and divers other points but only because they seem repugnant unto reason And in these horrible opinions do these reasonably unreasonable men fall by just consequence from their owne principles For if as they say there be no Christian Church assisted with Infallibility fit to teach any man even such Articles as they count fundamentall and necessary to salvation but that in every particular even one may and must follow the direction of his owne reason be he never so unlearned what will follow but an unhappy liberty yea necessity for men to reject the highest and most divine mysteries of Christian faith unlesse they can compose all repugnancies after an intelligible manner as he speaks even to every ignorant and simple person which is impossible or els say that it is reasonable for men to believe contradictions at the same time which as he saith is very unreasonable For doubtlesse in true Philosophy the objections which may be made against the mystery of the Blessed Trinity and the Incarnation of God are much more difficult than any that can be brought against Transubstantiation he then that will follow these new principles must if he deny the one deny the other also which as yet the greatest part of Protestants will not do in time perhaps they may or which is much better observing the impiety of this opinion confesse both § 3. This I conceive was the reason why S. Paul saith 1. Cor. 1.23 that the Apostles did preach foolishnesse in the opinion of the Grecians namely because they sought wisdome and what was that wisdome but humane the dictates of naturall reason which the mysteries of the Gospell exceeding they counted them foolishnesse but to those that were called it was the power of God and the wisdome of God By which it appears that the wisdome of God and the wisdome of the Grecians which was humane wisdome the light of naturall reason and discourse were very different wherein the Apostle gives as it is meet these wise men should do the preheminence to God for that which seems foolish in God is wiser than whatsoever is in men and so the mysteries of faith which seem so contrary to humane reason have more wisdome in them than their reasons have that oppose them who do therefore but prove themselves cum ratione insanire to be mad with reason This doctrine also of giving reason the tribunall in matters of faith and that as it is in every particular man is an inlet for every man to be of a severall Religion by differing from others in what points soever according to the direction of his own reason yea possibly to be of no Christian Religion at all For what makes the Jew to continue such but only because he sees no reason to believe the New Testament and if a Christian should chance to be indued with the same reason that a Jew is he must then become a Jew or if of a Heathen he must become a Heathen And for the ignorant and unlearned people to whom this is a rule as well as to others what pitifull absurd Religions or none at all will be amongst them who have so small abilities of reason as the world knowes they have § 4. Though reason be in its owne nature the same and as it proceeds from God the author thereof in whose mind the universall idaea thereof is placed yet as it exerciseth it selfe in severall men since the ruine thereof in Adams fall it is of severall dimensions according to their naturall constitution morall education and industry whence it must needs follow that according to the different latitude of mens understandings they must embrace more or lesse of divine truths and so be every one of a larger or stricter belief and of as many several Religions as they are of different degrees of understanding Yet notwithstanding this admirable variety of Religion charitable Chillingworth doth not doubt but that God considering humane frailty and the power of education which instils in us many false apprehensions and that hereby excellent judgements are corrupted will not condemne men for such errors as by reason of the former circumstances were unavoidable but conceives that they are in a Religion whatsoever it be in which they may attaine salvation So that by consequence any man may be saved following but the direction of his owne reason although that reason direct him to deny not only one point but even all the Christian faith thus Jew Turk or Heathen may by this platform be saved § 5. And truely if a man do not believe upon this one and virtually all reason to wit that the Church is to be believed he according to my reason should be a Heathen rather than any thing else because their Religion ariseth only from the principles of reason implanted in man by Gods Commissary Nature wherein all men whose understandings are not by accident eclipsed do agree as that there is a God that he is to be worshiped that we must do as we would be done unto with the like but all other Religions depend upon testimony as the Jewes and Turkes and their testimony far inferiour to that of the Christians so that if I were not a Catholique according to the direction of my reason I ought to bee a Heathen But if I will be a Christian I ought to be such a one as will according to our Saviours command deny himselfe Math. 16.24 And a mans understanding is a chiefe part of himselfe even the chiefest according to most mens account as we may perceive in that they do more abhorre to be counted fools which is a defect contrary to the understanding than to be counted vicious which is a defect contrary to the will yet this must be denied and is by all good Christians who submit to that which as the Apostle saith brings into captivity all understandings to the obedience of Christ 2 Cor. 10.5 § 6. Besides whatsoever Religion any of them that are guided by this principle is of for the present no man is sure nor he himselfe that he shall hold it to morrow for if his reason howsoever deluded with false apparitions guide him to the belief of any thing contrary to that which he now holdeth he is presently obliged to follow it though it be to the deniall of his whole present faith and to change his purpose in matters of Religion as oft as he doth his apparell and so float in a giddy irresolution and inconstancy led by the ignis fatuus the foolish fire of his owne reason untill at last he sink into the depth of Atheisme and damnation Now how sutable this doctrine is to the peace and tranquillity of Common-Wealths and Kingdomes wherin every man is left to his own liberty in the choice and change of Religion though it be to Arrianisme to the Heresie of the Macedonians Manicheans or to any the most blasphemous absurd or turbulent and that with impunity as he challengeth they that sit at the helme of
power thereof to be extinguished by permitting damnable errors in the whole Church and that soon after his departure as some Protestants say and not to recover light for twelve or fourteen hundred years together especially considering there was no possible meanes for any man to know the contrary there was no society of men that taught otherwise and if at any time there started up any they were condemned of error by all their fellow Christians and in processe of time melted from the face of the earth The Scripture if that were the means as Protestants pretend not being printed the invention of Printing not being in the world till about two hundred years ago and the Bibles that were written being but few by reason of the great labour of writing them and those that were not purchaseable but by few because of their price nor legible but by fewer because they were not printed but written and lastly not to be knowne to be the Word of God as I have shewed before but by the testimony of those men who they say were corrupted who having corrupted the doctrine might with much more ease have extinguished or corrupted the Text and made them speak what they pleased it being known to far fewer than the doctrine was it being difficult to obtaine uncertain whether it were right and very obscure in its meaning so that if they had been guilty of changing the Apostles doctrine they could easily have razed out all those places which Protestants urge against them and so have prevented the strange and notable discovery that the Protestants think they have made of their errors And if they say that God by his providence preserved the Scripture both from extinction and corruption may not we much more reasonably say having warrant for it out of the Scripture also whereas they have no warrant for the preservation of the Text that God by the same providence did and will alwaies preserve his Church from corruption which is a thing much more easily known than the Scripture consisting of a living multitude can expresse it self more plainly This infallibility in the mouth and Tradition of the Church the Prophet assureth Esa 59.21 My Spirit which is upon thee and the words which I have put into thy mouth shall not depart out of thy mouth nor out of the mouth of thy seed nor out of the mouth of thy seeds seed from hence forth for ever And therfore S. Augustine saith Aug. Ep. 118. that to dispute against the whole Church is insolent madnesse § 4. To know divine and supernaturall truth by the light and lustre of the doctrine belongs to the Church triumphant Inward assurance without an externall infallible ground is proper to Prophets and Apostles the first publishers of Religion and seeing that God doth not now instruct either of these waies as I have shewed but by an externall infallible ground and this being the Tradition of the Church it followes that he must preserve it from error and likewise render the Church it selfe alwaies conspicuous that it may be discerned by sensible markes of which we shall speake anon And he is also bound by his providence to assist men in the finding out of this Church when they apply their best diligence thereunto that so they be not deceived And whereas some of the more learned Protestants say that though they have no infallible ground besides the teaching of the Spirit yet they are not taught immediatly by propheticall manner because they are also taught by an externall probable though not infallible motive to wit the Churches tradition I conceive that except they assigne an externall infallible meanes besides Gods inward teaching they cannot avoid the challenging of immediate revelation For whosoever knowes things assuredly by the inward teaching of the Spirit without an externall infallible motive unto which he doth adhere is assured prophetically though he have some externall probable motives to direct his belief S. Peter had some come conjecturall signes of Symon Magus his preversenesse and incorrigible malice yet seeing he knew it assuredly we believe he knew it by the light of prophecy because beside inward assurance he had no externall infallible ground If one see a man give almes publiquely though he see probable signes and tokens that he doth it out of vaine glory yet cannot he be sure thereof but by the light of immediate revelation