainely see that as there was euer accompt made emongest all the faithfull of paine due vnto sinne thoughe the very offense it selfe and the giltinesse as yow woulde saye thereof were forgiuen before so we maye gather that it was euer enioyned by the priestes holy ministery after the quality and quantity of the faulte committed Whereupon they charged som meaner offenders with certaine praiers onely other with large allmose diuerse with longe fasting many withe perilous peregrinations sum with suspending froÌ„ the sacramentes and very greuous offenders with curse and excommunication Wherby thou maiste not onely proue that there is paine to be suffred for thy sinnes Excommunication hath the image of goddes iustice in the vvorld to coom but allso haue a very image of that misery whiche in the next lyefe may faule not only to the damned for euer but allso to all other whiche neglected in this tyme of grace the fructes of poenaunce and woorkes of satisfaction for thanswer of they re lieues past This greate correction of excommunication and separation from the sacramentes Virgam S. Paule termeth the rodde wherwith he often threatened offenders 1. ad Timo. yea and somtymes thoughe it was with greate sorowe the pounishment was so extreame he mightely in Goddes steade occupied the same Cap. 2. 1. Cor. 5. As once ageinst Himemeus and Alexander and another tyme towardes a Corinthian vpon whome being absent he gaue sentence of theire delyuery vppe to Satan not to be vexed off him as Iob was for thencrease of merite In 1. ad Cor. ca. 5. saithe Chrisostom but in theire flesshe meruelously to be tormented for paiment for theire greuous offensyes and as the Apostle writeth of the Corinthian that his soule might be false in the day of oure lorde This poonishment was euer by cutting of from the Christiane society and often ioyned with torment of body or sicknesse And sumtymes withe deathe Act. 5. Note As in thexcommunication off Ananias and Zaphiras Whiche Christes vicar S. Petre to the greate terrour euen of the faithfull grauely pronounced on theyme for retayning backe certayne Churche gooddes whiche by promesse they had before dedicated vnto god and thapastles distribution August de Carrep gra ca. 5. This kinde of poonishment of sinners was euer counted so terrible that we fiend it caulled of the oulde fathers damnation Ita Gregâ— Nis orat de Castigatione as one that most resembles the paynes of the worlde to coom off all other And iff man coulde see withe corporall eyes the misery of the party so condemned in Goddes church his hearte would brast and it would moue terroure of forther damnation euen to the stubborne contemners off the Churches authoritye The which censure of goddes priestes thoughe it was sumtymes to the euerlasting woe off suche offenders as neglected the benefite of that present payne yet commonly it was but chastisement and louing correction of oure deare moother for theire deliuery from greater greefe in the lyefe to coom And for this cause as thexample off all agies past may sufficiently proue Aug. Euch cap. 65. were certeyne tymes and ordinary termes of poenaunce apoynted for iuste satisfaction for euery offense and by the holy Canons so limited that no sinne weetingly might be reserued to Goddes â—euy reuenge in the end of oure short dayes It were to longe to reporte the rueles and prescription of poenaunce out of Nice Councell or Ancyre â—icen c â–ª 12. Ancyre 5 or out of S. Cyprian for theire pounishment that fell to Idolatry in the tyme of Decius and Diocletianus or out of Ambrose the notable excommunication of Theodosius themperour By al whiche and the lyke in the historys of the ecclesiasticall affaires he that can not see what payne is due vnto sinne euen after the remission therof I houlde him bothe ignorant and malitious blinde And if any man yet doubt why or to what ende the Church of Christ thus greuously tormenteth her oune children by so many meanes of heuy correction whome she might by good authoritye freely release of theire sinnes let him assuredly know that she coulde not so satisfye goddes iustice alwayes by whome she houldeth hâ— authoritye to edifye and not to destroie to byind as well as to lowse Althoughe suche dolour for offensyes committed and so ernest zele may she sum tymes finde in thoffender that her chiefe and principall pastors may by theire soueraigne authoritye wholy discharge him of all paines to coom But elles in the common case of Christian men this poenaunce is for no other cause enioyned Ibidem but to saue theime from the more greuous torment in the worlde folowing In the whiche sense S. Augustine bothe speake the him self and proueth his meaning by thapostles wordes as foloweth Propterea de quibusdam temporalibus poenis 1. Cor. 11. quae in hac vita peccantibus irrogantur eis quorum peccata delentur ne reseruentur in finem ait Apostolus si enim nosmetipsos iudicaremus a domino non iudicaremur Cum iudicamur autem a domino corripimur ne cuÌ„ hoc mundo damnemur Therfore saithe he it is of certaine temporall afflictions whiche be laide vpon theire neckes that being sinners haue theire trespasses pardoned lest they be called to an accompt for theime at the latter ende that the Apostle meaneth by when he saith Iff we would iudge oure selues we shulde not then be iudged of oure lorde And when we be iudged of oure lorde then are we chastened that we be not damned with the worlde This onely carefull kyndnesse of oure moother therfore that neuer remitted sinne that was notorious in any age but after sharpe poonishment or ernest charge withe sum proportionall poenaunce for the same doothe not onely geue vs a louing warning to be ware and preuent that heuy correction of the world to coom whiche S. Paule callethe the iudgement of God because it is a sentence of iustice but allso in her owne practise here in earth of mercy in pardoning of iustice in poonishement she geueth vs a very cleare example off bothe the same to be vndoubtedly loked for at thandes of God him selfe by whome in the kingdom of the church these bothe in his behallfe be proffitably practised â–ª for iff there