because the other tokens are not grounds sufficient to make him certain For if a man be sure and have no certain ground of this assurance out of his own heart it is cleer that he is assured immediately and only by Gods inward inspiration Wherefore Protestants if they will disclaime immediate revelation in deed not in words only they must either grant Tradition to be infallible or else assigne some externall infallible ground besides Tradition whereby they are taught what Scriptures the Apostles delivered Lastly I was perswaded of the Churches infallibility in her Traditions and Doctrines because she is endowed with the power of miracles which wheresoere they are which I shall hereafter examine do both prove that that society of Christians is the true Church and that that Church is infallible in all that she proposes as the Word of God And the reason is because God who is truth it self cannot set his hand and seal that is miracles and works proper to himself to warrant and authorize a falshood invented by men Against which * Feild lib. 3. cap 15. Whites Reply p 216. Protestants object and say that miracles are only probable and not sufficient testimonies of divine doctrine alleadging Bellarmine who saith we cannot know evidently that miracles are true for if we did we should know evidently that our faith is true and so it should not be faith To which may be answered that such evidence as doth exclude the necessity of pious affection and reverence to Gods Word evidence that considering the imperfection of humane understanding may enforce men to believe cannot stand with true faith If we know by Mathematicall or Metaphysicall evidence that the miracles done in the Church were true this evidence would compell men to believe and to overcome the naturall obscurity and seeming impossibility of the Catholique Doctrine therefore as Bellarmine saith we cannot be Mathematically and altogether infallibly sure by the light of nature that miracles are true Notwithstanding it cannot be denied in reason what our Saviour affirmes that miracles are a sufficient testimony binding men to believe the very works that I do do bear witnesse of me that the Father hath sent me Joh. 5.36 and consequently that we may know them to be true by Physicall evidence as we are sure of things we see with our eyes and handle with our hands as S. John saith 1 Epist 1.1 what we have seen with our eyes what we have beheld and our hands have handled of the word of life Or we may be as sure of Miracles as we are of such things as
are fundamentall others not that is some points are to be believed explicitely and distinctly others not and more points are to bee believed explicitely by some than by others as I have shewed before speaking of points necessary to salvation But in regard of the formall object and motive for which we believe namely the truth of God revealing it by his Church there is no distinction of points of faith we being equally bound to believe all that is sufficiently proposed unto us as revealed by God whether the matter be great or small and whether the points be fundamentall in their matter or no yet they are proposed unto us by the same authority therefore we are bound equally with the same firmenesse of faith to believe every one as any one For example the Creed of the Apostles containes divers fundamentall points as the Diety Trinity of Persons Incarnation Passion and Resurrection of our Saviour it containes also some points for their matter and nature in themselves not fundamentall as under what judge he suffered that he was buried and the circumstance of time when he rose againe to wit the third day Now whosoever knowes these to be contained in the Apostles Creed is bound to believe them as firmely as the other and the denyall of any one of them is a fundamentall and damnable errour a giving of God the lie For the nature of faith doth not arise from the greatnesse or smalnesse of the thing believed for then there should be as many different faiths as there are points to be believed but from the motive for which a man believes which is Gods revelation testified by the Church which being alike for all objects it is manifest that they that in things equally revealed by God do grant one thing and deny another do forsake the very formall motive of faith Gods revelation and so have no true divine faith at all § 7. Moreover if the Churches infallibility be tied to a certain matter in Religion then it is meet we should know that first that so we may accordingly apply our belief if it be fundamentall then without doubt to imbrace it if not to exercise our liberty and believe it so far as we see cause but then we must know the matter wherein she is infallible distinctly and particularly as also infallibly or else we may mistake and believe when we need not and disbelieve when we ought not Now from whence shall we have this knowledge God hath no where revealed it and it ought to have been revealed together with the Commission given to the Church to teach or else shee might have deceived us before the caution came but the Church it selfe hath told us no such matter we have no such Tradition therefore we must have this most fundamentall point of all the rest which is to know what is fundamentall and what not either by inspiration or by the strength of reason both which are ridiculous or by some authority coequall to the Churches and yet not hers which is most absurd And in this businesse the Protestants seemed unto me to deal as obscurely and deceiptfully as did once Richard the second King of England who in a return to peace betwixt him and his subjects granted pardon to all except fifteen but would not declare what their names were but if at any time he had a mind out of some new displeasure to cut off any man he would say he was one of the fifteen whom he excepted from the benefit of his pardon In like manner the Protestants say we will believe the Church in all points but those that are not fundamentall not expressing what they are and when they have a wanton disposition to deny their belief to something that the Church hath declared they shelter their denyall under the protection of this unlimited distinction and say it is a point not fundamentall And if on the other side they find it for their advantage to close with other Churches they say they are all one Church with them because forsooth they agree in they know not what that is in their inexplicable fundamentalls § 8. But Chillingworth hath undertaken to give us though not a catalogue yet a description as he supposes by which we may discern between fundamentalls not fundamentalls or circumstantialls as he calls them pag. 137. sect 20. The former being such as are revealed by God and commanded to be preached to all and beleived by all The later such as though God hath revealed them yet the Pastors of the Church are not bound under paine of damnation particularly to teach them unto all and the people may securely be ignorant of them And this is even the same obscurity in more words for what is to be preached to all and believed by all and what the Pastors may forbear to preach and the people may be ignorant of especially seeing the same degree of ignorance is not secure to all people alike but receives infinite variety according to their meanes of knowledge is as undeterminable as what is fundamentall and what not But suppose the Pastors doe preach more than they are bound to preach and reveal that truth which if it had not been revealed the people might safely have been ignorant of may they be ignorant or unbelieving now it is revealed to them If they be then they deny that very authority upon which they believed the most fundamentall points which is the ground of all belief and by consequence deny the whole faith From whence wee may see that the Pastors teaching is not to be stinted by the things the people ought necessarily to believe but the peoples necessity of believing ought to be enlarged according to the measure of the Pastors preaching The Church is not confined to the teaching of fundamentalls only for the matter but whatsoever shee teacheth is fundamentall for the forme and motive of beliefe The circumstantialls are as he confesseth revealed by God to the Church and if the Church reveal them to the people the people must either believe them or deny to believe God And though common people and others also may safely be ignorant before they have been instructed yet they may not be so after nor hath God confined the Pastors instructing of the people to any certain matter to fundamentalls only for Christ bids his Apostles teach all nations to observe all things whatsoever he commanded them Matth. 28.20 And though common people may safely be ignorant of many things yet they must not be unbelieving of any thing but by an implicite faith at the least believe all that the Church believes by adhering and resigning themselves to her being prepared to believe explicitly what and when shee shall declare it to them Which faith is originally and fundamentally built upon the Word of God not as written but as delivered by the Tradition of the Church successively from the Apostles upon the authority whereof we believe that both Scriptures and all other Articles of
endewed with so much zeal and courage as to professe her Religion and to propagate it in the world which cannot be Therefore it is impossible that the true Church should not be ever universall and famously known Sixthly this Church is holy both in life and Doctrine Holy for life shining in all admirable sanctity the rayes whereof do overcome the hearts of the beholders such as the Holy Apostles gave example of as of poverty chastitie obedience charity in undergoing all forms of labour and danger for the safety of soules patience invincible in the rough handling of themselves by wonderfull fastings and all kind of austerities fortitude heroicall in suffering martyrdome not onely with patience but with joy though given them in all the most hideous shapes that mans imagination steeled with malice could invent And although this kind of sanctity does not shine in all the members of the Church but in the more eminent professors and principally in the Pastors yet if this kind of sanctity together with Miracles were wanting she could not be so sufficient a witnesse to Infidells who ordinarily are not won to the affection and admiration of Christianity but by beholding such wonders of power and sanctity in the Professors thereof Holy shee is also for doctrine in regard her traditions are divine and holy without commixture of error for if the Church could deliver any one or few errors intermingled with many truths her Traditions even of the truth were questionable and could not be believed upon her word Even as if we admit in Scripture any error in smaller matters we cannot be sure of its infallibility in matters of greatest moment as he that shall say Gods written word is false or uncertaine when it tells him that S. Paul left his cloake at Troas may also say with as much reason that it is false or uncertain when it tells him that Christ was borne of the Virgin Mary Even so he that grants that some part of Traditions or the Word of God unwritten may be false inferrs by consequence that every part thereof may be so and that because we have no antecedent ground or touch-stone to try Traditions by but they must be believed for their own sakes being therein more fundamentall than the Scripures which are not known to be Apostolicall but by Tradition whereas perpetuall Tradition is knowne to come from the Apostles by its own light for what can be more evident then that that is from the Apostles which is delivered as Apostolicall by perpetuall succession of Priests and people affirming and believing the same § 2. But against this truth that if the Church may erre in one thing neither wee nor shee can be sure that shee speakes truth in any thing Chillingworth makes these in my judgement impertinent interrogations A Judge may possibly erre in Judgement can he therefore never have assurance that he hath judged right A travayler may possibly mistake his way must I therefore be doubtfull whether I am in the right way from my hall to my chamber pag. 117. sect 106. In which he weakly falls into comparison betwixt matters which are the object of the sense or of the understanding and of faith which in this case have no proportion betwixt them For the doctrines of faith as they are of faith being altogether and all equally without the reach of our knowledge we have no way to attaine to but by the help of others whom we must absolutely believe and if we know that they may deliver that which is false to us wee can never be sure that any thing they deliver to us is not false unlesse we had some superiour rule to try and examine their Traditions by which certainly we have not Nor can the Church it selfe if shee may erre in the delivery of one thing be sure that shee doth not erre in every thing because shee hath no infallible rule to examine her doctrines by out of her selfe who if shee be assisted by the Holy Ghost cannot erre in any thing if not for ought shee knowes shee doth in all things Now that the Church is assisted by God and that mans reason cannot be the highest judge to whom the last appeal is made in matters of faith which descend from God I have shewed before As for a humane Judge as he may erre through ignorance wilfulnesse or negligence which to conceive of the Church is absurd yea blasphemous shee having Christ for her Head and the Holy Ghost for her Spirit so he cannot bee more certaine of the truth of his judgement than his reason can make him which will not reach to an absolute infallibility And as a travayler may mistake his way in one journey so he may in another if he have no more certainty nor better guide of the one way than of the other which is the Churches case in propounding and believing matters of faith revealed to her by God which like the Circumference from the Center are all equally distant from our knowledge and the Church hath an equall Prerogative of infallibility by the guidance of the Holy Ghost in all who therefore can erre in nothing or in all things which she saith she so receives and delivers Yet Chillingworth saith that his consequences are as like the other as an egge to an egge or milk to milk but more truly they are as like as an egge to an oyster or milk to ink § 3. And lest any Protestant who honours the Scriptures much with his lips though he be far removed with his heart should think that I am injurious to the Scripture in saying that Tradition is more fundamentall than Scripture it selfe I desire him to take notice that Tradition and Scripture according to different comparisons are equall and superior the one to the other Compare them in respect of certainty of truth they are equall both being the Word of God the one written the other unwritten and so both infinitely certain Compare them in respect of depth of sublimity and variety of doctrine the Scripture is far superiour to Tradition Tradition being plaine and easie doctrine concerning the common capitall and practicall Articles of Christianity whereas the Scripture is full of high hidden senses and furnished with great variety of examples discourses and all manner of learning Compare them in respect of antiquity and evidence of being the Apostles the Scripture is inferiour to Tradition in time and knowledge and cannot be proved directly to be the Apostles and therefore Gods but by Tradition As Philosophy is more perfect than Logicke and Rhetoricke than Grammar in respect of high and excellent knowledge yet Logicke is more prime originall and fundamentall than Philosophy Grammar than Rhetorique without the rules and principles whereof they cannot be learned Even so Tradition is more prime and originall than Scripture though Scripture in respect of depth and sublimity of discourse be more excellent then Tradition CHAP. X. That the Roman is that one holy Catholique
directions only not obligations Therefore in England many both of the people and Clergie also doe deny some one some another particular according to their pleasure and yet the Generall Church of Protestants and the particular of England doth suffer men teaching and professing contrary doctrines as points of faith to abide in her communion and passe under the name of Protestants And seeing that of contrary doctrines one side must needs be false while the Protestant Church permits both sides to be preached as matter of faith and the Word of God she knowingly suffers the profession of false doctrine and so is the mother of falshood as much as truth and therefore cannot be the true Church The Church of Rome doth not so but if any preach or professe contrary to that which is decreed she shuts them out of her Communion and disinherits them of the title of Catholique As for other points which are without the compasse of her decrees wherein there is a mighty latitude according to the extent of mens reasons she permits every man to hold as his particular understanding shall direct him The Puritanes will have all governed by the written word of God The Chillingworthians will have all guided by particular reason and both sorts differ amongst themselves The Church of Rome more wisely in matters of faith and Religion is directed by the Word of God either written or unwritten and therein her children never differ or if they do are renounced In Schoole points and things undefined her children are guided by their particular reason and herein they do and may differ yet without disunion as well as in points of Philosophie For Schoole points are not points of Religion properly religion being derived à RELIGANDO from binding but in School points men are not bound to the belief of either side but have free liberty to hold or change as they think they have cause untill it be otherwise determined by a Councell And this may be done without the just imputation of division as S. Augustine De Bapt. cont Donat. l. 1. c. 18. l. 2. c. 4. saith Divers men be of divers judgements without breach of peace untill a generall Councell allow some one part for pure and cleer Thus doth he excuse S. Cyprians disagreement and error concerning the baptizing of such as were baptized by Heretiques saying that himselfe durst not have condemned the same unlesse I had been strengthened with the most agreable authority of the Catholique Church to which Cyprian himselfe no doubt would have yeelded if at that time the truth of the question had been made cleer and manifest by a generall Councell Which some refusing to doe after that that opinion of Cyprians was by a Councell condemned to shew the difference of holding against a point defined and not defined Vincentius Lyrinensis chap. 9. thus breakes out O admirable change the authors of one self opinion are called Catholiques and the followers of it heretiques Secondly there is in doctrines a difference between the conclusion or point of faith it selfe and the reason or manner thereof in the former of these unity is required and is performed most axactly amongst Catholiques but in the later which concernes but the reason of that conclusion which reason is for the most part reduced to some Scholasticall subtilty learned men have in all ages and may without breach of unity maintaine their difference For although all men be bound to the decree'd point of faith yet they are not so to the reason and manner thereof unlesse the same also be defined by the Church And hereby are answered all the objections of Protestants concerning the disagreement of Catholiques as of the Thomists and Scotists concerning the Conception of our Blessed Lady of the Dominicans and Jesuites about the concurrence of Grace and Freewill with such like in which the Church hath not yet interposed her Decree And some Protestants affirm out of their profound politicall insight that she never will and that because forsooth she dares not out of fear to displease so mighty a party as each opinion hath And yet they know that the Church was not afraid to decree against the opinions of Luther and his brood notwithstanding she lost some Kings and much people thereby but the losse was not only hers but theirs much more she lost some incurable members but they lost themselves And doubtlesse when she sees it meet to determine any of the controversies amongst the learned shee will doe it without any fear but of God In the mean time we see that their differences of opinions breed no more disturbance in the Church nor rancor amongst themselves than their different colours and shapes of apparrell Brotherly charity is not violated amongst them they will all goe to the same Church they will communicate together and confesse to one another nor is there any of them but if he be asked will say that he will stand to a Generall Councell in any of the points of difference amongst them and submit his judgement to hers But Protestants have no Councells nor any authority to call a Councell out of the extent of their temporall dominions the Articles of Religion which they have agreed upon apart are very different one from another as may be seen in their Harmony of Confessions nor in the same Dominion will they stand to any determination of Convocation Synod or Assembly further than it decrees according to the Word of God of which every one will be a judge for himfelfe And in the mean time they violate brotherly charity make schisms and separations one from another refuse to goe to Church or communicate together and in defence of their differences wage war one against another So that their Harmony of Confessions may more truly be called the confusion of Confessions and their Churches the tumults of Religion The greatest unity they have is not in believing but in not believing though therein they are not exact as I have shewed before their faith as they call it being for the most part negative consisting in denying what Catholiques affirme as denying and not believing the infallibility of the Church the Reall Corporall presence seven Sacraments Invocation of Saints Purgatory and Prayer for the dead with many other abating their positive faith almost to nothing now not-believing is not believing and their profession and union in the most is not of faith but of infidelity And for their positive belief I think it consists in two Articles only That there is a God and that Jesus Christ died for the sinnes of the world and whosoever affirmes more than this it will be no hard matter to find some other Protestants that will deny it what union then is there amongst them but that which was betwixt Symeon and Levi to be brethren in evill and in writing the Articles of their Religion as Draco did his lawes in blood For what nation is there where the Protestant Religion hath settled her foot where they did