carefull admonitions of all these blessed fathers they shall perceiue that euery time that Christes holy bloude is represented vnto God in the Masse for the departed they feele a present benefite and release of theire paines Quaest 34. ad Antioch they doo reioyse saithe holy Athanasius when the vnbloudy host is offered for theim The owlde fathers to put a difference betwixt the sacrificing of Christes own body vpon the crosse and the same vppon the altare in the Churche doo lightly terme this way of offering the vnbloudy sacrifice and the thinge offered which is Christes oune blessed body they call lykewise the host vnbloudie And Chrisostō neuer putting any doubt of the firste authors of offering for the deade prouethe that it is exceding beneficiall to the deceased bicause the apostles full of goddes spirite and wisdom woulde elles neuer withe suche care haue commaunded this holy action to be doone for theime Alasse a lasse for oure deare frendes departed that they must lacke this comforte But wo euerlasting to theyme that are the cause of so muche misery But heare I pray yowe what notable wordes S. Damascen hathe for the vtility and institution of these thinges Ibidem The holy Apostles and disciples saith he of oure sauiour Christe haue decried that in the dread soueraigne vndefiled and lyuely Sacraments so he cauleth the Masse there shoulde be kept a memoriall of those that haue taken theire slepe in faithe the which ordinaunce vntyll this day withowt gainsayng or controwlyng the Apostolike and Catholike Churche of God from one cost of the wyde worlde to another hathe obserued and shall religiously kepe til the worlde haue an end For doubtlesse these thinges that the Christiā religiō which is with owt error and free frō faulshod hath so many agies and worldes continued vnuiolably not with oute vrgent cause those thinges I say are not vaine but profitable to man acceptable to God and very necessarye for our saluation Thus farre spake the doctor settyng furthe not onely his owne mynd but the faithe of a numbre of the peeres of goddes Churche wherin to proue this doctrine to be catholike he fitly followeth the same way which Vincentius Lyrinensis gaue vs once for a ruele to trye truethe by The rule of trueth Prouing that it hathe antiquitie as a thing that came and hathe continued euen from the beginnyng of the Christian religion declaring that it hathe the consent of all natiōs bicause it is and hath bene practised throughe owt al the costes and corners of the wyde world and last that it hath the approbatiō of the wiseist and holiest mē that euer were in the Church of Christ And more thē all this that it shal so cōtinue till thend though it be for a time in sum peculiare natiōs omitted bicause it is receiued into a parte of that woorship of God which in the Church cā not perishe And this praescription of trueth our aduersaries can not auoyde but with suche vnseemely dealing as I trust they theim selues now be ashamed of as all other reasonable men are For now let theim coom with brasen facies and blasphemous tonges and say that praiers for the deade be vnprofitable that the rites of the burial be superstitious that to say the masse and sacrifice to be propitiatory for the soules departed is iniurious to Christes death that the doctors praised the errours of the ignorāt people of their daies that they all erred and were deceiued that the church of Christe hathe bene ledde in darke ignorance till these oure daies let theime bestowe these vayne presumptious wordes where they may take place for nowe all wise men doo perceiue that all these haue theire holy institution by Christe and his Apostles practised vniuersally in the primitiue Churche embrased of all godly people and approued to be wholy consonant to goddes worde by the pillors of Christes churche who so cōsonantly agree together in this point as well for the practise and proufe as for the beginning therof that to dissent from theime and trust in these reedes of oure daies were mere madnesse that are pufte to and fro with euery blast of doctrine that care not what they say so that they say not as other theire forefathers sayed that had rather then they woulde geue ouer a singulare opinion of theire owne imagination refuse and denie the authoritye of so many notable wise auncient godly and well learned fathers whome we haue named Although we haue left owt many of no woorse iudgement planely auouching these thinges to coom in to Christes Churche and woorship by the ordinaunce of his holy Apostles All which thinges if oure aduersaries haue redde then they are in a most miserable and heuy taking that doo withstand an open knowne truthe Heretikes doo agaynst theire ovvne cōsciences and as I feare against theire owne consciencies too Or if they haue not redde these plaine assertions of all lerned men sithe Christes tyme then they are most impudēt that so vainely bragge in a matter whereof they are not skilful But I trust God wil opē their eyes and breake theire prowde hartes to the obedience of his holy Churche Yf the authors be past hope yet their folowers shall take goodly occasion to forsake suche wicked maisters and be ashamed of all theire vndecent dealyng if they note and consider with me that the firste preachers of this peruerse opinion were suche that none of all theire scholares durst euer for shame for the profe of theire assertion name theire owne doctors Note And truely a man might well meruel why haeretikes hauing sum that did plainely professe theire opinions had yet rather picke owte sum darke sentence of any one of oure holy fathers whome they knowe to be directly against theime then oute of those same doctors of their own which in expresse wordes make for theime Yow shall not lightly heare an haeretike that deniethe prayng to sanctes or houldeth with open breache of holy vowes alleage Iouinianus or Vigilātius Nor a Sacramentarie seeke for the autoritye of Berengarius or Wicleffe thoughe they be of sum antiquitie and with out colour plainely doo mainteyne the doctrine that so well lyketh theime But they will trauell to writhe with plaine iniurie to the author Note the gile of an heretike sum sentence owt of Augustine or Ambrose or sum other that by theire whole lyfe and practise open theime selues to the worlde to beleue the cōtrary and al this by sum shewe of wordes for the bearing of their faulse assertions Marke it well I saye in heretikes that they can not for shame of theime selues Note euer name any of the plaine auouchers of theire owne opininions The cause is that the onely vpholding of their opinions made theime infamous to the whole posterity And if any honoure grewe vnto theime emongest the simple bicause they lacked not the waies to procure the peoples consent with admiration of theire eloquence or other plausible and populare