miserable and endlesse end Now seeing in the opinion of all men there are but two sorts of things required in this matter that is things to be believed and things to be done and that the things to be done are consequences of the former it behoveth you in the first place to be assured of the things you ought to believe seeing as our Saviour saith Mark 16.16 that He that beleeveth not shall be damned Which words in reason cannot be understood of some one or few yea or many points of faith excluding any one but of all that our Saviour commanded to be believed according to his Commission given to his Apostles saying Goe ye therefore and teach all nations or teaching them to keep all things whatsoever I have commanded you and according to the exhortation of S. Jude to the Church in his time That ye earnestly endeavour for the faith which was once delivered to the Saints Ep. Iude v. 3. Nor can you be probably assured that you have the faith once delivered to the Saints the whole faith which the Apostles taught all nations but by examining according to your ability the pleas for it on both sides seeing it is granted by all that the Roman Faith was the true and perfect faith as the Apostle himselfe by consequence confesseth where he saith I thank my God that your faith is published throughout the whole world Rom. 1.8 And if the Church of Rome have not changed her faith as in this Treatise is proved then you that differ and separate from her must be accused of novelty and change in forsaking her doctrine and communion which formerly in your predecessors you held Your return unto both which must be the meanes in the first place to deliver you from eternity of torments and advance you to the glorious liberty and felicity of the sonnes of God And that you may do so shall be the daily prayer and endeavour of From Paris August 4. 1648. Your humble servant in Christ Iesus THO. VANE A LOST SHEEP RETURNED HOME OR The motives of the Conversion to the Catholike Faith OF THOMAS VANE CHAP. I. The introduction And that the knowledge of the meanes to arrive unto eternall life is not otherwise attaineable then by Faith grounded on the Word of God § 1. SAINT Peter the Prince of the Apostles doth thus comfort encourage and command us 1 Pet. 3.14.15 But and if you suffer for righteousnesse sake happy are ye But be not affraid of their fear neither be troubled But sanctifie the Lord God in your hearts ready alwaies to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meeknesse and fear § 2. This happinesse and comfort of suffering for a good cause is remarkably expressed by our Saviour in the fift of S. Matthew where the blessings of other vertues are placed in the future time that they that mourne shall be comforted they that are mercifull shall obtain mercy and so of the rest but of the poore in spirit and of the poore absolutely as S. Luke hath it ch 6.20 and of those that suffer for righteousnesse sake it is affirmed in the present time that theirs is the Kingdome of God Mat. 5.10 the other Beatitudes are but in reversion but this in present possession § 3. And this by the mercy of God I feele in my selfe for heaven is more the joy then the place and this joy because God thinks it not fit as yet to call me to it he hath sent to mee so that I can say with S. Paul Rom. 5.3 I glory in tribulation The Apostles encouragement to abandon feare and to sanctifie the Lord I will by his grace daily put in practice But my present undertaking is the Apostles command to give an answer to every one that asketh me a reason of the hope and faith from whence the hope springs that is in mee and this with the enjoyned circumstances of meeknesse towards men and the feare of God § 4. And as some men here have asked me a reason so if I were in England I assure my selfe many more would do so and having heard of my change do aske one another and that with as much wonder and sorrow as beliefe thereof To these therefore and to all other both Catholiques and Protestants I give this ensuing answer for satisfaction To Catholiques that they may quit all feare of my recoyling to Protestants that they may be invited to follow my example which though it be founded in an unworthy person yet in so glorious an action as coming to the bosome of the Catholike Church they have no reason to disdaine to follow me § 5. In this affaire it is much more easie to find an entrance then an end For what time since the beginning of Christian Religion what place what thing doth not bear witnesse to the Catholike Faith Solomon saith Cant. 4.4 that the neck of the Spouse the Church is like the Tower of David builded for an armory whereon there hang a thousand shields a thousand arguments of defence of the Catholike Doctrines which the many excellent bookes of controversie written both by those of our own and other Nations doe most abundantly declare It shall therefore suffice me to say only so much as may witnesse that I did not make this change without sufficient Motives wherein I will make choice of a little of much and say as much as I can in a little § 6. Entring then into a serious consideration of the end for which I and all men were created to wit the glory of God and our owne eternall happinesse and of the knowledge of the meanes to attaine thereunto I found that by the consent of all Christians this was not to be gotten by cleer evident sight nor by humane discourse founded on the principles of reason nor by reliance upon authority meerly humane but only by Faith grounded on the word of God revealing unto men things that are otherwise only known to his infinite wisedome Secondly that God revealed all these things to Jesus Christ and he to his Apostles as he saith John 15.15 All things which I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you and this partly by word of mouth but principally by the immediate teaching of the holy Spirit to the end that they should deliver them unto mankind to be received believed and obeyed over the whole world even to the end thereof as he saith Math. 28.19 Goe teach all nations Thirdly that the Apostles did accordingly preach to all nations as S. Mark saith Chap. 16.20 They going forth preached everywhere And planted an universall Christian company charging them to keepe inviolably and to deliver unto their posterity what they had received of them the first messengers of the Gospel as S. Paul saith to Timothy 2 Tim. 2.2 The things that thou hast heard of me amongst many witnesses the same commit thou to faithfull men who may instruct others Fourthly that
in Jesus Christ without any distinct belief of his divine and humane nature and that he died for the sinnes of the world and that a man must repent before he die is all that is necessarily required either for belief or practice of any man As for those that cannot read which are I believe the greatest number or very little inferior they deal most unkindly with them not providing a certaine means whereby they may be brought up to read which they that can read think all are bound to with references to the Scriptures by the commandement of Christ and wherby they are to find out the things necessary to salvation but leave them if at all to be saved by the cruell blind Popery as they please to call it of an implicite faith § 3. I then considered that there was much ambiguity in these words necessary to salvation there being divers kinds of necessity that have place in matters of Religion First there is an absolute necessity and a conditionall necessity Absolute necessity is that which admits no excuse of impossibility nor any exception of place time or person as in regard of those that are of age capable of knowledge The belief of Christ mediator betwixt God and man and to this kind of necessity there are some that would restrain all things to be believed leaving themselves the liberty of all matters else to believe what they please but with as much reason they may restraine this necessity to the believing only that there is a God and so renounce their Christianity Conditionall necessity is that which obligeth not but in case of possibility and receives exception of time place and person Thus there are many points necessary to be believed if a man be in place where he may be instructed in them and hath time to receive instruction which are not necessary for a man liveing in the wildernesse or so ready to be attached by death as he hath no leisure to be instructed or apprehension to receive it as that Christ was borne of a Virgin and crucified under Pontius Pilate And many things are necessary for Pastors to believe which are not for common people as that the persons of the Trinity are the same in essence but distinct in subsistence that in Christ there are two natures and but one person with many the like And in matter of practise there are many things necessary in case of possibility and opportunity of time and place which are not necessary if the conveniency to accomplish them be wanting as the assistance at Church service and participation of the Eucharist Secondly there is a necessity of means and a necessity of precept Necessity of means is in those things to which God hath obliged us if we will attaine the end as of the Sacraments to which God hath given power to confer grace and of the Commandements whose necessity is imposed upon us if we will enter into life and of repentance of sinnes which is a means necessary to obtain their remission Necessity of Precept is that which only obliges in regard that it is commanded contributing otherwise no real advancement to our salvation as the celebrating the Lords day and other such like observations the omission wherof could be no hindrance to salvation but in respect of disobedience and breach of the Commandement Thirdly there is a necessity of speciall belief and a necessity of generall belief Necessity of speciall belief is of those points which all faithfull if they be not prevented by death are obliged to believe with faith expresse distinct determinate which the Schoolemen call explicite faith as the twelve Articles of the Creed Necessity of generall belief is of those things which every particular man is not bound to believe with a distinct and explicite faith as that Baptism given by Heretiques is true Baptism and that Heretiques which have received Baptism must not be baptized again when they return to the Church with many such like in which it will suffice the unlearned multitude to believe them implicitly that is to adhere to the Church that doth believe them and by a generall belief imbrace them by believing as the Church doth and referring themselves to her prepared alwaies to believe them explicitly when they shall be declared to them and themselves are capable to apprehend them Lastly there is a Necessity of act and a Necessity of approbation Necessity of act is of those things which every particular person is obliged actually to perform as to professe the name of Christ to forgive offences commited against him with the like Necessity of approbation is of those things which every man is not bound actually to performe but only not to contradict them nor to condemne those that do them nor the Church that allowes them nor to seperate themselves from her upon this occasion as the choice to live in virginity and single life with the like § 4. Now according to these severall kinds of Necessity I accounted it meet to hold for necessary to salvation all those things that the Fathers have holden necessary in that degree and according to those kinds of necessity as they have holden them And this I did not perceive to be a matter of such ease to find out as Protestants did under their title of necessary to salvation affirm I found innumerable places of Scripture were obscure and hard to be understood and that their distinction of things necessary to salvation was more obscure and uncertain than any thing having no limits or determination but like the Gladius Delphicus was fitted for all turns but indeed served none but to cozen themselves who presented with a point of belief or practice which they did not like would wave it with saying it was not necessary to salvation Therefore as S. Philip asked the Eunuch whether he understood what he read who said how can I without some body to interpret it So I answered my selfe and had reason to believe that others could not truly answer better for themselves An interpreter then was necessary who might judge of the true meaning of the Scripture against the corruption of heretiques who all take their protection from thence and which should determine all emergent controversies which were needfull for the preservation of peace and unity And in bestowing of this Office I observed that the Protestants voices were divided * Har. Confes p. 5. some gave it to the Scripture it selfe saying that it must interpret it selfe and be the Judg of all controversies * VVhites way to the Church p. 6.27 Others that the Spirit of God doth interpret to every private man both which I apprehended absurd and unreasonable The former because nothing if it speak obscurely can interpret it selfe but that which hath a living voice which the Scripture not having cannot possibly interpret it selfe As for the assertion of some that the obscure places are interpreted by plain places speaking to the same purpose it is false there
propagated it But the Church having in it the property of heat which as Philosophers say is to gather together things that are of the same nature and separate things that are of different natures includes all that are of the same faith and admitteth no other § 3. I therefore conceived according to the judgement of the most learned the Church to be a society of those that God hath called to salvation by the profession of the true faith the sincere adminstration of the Sacraments and the adherence to lawfull Pastors Which description of the Church is so fitted and proportioned to her that it resembles the nest of the Halcion which as Plutarch saith is of such a just and exact size for the measure of her body that it can serve for no other bird either greater or lesse Then for the meaning of the word Catholique the Protestants say that that Church is Catholique which holdeth the true faith which though it be not spread universally over the world yet it ought to be so say they and therefore it is Catholique By which they leave men in a labyrinth of finding out the true faith in all the particulars thereof which as they say must guide a man to the Church that is truely Catholique which being the object of the understanding is much more difficult to find out than that which is the object of the sense as is its being Catholique And therefore it seemed to me as proposterous as to set the cart before the horse to prove a Church Catholique because it is true whereas it should be proved true because it is Catholique Beside the name Catholique is not a name of belief only but of communion also else antiquity would not have refused that title to those which were not separated from the belief but only from the communion of the Church S. Aug. Ep. 50. nor would they have affirmed that out of the Catholique Church the faith and Sacraments may he had but not salvation So that Catholique imports thus much both the vast extension of doctrine to persons and places different and the union of all those places and persons in Communion Therefore allbeit the Protestants should hold the same belief that the ancient Church did yet if they did not communicate with the same ancient Church which by succession of Pastors and People is derived down to this present time I could not see how they could with justice assume to themselves the title of Catholiques CHAP. VI. Of the Infallibility of the Church § 1. NOw that the Catholique Church which society of Christians soever it be of which we shall deliberate hereafter is the only faithfull and true witnesse of the matter of Gods Word to tell us what it is and what is not it the only true interpreter of the meaning of Gods word and the last and finall judge of all controversies that may arise in matters of Religion and that shee is not onely true but that shee cannot be otherwise seeing shee is infallible I was perswaded to believe by many reasons In the alleadging of which I will avoid the accusation of Protestants of the circular disputation of Catholiques saying they believe the Scripture because the Church saies it is so and the Church because the Scripture bids them do so First then without dependence on the Scripture I conceived the Catholique Church to be infallible in her Traditions in that which she declareth to us concerning the doctrine of Christ and the Apostles and that even in the very nature of her testimony and tradition For Tradition being a full report of what was evident to sense namely what doctrines the Apostles taught what Scripture they wrote it is impossible it should be false Worlds of men cannot be universally deceived in matters evident to sense as are the things men heare and see and not being so it is impossible they should either negligently suffer it or maliciously agree to deceive others being so many in number so distant in place so different in affections conditions and interests Wherefore it is impossible that what is delivered by full Catholique Tradition from the Apostles should be by the deliverers first devised as Tertullian saith Tert. de praesc cap. 28. That which is found one and the same amongst many is not an error but a Tradition Yet supposing universall Tradition as it is meerly humane be in its nature fallible yet the Tradition of the Catholique Church is by God himselfe preserved from error which is thus demonstrated God being infinitely good and ardently desiring the salvation of mankind cannot permit the meanes which should convey the Apostles doctrine to posterity by the belief whereof men must be saved to be poisoned with damnable error to the destruction of their salvation now the onely meanes to convey this doctrine is the Tradition of the Catholique Church Tert. de Praes cap. 21. as Tertullian saith what the Apostles taught I will prescribe ought no other wayes to be proved than by those Churches which the Apostles founded All other means as I have shewed you before are insufficient and if this Tradition of the Church should be insufficient also by reason of its liablenesse unto error then were there no certainty at all of the truth of Christian Religion no not so much as that there was such a man as Jesus Christ but all men would be left to grope in the wandring uncertainty of their owne imaginations which for God to suffer cannot fall under any prudent mans belief § 2. Secondly that which bindeth men to believe a thing to be Gods Word God cannot suffer to delude men into error whereby for their devotion unto his truth they may fall into damnation now Catholique Tradition from the Apostles is that which bindes men to believe the same to be the Word of God and that because it is thereby sufficiently proposed the World affording no higher nor surer proposall so that either this must be infallible or else God hath left us to the guidance of our own weak understandings the weaknesse of which conceit I shewed even now and all Christians to that confusion which all different opinions yet reputed the Word of God by them that hold them may produce § 3. Thirdly God being the Prime Verity he cannot so much as connive at falshood whereby he becomes accessory of deceiving them who simply readily and religiously believe what they have just reason to think to be his Word but there is most just and sufficient reason to believe that the doctrine delivered by full and perpetuall Tradition from hand to hand even from the Apostles is undoubtedly their doctrine and the Word of God therefore he cannot suffer Catholique Tradition to be falsified Nor can as I conceive any prudent man imagine that God having sent his Son into the world to teach men the way to heaven every moment of whose life was made notable by doing or suffering somthing to that end should suffer the efficacy and