with owt doubte ther is none at al. Yff S. Augustine had but saide belike there is no suche meane place in the lyefe folowing mary sir then they might haue picked more matter of their infidelity and yet of that speach determining no certeinty there had bene no greate cause why they shulde haue forsaken the iudgement of Goddes Churche But nowe he so doubteth that he fyndeth more cause to thinke there should be one then that any man might gether vpō his wordes that ther should be none at all No nor he neuer went so farre good reader as to make any doubte of Purgatory paynes for poonishment of sinnes committed in the worlde For in all the same bokes where he hathe the lyke saing and allmost in the very same places he houldeth as a matter of faithe and to be beleued of all Christen men that the prayers of the lieuing doo release som of theire paines in the next liefe And he constantly as all other Catholikes euer did confesseth that the sinnes or vncleane workes of the liuing not duely by paenaūce wyped away in this worlde must be mended after oure deathe all thoughe it be very doubtefull in dede whether there be any worldly affections lefte in mannes mynde vntaken vppe by death and resolution of the body and the soule the care and remembrance wherof might be afterward by sorowe bothe purged and poonished And this to be his meaning and that he termeth here purgatory the griefe whiche a man hathe in losing that whiche he loued in this mortall liefe his owne wordes testifye in euery off those workes in whiche he kepeth this combate with Origenistes Lib. 21. de Ciuit. 26. In one place thus Quod sine illicienti amore non habuit sine dolore vrente non perdet ex earum rerum amissione tantum necesse est vt vrat dolor quantum haeserat amor That which by tiklinge loue was kepte can not be loste with oute burning grefe And looke howe fast the loue of suche thinges did cleaue to mannes mind so farre must sorow burne Ca◠So in the like talke with the saide Origenistes in his booke de fide operibus he foloweth the same signification of Purgatory Haec igitur saith he qnoniam affectu dilecta carnali non sine dolore amittuntur qui sic ea habent in eorum amissione passi detrimentum per ignem quendam doloris perueniunt ad salutem these thinges being by carnall affection loued be not lightly lost with oute grefe and therfore those that thus be affectionate fele losse in parting from theime and so coom to saluation throughe the fyer of sorowe ▪ suche a sadnesse the yonge man that demaunded of our maister the waie to heauen conceiued streght Matth. 19. when motion was onely made of distributiō of his gooddes Who being otherwise in the state of saluation and to be borne with all bicause he was a iuste man and lacked not the foundation of his faith yet the very losse or leauing of his gooddes was vnto him if he cōtinued in that affection a wonderful greate torment and as S. Augustin here calleth it a kind of purgatory the which perfect mē that aesteme al the trasshe of this worlde as durte and donge to winne Christe feele not at all whome the doctoure supposethe therfore to take no damage in the losse of thinges whiche they so litle loued Nowe in euery place where this exposition is founde as I think it is neuer in al his workes lightly but in conferēce with the Origenistes he alwaies addeth that the like fire of sorow may also correct the affectiōs euē of the departed but yet whether it be so or no he coūteth it a quaestiō of probable disputation rather thē any matter of faith ▪ as it is in dede very doubtful whether any such vnordinate affectiō may remaine vntakē vppe after mannes departure which by grefe and sorowe in the other worlde may be in time wholy consumed And further he neuer doubted For in that famous worke of the City of God withe in two chapters of that doubte made of this kind of purgation whiche we now haue declared Cap. 24. li. 21. he vttereth his faithe withe Goddes Churche off that greate torment and iust poonishement of sinfull liefe not sufficiently purged by poenaunce in oure time whiche he calleth the Amending fire and thus he saithe there Tales etiam constat ante iudicij diem per paenas temporales quas eorum spiritus patiuntur purgatos receptis corporibus aeterni ignis supplicijs non tradendos cae It is certeine saithe he Constat whiche is no worde of doubtefullnesse that suche men being purged by the temporall paines whiche theire soules do suffer before the day of iudgement shall not after they haue receiued theire bodies ageine be committed to the torment of the euerlasting fire This he vttereth in the same place where he doubteth of the other kinde of purgation Vide quaest 8. ad Dulcitium as he cōfessethe him selfe to be vncertein of the whole exposition refusing none at all that were agreable to faithe and woulde not helpe the falshood whiche he then refuted In his Enchir where he disputeth ageinste the same erroure Cap. 110. he so little doubteth that he calleth Purgatory damnation thoughe not perpetuall as that whiche might be bothe eased and vtterly remoued by the sacrifice and suffragies of the Churche And thus did that graue author withstand Origen then whose folowers wer as it may be thought very busy and trooblesom in those daies and long after But yet his sure staffe ageinst that erroure was this and the most common defense of all Catholikes that the temporall paines in the next world coulde neuer deliuer the great and greuous sinners that died with oute repentaunce or remission of theire sinnes from euerlasting death bicause that torment was praepared for the smaule offenseis whiche we call venial sinnes by whiche the holy Apostle ment vnder the names of the base substances off woodde hay and straw Ser. 4. de sanctis as these wordes of muche importaunce may wel declare There be diuerse saithe he that misconstruing these wordes of S. Paule before aleaged by ouer vaine security and confidence deceiue theime selues beleuing that if they do build capitall and greuous crimes vppon the fundation whiche is Christ they shall be pourged throughe fire and theyme selues afterward escape to euerlasting liefe but this vnderstanding good brethern must be corrected For those that so flatter theime selues shamefully do begile theime selues For that fiere whiche the Apostle speaketh of in these wordes He shall be saued through fier pougeth not mortal sinnes but smauler offensies onely To this purpose S. Hieroms wordes or the reuerēt Bedes whether you will for ether of theire graue authorities shall serue my turne doo wholy agree in the exposition of this sentence Mortuo homine impio non erit vltra spes In Cap. 11.