being once evident to the world are by the worlds full report declared unto us which is a morall infallibility So that if we have not a Metaphysicall or Mathematicall infallibility of the truth of Miracles yet we have a Physicall and morall infallibilitie as much as we have of any thing we either hear or see Nor doth this Physicall evidence take away the merit of faith because this evidence not being altogether and in the highest degree infallible in it self for our senses may somtimes be deceived it is not sufficient to conquer the naturall obscurity darknesse and seeming falshood of things to be believed upon the testimony of those miracles For the mystery of the Trinity of the Incarnation Reall presence and the like seem as far above the reach of reason as any Miracle can seem evident to sense hence when faith is proposed by Miracles there ariseth a conflict betwixt the seeming evidence of the Miracles and the seeming falshood and darknesse of Catholique Doctrine against which obscurity a man cannot get the victory by the sole evidence of miracles except he be inwardly assisted by the light of Gods Spirit moving him by pious affection to cleave to the Doctrine which is by so cleer testimony proved to be his Word Even as a man shut up in a chamber with two lights whereof the one makes the wall seem white the other blew cannot be firmly assured what colour it is untill day-light enter and obscuring both those lights discover the truth so a man looking upon Christian Doctrines by the light of miracles done to prove them will be moved to judge them to be truth but looking upon them through the evidence of their seeming impossibilities unto reason they will seem false nor will he be able firmly to resolve for the side of faith untill the light of divine grace enter into his heart making him prefer through pious reverence to God the so-proposed authority of his Word before the seeming impossibility to mans reason CHAP. VII That Catholique Tradition is the onely firm foundation and motive to induce us to beleeve that the Apostles received their doctrine from Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ from God the Father And what are the meanes by which this doctrine is derived downe to us § 1. AS Catholique Tradition is infallible in it self so is it most necessary for us there being no other certaine testimony to any prudent man no firme ground or motive to believe that the Primitive Church received her doctrine from the Apostles the Apostles from Christ Christ from God nor no way to bring it downe from those times to these but only the Tradition of the Church For we may observe three properties of the doctrine of faith to be true to be revealed of God to be preached and delivered by the Apostles The highest ground by which a man is persuaded that his faith is true is the authority of God speaking and revealing it the highest proof by which a man is assured that his faith is revealed is the authority of Christ and his Apostles who delivered the same as descending from God but the highest ground that moveth a man to believe that his faith was preached by the Apostles is the perpetuall Tradition of the Church succeeding the Apostles unto this day assuring him so much according to the saying of * De praescr c. 21. 37. Tertullian who maketh this ladder of belief in this sort what I believe I received from the present Church the present from the Primitive the Primitive Church from the Apostles the Apostles from Christ Christ from God and God the prime verity from no other fountaine different from his own infallible knowledge So that he that cleaveth not to the present Church firmely believing the Tradition thereof as being come down by succession is not so much as on the lowest step of the ladder that leads unto God the revealer of saving truth successive Tradition unwritten being the last and finall ground whereon we believe that the points of our belief came from the Apostles which may be proved by these arguments § 2. First if the maine points of faith be to be believed to come from the Apostles because they are written in Scriptures and the Scriptures are believed to be the Word of God upon the report of universall Tradition then our belief that the things which we believe come from the Apostles and from God resteth upon the Tradition of the Church but it is most certaine that the Scriptures cannot be proved to have been delivered unto the Church by the Apostles but by the perpetuall Tradition unwritten conserved in the Church succeeding the Apostles all the other waies by which the Protestants endeavour to prove the Scripture to be the word of God being vaine and insufficient as I have proved before Secondly common and unlearned people which comprehend the greatest part of Christians may have true faith yet they cannot have it grounded on the Scripture for they can neither understand nor read it or if read it yet but in a vulgar language of the truth of whose translation they are not assured therefore must rely upon the testimony of the present Church that that which they believe is the Word of God Thirdly if all the maine and substantiall points of Christian faith must be believed before we can securely read and truly understand the holy Scripture than they are believed not upon Scripture but upon Tradition going before Scripture and that it is so is manifest because true faith is not built but upon Scripture truly understood according to the right sense thereof nor can we understand the Scripture aright unlesse we first know the main Articles of Faith which all are bound expresly to believe by which as by a rule we must regulate our selves in the interpretation of the Scripture otherwise without being setled in the rule of faith by Tradition men are apt to fall into grievous errors even against the main articles of the faith as of the Blessed Trinity and Incarnation of the Son of God as experience doth sufficiently testifie so that reading and interpreting Scripture doth not make men Christians but supposeth them to be made so by Tradition at least for the main points such as every one is bound expresly to know Fourthly they to whom the Apostles wrote and delivered the Scripture were already converted to Christianity and instructed in all necessary points of faith and in the common practises of Christianity and so by what they knew by Tradition could easily interpret what was written but otherwise might easily have failed in the mainest points as some forsaking Tradition did for example the Arrians who were confuted by the Catholiques not by bare Scripture for of that the Arrians had plenty but as it was interpreted by Tradition Therefore none can be supposed to understand the Scripture aright so to know the true word and will of God but by being such as they were to whom the Apostles
delivered the Scripture that is first instructed by Tradition Otherwise they may easily erre in some chiefe articles of Faith any of which to erre in is damnable And I would faine know whether any understanding Protestant doth believe that if a Bible were given to a heathen or to one borne amongst themselves supposing he had not been trained up by Catechisme and other traditionall instruction whether I say he could out of that extract as points cleerly expressed therein the thirty nine Articles of the Church of England or the book called the Harmony of Confessions which is the profession of the faith of most of the Protestants of the world Lastly we cannot with modesty say that we are more able to understand Scripture than were our fore-fathers the ancient Doctors of the Church but they thought themselves unable to interpret Scripture by conference of places or such like humane means without the light of Christian Doctrine before-hand knowne and firmly believed upon the Tradition of the Church witnesse * Ruf. Eccl. hist l. 2. c 9. S. Basil S. Gregory Nazianzene and * Orig. tract in Mat. 29. c. 23. Origen who thus writeth In our understanding of Scriptures we must not depart from the first Ecclesiasticall Tradition nor believe otherwise but as the Church of God hath by succession delivered to us therefore no man is able to interpret Scripture without the light and assistance of Christian faith afore-hand received by the voice of the Church delivering what shee received from her ancestors Dangerously and high boldnesse then it is for men of this age so to presume on their owne interpretations of Scripture gotten by humane meanes as to make them over-ballance a thousand * Luther de capt Babil Tom. 2. VVittenberg p. 344. Cyprians Augustines Churches and Traditions § 3. From all which I observed that the Protestants do not well understand that place of Scripture so frequently urged by them against Tradition where S. Paul saith to Timothy Thou hast known the holy Scriptures from thy childhood which are able to instruct thee or make thee wise unto salvation Inferring from hence that the Scriptures are able to make all men wise unto salvation whereas this was spoken with relation to Timothy only and to such as agree with him in the cause for which this saying is true in him that is such as were aforehand instructed by Tradition and did firmly believe all substantiall Doctrines of faith and know the necessary practises of Christian Discipline even as what God said to Abraham I am thy protector and thy exceeding great reward Gen. 15.1 is not appliable to all men absolutely but only to all men that were of the same qualification that is faithfull and devout as he was Moreover the Apostle in that place speaketh only of the Scriptures of the Old Testament for the New was not written in the infancy of Timothy nor some of it at this very time that these words were written and these Scriptures he affirmes also to instruct Timothy not by themselves alone but by faith which is in Christ Jesus that is joyned with the doctrine of the Christian faith which Timothy had heard and believed on the voice of Tradition And the following words of the Apostle are with equall confidence insisted on All Scripture inspired of God is profitable to teach c. is very unprofitable for their purpose seeing that profitable can by no means be stretcht to signifie sufficient as they would have it and that for every man but particularly for him that is HOMO DEI a man of God that is one already instructed by Tradition in all the main points of Christian faith and godly life such an one as Timothy was Thus indeed the Scriptures may be granted sufficient joyned with Tradition but not alone And whereas there are some places of the Fathers alledged by Protestants to prove the Scriptures to be clear in all substantiall points they are to be understood as the Apostles words are with reference to such men who have been before instructed by Tradition even as they that hear Aristotle explicate himself by word of mouth may easily understand his books of nature which are very hard to be understood of them that never heard his explication either from his own mouth or by Tradition from his Schollers § 4. Whereas some Protestants say that the difficult places of Scripture are unfolded a VVootton triall of the Romish c. p. 88. l. â—9 by Scripture and the rules of Logick b Field p. 281. lin 20. and by other things beside Scripture evident in the light of nature it seems to me very incongruous First because the rule of faith must be for the capacity of the unlearned as well as the learned and unlearned men cannot be sure of the infolded sense of the Scripture by Logicall deductions Secondly the Scripture it self sends us to supply her wants not to the rules of Logick but unto Tradition saying Hold the Traditions which ye have received by word or our Epistle 2 Thes 2.15 It sendeth us to the Church the pillar and ground of truth 1 Tim. 3.15 which whosoever doth not heare is as a Heathen and a Publican Matth. 18.17 It did the same to the Jewes who had the Scriptures also saying Remember the old dayes think upon every generation ask thy father and he will declare unto thee the elders and they will tell thee Deut. 32.7 The same do the Fathers as I shall shew hereafter § 5. And whereas it is further objected that the Fathers disputed negatively from the Scripture against Heretiques thus Doctrine is not cleerly delivered in Scripture therefore it is not to be received as a matter of Faith we must know that the Fathers proceeded upon this supposition that was known to all and granted by the Heretiques themselves namely that the Doctrines they disputed against were not the Traditions of the Church and in this case they required the testimony of Scripture Yea more the Fathers did not onely require places of Scripture from the Heretiques by way of deduction and Logicall inference for to such all ancient Heretiques and Protestants now pretend wherewith they delude ignorant people but they required of them to shew their Doctrine in Scripture saith Irenaeus expresly and in termes and to prove it not by texts * Aug. de unitat Eccles cap. 5. which require sharpnesse of wit in the Auditors to judge who doth more probably interpret them not by places which require an interpreter one to make Logicall inferences upon the text but by places plaine manifest cleere which leave no place to contrary exposition and that no Sophistry can wrest them to other sense to the end that controversies which concern the salvation of soules be defined by Gods formall Word and not by deductions from it by rules of Logicke And even by this way of the Fathers arguing negatively from the Scripture the Protestant Religion is quite overthrowne for seeing nothing is
higher then the fountain from whence it springs if therefore particular reason be the governour of our faith which reason is a humane and fallible thing it cannot rise to nor support a divine faith But divine faith is that which God requires of us in the businesse of Religion and that which is not such is none And it is convenient that as God ordained man to a supernaturall end namely the blissefull vision of himselfe which is a thing far above all excellencies of nature so he should bring him to this blisse by believing things above the reach of reason which in man is his nature and to beget this faith by Miracles his owne acts which are above the power of nature and by the testimony of those that do those supernaturall acts to whom if he have given his deeds it cannot be doubted but he hath given his word of any part whereof to make any doubt is to call the credit of all into question the house of Faith being like some artificiall buildings whereof if you pull out one pin you loosen the whole frame So if a man disbelieve any one point delivered him by the Catholique Church he unjoynts the whole frame of faith and virtually denies it all and that because they have all the same height of proof to wit the testimony of the Church which if she can lie in one thing she may for ought wee know in another and so in all and thus bring a man to doubt of all and then to denie all And that those men that doe denie some one point of Catholique Tradition though unwritten doe not denie all is not for that they have any faith but out of secular ends and deceiptfull reason § 4. Indeed some Protestants grant that if Tradition be universall and perfectly Catholique it doth oblige to the belief thereof but not otherwise by which universall Tradition they meane such as never any one gainsaid But if such onely are to be called Catholique Traditions there is scarce any thing left for Christians to believe and indeed to that passe have many brought it for some have denied the distinction of Persons in the Trinity others the Divinity of our Saviour others his humanity others the Deity of the Holy Ghost and a hundred more now if no Tradition be to be called Catholique but such as was never denied by any one or some number of Christians then a man may deny the fore-mentioned and many other points and Articles of faith because their Tradition hath not been so universall but that some have denied it yea some books of the Scripture it self were not universally received till about four hundred years after Christ By Catholique or universall Tradition then must be understood that which the Catholique Church hath alwaies taught not which all Christians for then we must look for Tradition in the mouths of Heretiques whose property it is to deny some Tradition or other under pretence that it is opposite to Scripture And if any have taught contrary the Catholique Church hath condemned them for Heretiques which is a sufficient proof that untill such Hereticall Spirits opposed some one or more Traditions of the Church they were universally believed As for example the Doctrine of Christs consubstantiality or being of the same substance with the Father no reasonable man will deny but that it was generally believed in the Church before the daies of the Arch-heretique Arrius and that the Councel of Nice condemning of him was a sufficient proof that the doctrine he opposed was the universall Tradition of the Church by force whereof he was overthrowne and not by Scripture only there being no place of Scripture so plaine but he would give some answer to it and likewise alledge plenty of Scripture in the proof of his own Heresie while he took upon him to interpret it himself forfaking the traditionall sense thereof and would receive no answer to it And if Arrius his denyall of that point of Faith will make it universall for place or the doctrine it self new and so universall for time as some in other instances do alledge because it was then first declared by reason of that opposition then it may be lawfull under the same pretence for men to deny all the Traditions of the Church all the decrees of Generall Councells of the Church and to revive all the Heresies that were in the Church § 5. Moreover to attribute conditionall infallibility to the Church and not absolute in all that she delivers * Chillingworth pag. 118. Pet. Martyr loc Com. clas 4. c 4. sect 21. Confess Helvet c. 17. as some Protestants doe making her infallible onely while she followes the Scripture and Vniversall Tradition is to give her no more priviledge than to a child or fool who are also infallible while they affirm nothing but what is agreeable to Scripture and universall Tradition But if we know not Scripture nor Tradition but by the Churches direction how shall we know in her exposition of Scripture and deciding of controversies that she doth erre unlesse we know it from her also seeing her authority in the one is as good as in the other and by those reasons that we may deny the truth of the one we may deny the other And if she say she have expounded Scripture truly and decided controversies aright by the rule of Scripture and Tradition who shall gainesay her Can any man be so foolish as to think his word is of more credit than the whole Churches Or that his reason is better then hers Or that if she may erre from her rule he may not do so also And if their infallibilities be both of the same strength who in his right mind would not believe millions affirming the same thing rather than one or some few affirming the contrary If there were a rule so plaine and clear that all men understood it and none could pervert it then there were no need of a judge or directer but if the rule be obscure or liable to misinterpretation as all words are let them be expressed never so plainly then it is meet that there should not onely be a Judge but that this Judge should be infallible seeing the businesse concerns the salvation of mankind and not be subject to the petty after-examinations of proud and discontented people as if one or more of them did know the meaning of the rule better than the Judge when that Judge is the universall Church And that which these men affirm in this matter amounts to this wise Maxime That the Church is infallible while she is infallible and so is the Devill § 6. Frivolous then and without foundation is that late started distinction of points fundamentall and not fundamentall and the assertion built thereon That the Church may erre in the one and not in the other and so by consequence we are not bound to believe her in all things Indeed in regard of the materiall object or thing to be believed some points
faith were delivered to them by the Apostles to the Apostles by Christ to Christ by God the fountain of all truth CHAP. IX That there is and ever shall be a visible Church upon earth And that this Church is one holy Catholique and Apostolique § 1. NOw considering all that hath been said before the summe whereof is this That we have no meanes to know certainly the doctrines of the Apostles but only the Tradition of the Church and that that Tradition is and ought to be infallible hence I conceived that this consequence was necessary that there should be and is alwaies a visible Church in the world to whose Traditions men might cleave and that this Church is one universall Apostolicall Holy First there is alwaies a true Church of Christ in the world for if there be no meanes for men to know that Scriptures and all other Articles came from Christ and his Apostles and so consequently from God but the Tradition of the Church then there must needs be in all ages a Church receiving and delivering these Traditions else men in some age since Christ should have been destitute of the ordinary meanes of salvation because they had no meanes to know assuredly the doctrines of Christianity without assured faith whereof no man can be saved And although a false Church may deliver the true Word of God as it is contained in the Scripture and the Creed yea even a Jew or Heathen may do so for this is but casuall yet none but a true Church can deliver the Word of God with assurance to the receiver that the text is incorrupt thereby binding him to the belief thereof Now it is necessary that men have the true Scripture not only casually but they must be sure the Text thereof be uncorrupt therefore there must be a true unerring Church whose authority is so aut hentique that it is a sufficient warrant for men to believe the doctrine shee delivers to come from the Apostles Secondly this Church must be alwaies visible and conspicuous For the Traditions of the Church must ever be famous and most notoriously known in the world that a Christian may truly say with S. Augustine De utilit Cred. c. 14. I believe nothing but the consent of Nations and Countries and most celebrious fame Now if the Church were at any time invisible or very secret and hidden then could not her Traditions be famously known nor could men that were willing to submit themselves to her directions know where to find her out of whose communion they cannot attain salvation Thirdly this Church is Apostolicall that is derived from the Apostolicall Sea by the succession of Bishops and Pastors for else how can we be assured that we have the Apostles doctrine It must be one generation that must certifie another