contynually criethe for helpe at theire hādes in heauen aboue Nowe the mēbres of Christes Church here yet trauelling in earthe they pray together they faste to gether they desire together they deserue together Christe oure heade in whose bloude this city and socyety standeth wil haue no woorke nor way of saluation that is not common to the whole body in generall and perculierly proffitable to supply the neede of euery parte thereof He whiche instituted the blessed sacraments will haue theyme in this vnity to woork in cōmon as farre as th end of eche of they re institutions requirethe and owt of it to haue no force at al he that maketh al our woorkes acceptable thoughe they be doone of one will haue theyme perteyn to all the holy sacrifice of the Churche by the will of the author and the liknesse of th'xemplare as in dede being in another maner the very selfe same is made so common that it ioyneth the sanctes and Angelles in heauen to the chosen and elect people ether in earthe or vnder the earthe benethe The soules departed in piety are of oure churche and felovvship And that this holy cōsent of good woorkes and mutuall agreement of prayer to the continuall supplying of eche others lackes doothe also apperteine to the soules departed no man that hathe any sense of this happy community can denie ▪ for being membres of our common body they must nedes be partakers of the cōmon vtilitye li. 20. de ciuit Cap. 9. And so saith S. Augustin in these wordes Neque enim piorum animae mortuorum separantur ab ecclesia quae nunc est regnum Christi alioquin nec ad altare dei fieret eorum memoria in communione Corporis Christi for the soules off the faythfull deceased be not seuered from the Churche wich is allredy the kingdom of Christe elles there shulde be no memory kepte for theime at the altare in the cōmunion of the body of Christe By the force of this vnity what so euer is proffitably practised in this worlde one for a nother as prayer allmose fasting Sacrifice the same thinges may and ought by thexample of the Churche to be carefully and withe owte ceasing procured for the helpe of our frendes and Christian brytherne departed And Athanasius that greate pillar he by a meruelouse fitt example setteth furthe howe the soules in another worlde may haue the benefites of the Church or Christiā people deriued downe vnto them Quaest ad Ant. 34. and what sensible feele of release they haue when we desire God for theyme Quemadmodum cum in campo vinea virescit vinum in vase occlusum rebullit ac propemodum feruet ita etiam sentimus quod peccatorū animae diuinis beneficijs incruentae Hostiae gratiarum actionis pro ipsis habitae gaudeant vt idem solus nouit ordinat deus noster The communion expressed betvvixte the lyue and the deade by the naturall agreement betvvixt the vine in the fielde and the vvyne in the vessel qui in viuos mortuos dominium exercet As when the vyne abrode in the fyelde dothe spring and waxe greene the wyne salfely kepte in barells at home doothe allso woorke in it sellfe and in a maner buyle euen so as we iudge the soules of sinners throughe the benefite of the vnbloudy hoste and sacrifice of thankes gyuing doone for theyme may waxe ioyfull and gladde as the same Lorde and God only knoweth howe and hathe ordeyned who exercyseth his might vpon the lyeue and the deade See I pray you how he by the actiō of goddes Churche in the holy Masse in which the vnbloudy hoste and oblation is bestowed hathe founde som way of cariyng downe the benefite of Christes passion vpon the membres of his body benethe And though sum haue wickedly sought vtterly to breake the band of peace betwixt theyme and vs as they haue cursedly shaken thunytie of the liuing emongest theimeselues yet theire moother Christes spouse acknouledgeth her owne children stille she seethe by the spirite of god whereby she seethe all truthe the sorowe of her dearest so farre oute of sight but neuer oute of mynde she in a maner feeleth a parte of her owne body in paine And can not otherwise doo but by all possible meanes and approued waies assay Goddes mercy for theire deliuery And this naturall compassion of the Churche passeth throughe euery membre thereof and ought to moue euery man by the lawe of nature to procure as muche helpe as he may And so much the more do we owe this natural duety vnto theyme bicause they now cā not help theim selues being out of the state of deseruing and place of wel working onely abiding goddes mercy in the sore sufferance of paines vntollerable They theime selues as yet your brethern and a portion of your body require to be partakers of your benefites They feele ease of euery prayer your allmose quenshethe theire heate your fasting releaseth theire paine your sacrifice wipethe theire sinnes and sores so strong is the communion of sanctes that what so euer yowe doo that is acceptable it isshuethe abundātly downe to theyme Onely he that is cutte of from this happy society hathe no compassion of theime nor feelethe not howe they are knitt vnto vs by loue and vnity of one heade and one body Yow shal heare his vnnatural and worse then heathen wordes Dum mortuos a nostro contubernio subduxit dominus Cal. inst nullum nobis cum illis reliquit commercium ac ne illis quidem nobiscum When the Lord hathe taken the deade owte of our company he hath dispatched vs of al intermedleyng with theime or they withe vs. This man was borne to breake the bande of vnity which he hated bothe in the lyue and deade By whose meanes it is nowe comde to passe that those which of reason might clame oure aide are vnnaturally disapointed of al suche remedies wherby any conforte might to theyme arise Suche lacke of compassion is driuen into oure heades that we feele not the wo of our owne felowes oure kinne oure brethern and our owne membres It is a thowsand yere and more sith a holy father not hauing hallfe the cause that wee nowe haue yet noted the peoples lacke of compassion towardes the departed Ad frat in herem 44 in these wordes They that lie in torment vntollerable crie out for succoure and fewe there be that make answer they wofully caule but ther is none to comforte theyme O Bretherne what a kind of cruellty is this O howe much inhumanity is this those that in theire liefe time suffered muche sorowe for our sakes nowe crie ageyne for our ayde and we regard theyme not Lo howe the sicke caules and the phisitions are att hande the hogge gronethe and the whole hearde grontleth with all the poore asse fallethe and euery man helpes him vppe in hast but the faithfull alone caulethe in his greuous torments and there is none that
in hell which God forfende and yet yowe must needes so suppose for raysing the monuments of suche superstition then blotte oute theire memorie and names that haue not onely in theire lyfe mainteyned horrible abusies but allso after theire deathe haue lefte suche open steppes of superstition to all posteritye Suppose I pray yowe which yet I would be lothe shoulde coom to proufe or passe but suppose for all that that with the taking a way of this oulde faithe of praying and offering for the deade all the workes of the same faithe which isshued downe from that fountaine might shrinke with al or returne to the fownders againe bicause there is no rowme to fullfill they re willes howe many Churchies and chappelles what Collegies or hospitalles woulde oure newe no faithe bring forth Would not euery bisshoppes wyfe buylde a Churche thinke yowe or founde a College in such a necessitye lest theire husbandes should be driueÌ„ to serue in a reformed frensh barne Super Aggaeum One of these mock bishoppes complaines very soâ—e in a book of his that men be not now bent with suche zele and deuotion to praeferre goddes honour in maintenaunce of his Ministers as they were in owlde time and as CoÌ„stantinus with the like christiaÌ„ Princies in the primitiue churche were But the good man marked not wherupon this could deuotion arisethe he considerethe not that this is the fructlesse effecte of so idle a faulse faithe as his owne lordship preacheth he woulde not see that the maintenaunce of goddes honoure bothe by liefe landes and gooddes is the peculiare fructe of that charitable louing faith which the Catholikes doo professe he weyed not well that the greate grauntes of Constantinus were made to Syluester Bishop of Rome and not to the maried Bishope of Duresme He remembred not that the like holy workes of the noble kinges of oure owne coontrie were practised vpon suche as woulde professe the trueth and serue the altare and not vpon faulse pastors that were destroyers of all altars Such honorable portions were parted oute for goddes lote and not taken from the world to go to the worldely ageine Thinke you any man wer so minded to take froÌ„ his own wiefe and children ether landes or gooddes to bestow on priestes babbes or bedfellowes No no God knowethe it was separated from theim selues to the sacrifice to the priesthoodde to the honoure of goddes Church and ministerye The which thinges by your owne preaching my lordes decaide would you haue the Prince or peoples deuotion towardes yowe as is was and would be still if you wer like your praedecessors and serued the altare as they did I wisse if the owlde S. Cuthbert Wilfride and William whome they coÌ„pare in holinesse to horsies so good is their opinion of their holy auncieters had bene of the same religion that the occupiers of theire roumes nowe be all the praelates in EnglaÌ„d might haue put theire rentes in a halpeny purse Coom in ageyne coom in for Christes sake com in to the churche ageyne serue the altare and then yow be worthy to lyue of the altare folowe oure fathers and yow shall beloued as oure fathers wer confesse that religion which oure own Apostles first taught and we all haue beleued and all the workes of goddes Churche protest to be true and then yowe shall be blessed of God and honoured of men But let theime thinke on these matters theime selues I will turne ageine to my purpose allthoughe I can not go farre from my matter so longe as I am in the behouldinge of that faithe which oure first preachers broght vnto vs at our first coÌ„uersion or in any stepp of thantiquitye which we wel perceiue to be the fructe onely of that doctrine which we haue declared and an euideÌ„t testimony off so vndoubted a truethe I thinke there is no way so certaine for the contentation of a mannes selfe in this tyme of doubting and diuersitye in doctryne as in all maters to haue an eye towardes the faythe whiche we receiued when we were first conuerted And for that point I woulde wisshe that S. Bedes historye were familiare vnto all men that hathe vnderstanding of the Latine tonge and to all other if it wer possible for there shall they plainely see the first beginning the increase the continuance the practise the woorkes proceding owt of the catholike faithe feare not that is the truethe for that was the first and that was grownded by goddes worde and openly confirmed by miracule And that pointe must be considered not onely for oure owne contrye but for all others that be or hathe bene Christianed For in to the selfe same faithe were they first ingraffed allso â–ª as by the peculiare practising of euery good man towardes his frend and louer I haue alredye declared and nowe for the generall vsage of goddes Church the reader shall at large perceiue that nothing may wante to oure cause whereby any trueth or light may be had That in euery ordre or vsage of celebration of the blessed sacrament and Sacrifice through ovvte the Christian vvorlde since Christes time there hath bene a solemne supplication for the soules departed Cap. 11. THerfore let vs see howe the churche oure moother of her piety vsethe generall supplication in all seruice and solemne administration of the blessed sacrameÌ„t euen for those whole frendes haue forgotten theyme whose paines and trauell worldely meÌ„ remembre not whose obscure condicion of life or pouerty woulde not suffer theime to procure prayers by theire knowne deedes of charity or almose Those men I say that doo lacke singulare patronage of theire frendes those hathe she remembred in the rites of celebration vsed in all contries and in euery age sithens the apostles daies Which ordres of diuine seruice as they haue bene diuerse in forme of wordes so they perfectly and wholy agreed in the substance of the sacrifice in praying and offering for the deade and supplication to sanctes as thowe shalt streght waies by theire vsed ordre of wordes perceiue And as we go forward herein euer let vs beare this rule in minde Quòd legeÌ„ credendi lex statuit supplicandi in that sense speaketh S. Augustine So saith S. Augustin ofteÌ„ against the Pelagians often against haeretikes the ordre of the churches praier is euer a plaine praescription for all the faithefull what to belieue And the motherlye affection that the Churche bearethe towardes al her children departed the saide doctor thus expresseth De cura pro mort Non sunt praetermittendae supplicationes pro spiritibus mortuorum quas faciendas pro omnibus in Christiana Catholica societate defunctis etiam tacitis nominibus quorumcunque sub generali commemoratione suscepit ecclesia vt quibus ad ista desunt parentes aut filij aut quicunque cognati vel amici ab vna eis exhibeantur pia matre communi That is to say in oure tonge Prayer must not be omitted for the soules departed which the
sorow of cōpassion towards her forsakers she hath bidden greater stormes thē this first by tyrauntes then by haeretikes last and most by the euill liefe of her own Bishoppes In al which she yet standethe and euer riseth to honour as she is most impugned Their own preaching hath singularely opened the might of god in the defense of that seate of vnity When they first began to touche and taunte the Pope in euery sermon in euery playe in booke and balate men that before liuing in faithefull simplicitie much medled not withe his matters nor often hearde of his name began streghte vppon they re busy ralinge to conceiue by reasonable discretion that there lay sum greate grownde of matter and weght of trueth vpon that point which they cowld not digest in so many yeres bawling and barking at his name thei saw the Pope euer in their way neuer owt of their mouth and they doubted not but that singular hatred grew vpō sum greate importāce and so admoneshed luckely by the aduersaries they sought the bottō of that perfecte and deepe hatered and fownde that it was the owld sore of the Arians and disease of the Donatistes and common to all haeretikes they perceiued by S. Cyprian that the first attempte of suche men De simplicit praelatorum was to driue away the pastore that they might with owte resistance deuoure and destroie the flock And which was the pricke of all theire endeuoures to take frō vs the acknowleging of the greate and singulare benefite of oure conuersion to the faithe that in stopping the heade of that condethe and plentifull well of our faithe they might in heate of contention and haeresi By haeretikes preaching many are become catholikes easely drie vpp the whole isshue therof And this earnest cōsideratiō causeth many at this daie to forsake theire haeresies and to be agreate deale moe at this time which know the trueth of this matter then when they began first to preache therof But I wil not presse thē ouer sore suppose I graunte theim that which they woulde so gladly winne that we hadde not oure faithe first frō Rome thoughe it be as false as God is true But suppose it were not so and I geue yowe leaue to father your faithe where yow will Yf it be not vpon Latimer whome a foulishe felowe in the booke of conference betwixte Latymer and Ridley termeth thenglishe Apostle as one more worthye of that name as he saith then Augustine but elles where yowe wil and when yowe haue doone proue me that your moother Churche prayeth not for the departed in her masse and solempne seruice and yowe shall be exalted vpp foreuer And at your next chaunge frame your newe communion after that ould vsage on goddes blessinge If yow can find any forme of celebration farre enoughe from oures followe it and spare not But I am sure yowe shall neuer be hable to fynde any oulde seruice in the worlde fit for your newe diet They be all to muche lyke oure Masse for your purpose Oure Masse is al one vvith the Masses of all other coontries and times as in deede alone in euery pointe of importaunce with oures As the Churchies to whome they belonged perfectly before theire decay in faithe and vnity agreed with oures I am sure whē yow can not like your own communion ye would not be pleaced with one of an others making But another yowe muste needes haue and further yowe must go from vs walke forward yow will to the extreme ende off haeresie and vtter denyinge of Christianitye All the worlde can not stoppe yowe faulling from the hill of Goddes Churche tyll yowe coome in the bottomlesse pit of hell I would be lothe to sclaunder theime withe the brute of the worlde whiche thoughe it be in euery mās mouth that they like not this communion yet vpon that rumour I would not haue sayd so farre but that they haue vttered their owne meaning in a treatise of theire owne making in these wordes Ageynste the Chester man In mariage as in all oher thinges beside we are but to muche like vnto theim that is our fault generally that we differ not more from theime in all oure ministerie These wordes vtter they re greefe that they can got no forther from vs in they re seruice and that yowe be not deceiued the author of this booke where this complainte is made knowethe well the meaning of his felowes herin and howe gladde they woulde be shiftinge forwarde They sit on thornes til they be dooing wythe a newe gise It is no worse man then the B. of Duresme that taketh coulde in so longe a stand of theire communion My simple head could not deuise how they might possibly go forward and kepe theime with in any bond of Cbristianity What they caste in theire braine for theire forther proceding I can not tell the serpent is suttel and oure sinnes be greate I muche maruaill not nowe to see the temporall Magistrates of their wisedoms to hedge these mens wantonnesse in all theire ordre of lyfe for they are so dronken and drowned in haeresie that they haue no sense of common reason What a doo had the magistrates to make these wylde men go in priestelyke apparell to kepe theire Rotchettes to obserue sum steppe of antiquitye in theire maners Howe they were driuen to tempre theire lustes in prouision for sum ordrely choise of theire wyeues that seeing theyme haue no respecte on what woomen they light Looke the Iniunctiō for the mariage of priestes and other thinges that by Iusticies of peace yet they might be bestowed iff not well yet with theire lesse dishonestie vpon persons not openly infamous Suche felowes are more fit to be gouerned then to beare rule ouer other in whome withe owte constraint youe shall nether finde coomlynesse in maners ordre in liefe nor cōstancy in religion God of his mercye geue theime sum light to see their own misery and the spirite of humilitie to subiect theime selues in time to goddes Church that is so careful ouer theym thoughe to theire owne great harme they so deadly hate her They cā showe no cause in the worlde why they nede in any one pointe of al those whiche at this day be in cōtrouersie betwixt theyme and theire owne moother rather to credet theire owne phantasies then her graue authoritye which onely with out farther quaestioning with obediēt children makethe more then all argument or eloquence of man in the earthe And for suche as may for theire simplicite be sone deceiued by folowinge other mens errours The yongers ▪ must thus pose theire maisters with whom the names of doctors or the onely bare bragge of scrptures are as good as the allegation of placies Let theim aske of theire teachers howe they can shifte theime selfe when they see the practise of goddes churche generally so plaine for all Catholike assertions as for the article of praying for the dead emongst many other
inioyned by the vnaptnesse off â—he earthe to serue his tourne by rebellioune of the inferiour creatures by the trooblesom motions of his owne affections and bryefely in all poyntes by a lothsom lyefe and a dredfull deathe Yea and that his pounishment ceased not in this worlde by his deathe but many hundrethe yeres after remayned as forther condemnation of his disobedience I shall more conuenyently a none declare Nowe sekyng forther to haue cleare and open euidence in this case we can not wisshe more proufe then may bee had by the straunge workyng and dispensation of God in the many foulde affaires of that sanctified people and chosen nation of the Israelites In whiche peoples perpetuall peotection a man might fiend a perfecte platte off mercy and iudgement So often they faule so sodenly they rise so greuously they offende suche mercy they fynd that it is maruelous to consider Of this electe family therfore thus God speakethe Psal 88. Si autem dereliquerint filij eius legem meam in iudicijs meis non ambulauerint visitabo in virga iniquitates eoruÌ„ in verberibus peccata eorum misericordiam autem meam non dispergam ab eo neque nocebo in veritate mea Yf his children reiect my lawe and waulke not in my iudgementes withe rodde will I viset theire wickednes and in stripes they re sinnes yet will I not take my mercy froÌ„ him or theyme as it is allso redde nor harme him in my trauthe Goddes penple first pardoned vvas then after poonished This people at theire first passage oute of Egipte commytting horrible Idolatrye was pardoned therof at the instaunce of Moises yet so saithe oure lorde God vnto him Ego autem in die vltionis Exod. 32. visitabo hoc peccatum eorum But yet in the day of reuengement I will viset this theire offense also The same people offending greuously ageine by murmoure and mistrust of goddes carefull prouidence towardes theyme at theire Gouernours humble sute were expressely forgiuen in these wordes Numer 14 Dimisi iuxta verbum tuum I haue pardoned theime according to thy worde But after theire assured warraunt for the full remission of the fault and the aeternall payne due to that greuous sinne behoulde yet theire ponishment temporall for the same Attamen omnes homines qui viderunt maiestatem c. For all that saithe oure lord euery one that hathe seene my maiesty and the woonders whiche I wroght in Egipte and in the wildernesse and yet hathe notwythstanding tempted me tenne tymes shall not behoulde the land for whiche I bounde my selfe by othe to theire forefathers But passing the peoples sinne Moises and Aron theime sellfe in many poyntes minister abundant proufe of this mater Who bothe dying in perfecte fauoure of God yet for theire mistrust weare discharged of gieding goddes people Num. 20. or entringe theime sellfe in to the lande so hartely desired and so long looked for before â–ª of these two the prophet saith thus Custodiebant testimonia eius et praeceptum quod dedit illis Psal 98. Deus tu propitius fuisti eis vlciscens in omnes adinuentiones eorum They obserued his testimonyes and the charge that he gaue vnto theime Lord God thou wast mercifull vnto theime and sharply reuenged they re owne inuentions The lyke ordinaunce of goddes iustice in poonishment of suche as he highly fauoured may appeare in Samson in Holy Iudic. 16. 1. Reg. 3. and all other notarious personages in the whole scripture But the heartely beloued of God kinge Dauids example so bearethe doune oure aduersaryes that I can not well omit it thoughe I nowe longe to be nearer my mater This prophet had an eypresse pardon withe a plaine prouiso that he shulde notwithstanding beare the heuy hand of God for the poonishment of his former sinne Once for taking priede in the multitude and numbryng of his people God thoughe he pardoned him 2. Reg. vlt. yet by the Prophet Gad gaue him leaue to chuese of three named skourges whiche he woulde to whome he answhered Coarctor nimis sed melius est incidere in manus domini multae enim sunt misericordiae eius I am sore vrged but better it is to faule in to Goddes handes for his mercyes be exceding many And so according to his election he had many thousandes of his people perished by Goddes plage Off whose case S. Gregory saithe maruailous muche in these fewe wordes Deus delictum delet sed inultum non deserit peccato non parcitur quia sine vindicta non laxatur Li. 9. in Iob. ca. 82. God wyepeth a way mannes offense but he leauethe it not vnpoonished sinne is not spared because it is not withe oute reuenge released But before this he had a full warraunt off remission of his horrible mourder and adoultery by the prophet Nathan saing vnto him thus after his repentaunce 2. Reg. 12. Dominus quoque transtulit peccatum tuum non morieris veruntamen quoniam blasphemare fecisti inimicos nomen domini propter verbum hoc filius qui natus est tibi morte morietur Oure lorde hathe remoued thy sinne neuerthelesse bicause thou hast made thenimyes blaspheme our lordes name by this woorde thy sonne whiche is borne vnto the shall dye the deathe Off whiche mater S. Augustine by occasion taulking ageinst Fanstus asketh what maner of pardon it was Lib. 23. cap. 67. that the prophet brought from God vnto Dauid And he answhereth thus Ad quam rem nisi ad sempiternam salutim neque enim praetermissa est in illo secundum Dei comminationem flagelli paterni disciplina To what ende elles had he his pardon but to euerlasting saluation For he scaped not the skourge of his fathers discipline according as the threatning of God before did portend All the forsaide examples then being so euident they must nedes conclude this assuredly that after oure offenses be remitted there commonly yet remaineth summe payne and righte debt to be discharged by the offenders ponishement before he receiue the ample benefite of aeternall saluation The double and doubtefull shiftes of our aduersaries pressed by this conclusion are remoued and it is proued ageynst one sort that these foresaiyde skourgies vvere in dede pounishements for sinnes remitted And ageynst thother secte that this transitory payne hathe often endured in the nexte liefe Cap. 2. ANd the weght of this foresaide grounde hathe euer pressed the aduersaries of truethe so sore that behoulding as it were a farre of what inconuenience this might importe they euer busely endeuoured to staye the beginning of they re likly ouerthrow But yet as it was and wil be for euer noted in faulse teachers they seke diuers escapes so disagreable that one hindereth an other and nether of theyme helpes theire owne cause One sorte not so impudeÌ„t but agreate deale more foulishe then theire felowes agree by force of the places mamed and euideÌ„ce of the examples that there is
pounishement to be suffered and som temporall payne remanent to be discharged in this world Melanch after remission of sinne but for the next after this liefe so ferde they be of purgatory they will haue none at all Thother secte maisters fearing what might folowe on that graunt in no case will confesse that there is any payne due for sinne in this worlde or the next after the fault be once remitted For Caluine capitayne of this later bande sawe well Caluinus that if any debt or recompense remayne to be discharged by the offender after his reconcilement it muste neades ryse by proportion weght continuance numbre and quaÌ„tity of the faultes committed before Whereby it must of necessity be induced that bicause euery man can not haue time ether for the hougenesse of his sinnes past or his late repentaunce or his carelesse nagligence to repay all in his liefe that there is all or som parte answherable in the nexte worlde to coom And therfore bouldely and impudently as in case of this necessity he aduentureth to deny withe shame that any of all these paynefull miseries be as pounishements for the sinnes of the sufferers but certeyne fatherly checkes exercises of patience and vertue rather then afflictions enioyned for sinnes Whiche vaine shifte hathe no bearing by reason or text of scripture but onely is vphoulden by the exercised audacity of the author S. Paul in plaine wordes writethe Corpus mortuum est propter peccatum Ad Ro. 6 Vide August super illud psal 50. in peccatis concepit me mater mea stipendium peccati mors est The body is deade because of sinne And deathe is the rewarde of sinne And so of Dauid bicause thowe haste slayne Vrias Non recedet gladius de domo tua saith the scripture the swhorde shall not depart thy howse And ageyne bicause thowe hast made the enemies blaspheme my name thy childe shall dye And of the people of Israell Visitabo hoc peccatum eorum I will viset this sinne of theyres also Yet in this lighte of scripture where as the pounishement is named so it is expressely mentioned that sinne is the proper cause thereof the aduersary seekethe a blinde mieste to dase the simplicyty of the reader and to mainteyne errour It helpethe oure cause exceding muche that the very shewe of an argument dryues theyme to suche vnseemely shiftes S. Augustines wordes shal for me sufficiently refute this errour Veritatem dilexisti impunita peccata eorum etiam quibus ignoscis non reliquisti In psa 50 He speakethe to god in the Prophets person Thowe loues righteousnes and hast not lafte vnpounished no not the sinnes of theyme whome thow louest Notwithstanding this is verye true that all these afflictions thoughe they come of sinne and for the rewarde of maÌ„nes offensies yet God of mercy turnethe theyme to the exercise of vertue August lib 2. de pecca to mer. cap 33. and benefit of suche as shall be sayued But it is one thing to dispute of what cause they come and an other to reason of the wisedom of God in the vse of the same Who as the sayde Augustine witnesseth is so mighty in his prouident gouernaunce that he is able to tourne euen the very sinnes theyme selues to the benefite of suche as by grace and mercy shall be raysed vppe to saluation And muche more is he ready to frame the pounishement whiche he him selfe of iustice workethe for correction of sinners to the saluation of the electe But nowe the other sorte which be more curteise The confutation of the second opinion and confesse that in this worlde the iust may suffer of reason for his sinnes already remitted but not in the nexte liefe as theire doctrine is very vntrue so it geueth greate license and liberty to euil lyuers and is the very moother of praesumption For if man weare sâ—ere to be discharged at his departure hense of all payne for his sinnes then certes weare it madnesse to trauell in this life forther for his offensyes then he must of necessitye Yea more it makethe the case of greuous sinners tyll the houre of they re deathe so that they then at last repent much better then of smaulle offenders conuerted longe before For these must be pounished in they re liefe thother can not be pounished as these suppose after they re deathe What a vayne absurdity is this that the prophet offending once or twise in all his tyme shoulde suffer so heuy iudgement and the party whiche abidethe in wickednesse tyll th ende of his liefe when sin rather leaueth him then he sinne must bicause of his late conuersion withe out payne be caried at ease to heauen This is not doubtlesse semely to Goddes iustice and ordinauÌ„ce whose waies be truethe and vprightnesse Homil. 11. in Leuit. Est apud iudicem iustum poenae moderatio non solum pro qualitate sed etiam pro quantitate To a iust iudge there must be consideratioÌ„ had of pounishement bothe for the quality and quantity so saith Origen And the holy scripture thus Quantum glorificauit se in delitijs fuit tantum date illi tormentum luctum Looke hou highe she exalted her sellfe and hou delicately she lieued and geue her so muche wo and torment ageyne Cap. 16. It is spoken as of Babylon in the reuelations of S. Iohn And bicause this toucheth our matter and the very point thereof I will stand withe the aduersary the longer Here then I aske him why God takethe pounishement in this worlde for sinne allready remitted His answher must nedes be for the reuenge and hatered of sinne and satisfiyng of iustice Now theÌ„ doth god practise iudgment and iustice no wher but in this world Or if it be not here answhered bicause of lacke of space or late recoÌ„ciliation of the offender shall oure lorde of necessity be forced to remitte the debt and release his sentence of iustice for lacke of meanes to pounishe in an other worlde No no Goddes haÌ„de is not abbridged by the terms of this liefe Late repentaunce can be a benefite to no man God forbed it shoulde Especially seing poonishement and iudgement for sin as many learned doo suppose and as reason withe scripture bearethe properly apperteineth not to this worlde but by a speciall grace and singulare benefite whiche God of peety graunteth to suche as he louethe that they may here praeuent his angre whiche elles in the nexte lyefe shoulde be found more greuous wher properly is the reward of sinne and iudgement kept ordinarily for the same As it is plaine mercy and grace when man may take pounishment of him selfe as S. Paule saithe and be his owne correctour 1. Cor. 11. to auoyde the iudgement of God And therof the nexte liefe is termed commonly dies domini where there is no place for oure woorking but sufferance alone where the accompt of mannes lyefe must be straitly required and the sinnes