and if there should be any interruption in that time all might be lost and changed And how could the Tradition of Christian Doctrine be notoriously Apostolicall if the Church delivering the same hath not a manifest and conspicuous pedigree and derivation from the Apostles Which is a convincing argument used by S. Augustine Epist 48. circa med How doe we trust out of the divine writings that we have manifestly received Christ if we have not also from thence manifestly received his Church The Church that hath a lineall succession of Bishops from the Apostles famous and illustrious whereof not one hath been opposite in Religion to his immediate predecessor proves evidently that this Church hath the Doctrine of the Apostles For as in the rank of three hundred stones ranged in order if no two stones be found in that line of different colour then if the first be white the second is white and so the rest unto the last even so if there be a succession of three hundred Bishops all of the same Religion if the first have the Religion of the Apostles and S. Peter the second hath and so the rest even unto the last Fourthly this Church is one that is all the Pastors and Preachers deliver and consequently all her Disciples and children believe one and the same Faith For if the Preachers and Pastors of the Church disagree about matters which they preach as necessary points of Faith they lose all their credit and authority for who will believe witnesses on their own words if they disagree in their testimony Fifthly I infer that this Church is universall spread over all Nations that she may be said to be every where morally speaking that is according to common humane account by which a thing diffused over a great part of the world and famously knowne is said to be every where In this manner the Apostle said that the faith of the Romans was renowned in the whole world Rom. 1.12 that so the whole world may take notice of her as of a worthy and credible witnesse of Christian Tradition howsoever her outward glory and splendour peace and tranquillity in some places and at some times be more or lesse eclipsed and shee be not alwaies in all places at once And the reason of this perpetuall visible universality is because the Tradition of the Church is the sole ordinary meanes of faith toward the Word of God This Tradition therefore must be so delivered as that it may be known to all men seeing God will have all men without exception of any nation to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth 1. Tim. 2.4 which they cannot do unlesse the Church be so diffused in the world that all known nations may take notice of her And Gods will that all men should be saved though it be but an antecedent will as Schoolemen call it yet it inferreth two things which some Protestants deny first the salvation of all men secondly the meanes of their salvation In respect of the meanes the will of God is absolute that all men in some sort or other have sufficient meanes of salvation In respect of the end to wit the salvation of all men the will of God is not absolute but as Schoolemen say virtually conditionall that is God hath a will that all men be saved as much as lies in him if the course of his providence be not intercepted and men will cooperate with his grace And the reason why some Nations hear not the Gospell and Word of God is not the defect of his Church but the want of working in the naturall causes to discover such Countries which defect God will not ever miraculously supply But if the Church were invisible to the world and hoarded up her Religion to her selfe either not daring or not willing to professe and preach the same unto others Nations may be knowne and yet the Word of God not known to them If therefore this Church should be hidden for a long time mens souls should perish not through defect in the naturall causes but only through the hiddennesse obscurity and wretchednesse of the supernaturall meanes to wit of the Church not
for many hundred years an universall Apostacy over-spread the whole face of the earth so that our Protestant Church was not then visible to the world Fulk saith * Treatise ag Stapleton Martiall p. 25. the Pope hath blinded the world these many hundred years some say 900. some 1000. some 1200. And * On the Revelat. p 64. Napier saith The Antichristian and Papisticall reign began about the year three hundred and sixteen after Christ which is now above 1300. years ago raigning universally without debateable contradiction Gods true Church abiding certainly hidden and latent Secondly Protestants cannot tell the time when the Church of Rome began to change and swerve from the Apostolicall doctrine therefore doubtlesse she hath never changed her faith Now that doctrines universally received although they be not written are Doctrines derived from the Apostles is affirmed by * De Baptis lib. 5. c. 23. S. Augustine and allowed by * D. sence p. 351. 352. D. Whitguift Archbishop of Canterbury who in his book against Puritanes citing divers Protestants as concurring in opinion with him saith whatsoever opinions are not knowne to have begun since the Apostles time the same are not new or secundary but received their originall from the Apostles But because this principle of Christian divinity brings in as Cartwright the Puritan there alledged speaks all Popery in the judgement of all men I will further demonstrate it though of it selfe it be cleer enough Christ by his Spirit being still present with his Church cannot permit errors in Faith so to creep into the Church as that by the very principles of Christianity they become unreformable but if errors so creep into the Church as that their beginning cannot be knowne and their progresse become universall then do they so enter and prevaile that by the principles of Christianity they are past reformation and that because whosoever undertakes to reform them is to be condemned as an Heretique for he that will undertake to reform Doctrines universally received by the Church opposeth himself against the whole Church and is therefore by a knowne and received Principle of Christianity and Christs owne precept to be accounted as a Heathen and a Publican Mat. 18.17 Epist 118. And as S. Augustine saith To dispute against the whole Church is insolent madnesse For the Church by Christ is appointed the Judge and corrector of all others as our Saviour saith Tell the Church and therefore is not to be judged nor corrected by any he that hath the high presumption to doe so presently pulls on himself the censure of a Heathen And justly too for like the Giants amongst the Poets who waged war against the Gods he doth not only oppose the present Church but the Church of all ages even the Apostles themselves and who is sufficient for these things And he begins a new course of Christianity seeking to overthrow that Doctrine which is universally received and cannot be proved by any Tradition of Ancestors to be otherwise planted in the world than by the Apostles themselves through the power of innumerable miracles Wherefore these Doctrines if they be errors are errors whose reformation no man by the principles of Christianity ought to attempt And seeing it is impossible there should be any such errors the Principle of S. Augustine stands firm That Doctrines received universally in the Church without any known beginning are truly Apostolicall and of this kind are the Roman Doctrines from which Protestants have revolted But some Protestants object that the errors of the Pharisees were universally received in the Jewish Church yet reformed by our Saviour To which may be answered that Protestants out of their desire to make Catholiques seem like the Pharisees make themselves seem as if they did not any whit understand the Gospell For the Traditions of the Pharisees were not universall Traditions but certaine practises of piety invented by themselves and deducted by their skill from Scripture whereby they would seem singularly religions and not as other men Secondly Christ Jesus proving himselfe to be true God might reforme errors universally received and the Church of the Jewes falling erect a new Church of Christians as he did which is not lawfull for any one else to doe For Christian Religion must continue to the worlds end by vertue of the first Tradition thereof and must never be interrupted without extraordinary and propheticall beginning by immediate revelation and Miracles If therefore errors be delivered by the full consent of Christian Tradition they are irreformable Again some Protestants say that one may oppose the whole Church and confute her errors by Scripture not be as an Heathen or Heretique for not every one that opposeth the Church is to be accounted an Heathen Whites Reply p. 136. but only such as inordinately and without just cause oppose it And who I pray shall judge of the justnesse of the cause By this doctrine every man is made an examiner and judge of the whole Church hellish confusion brought in thereby For if against the sentence of perpetual universal Tradition a private man may without the guilt of heresie pretend Scripture and stand obstinately therein though the Church do give seeming and appearing answers as some of them confesse to his Scripture yet condemne her answers saying they are sophisticall as some of them do what can be more disorderly or what is Hereticall obstinacy if this be not Wherefore S. Augustine saith absolutely Epist 48. it is impossible men should have just cause to depart from impugn the whole Christian Church And why but because it is a ruled case in Christianity he that heareth not the Church is an Heretike Yet notwithstanding this the Protestants doe charge the Church of Rome DE FACTO to have falne into errors and to have changed her faith and that because points of doctrine undefined about which Doctors have disputed and held different opinions have been afterwards defined by the Church so that it was not lawfull for any after that to make doubt thereof the Church by this meanes hath held in later ages that to be DE FIDE a matter of faith which the former ages did not and so say they hath changed the faith and believes and delivers more than shee received from the Apostles But this I found to be no change of faith but only a declaration of some point explicitly which was implicitly and involvedly believed before For all the Articles of faith were immediately re-revealed by Christ to his Apostles and by them againe delivered to their posterity so that since there have been no new and particular revelations but the first being laid up in the treasury of the Church for which cause S. Paul calls it a depositum a stock or pawn other truths have been deduced from thence as occasion hath required For when any one endeavours to corrupt the doctrine delivered by the Apostles the Church calls her Pastors and Doctors to
examine the matter and being infallibly assisted by the Spirit of truth which our Saviour promised should be with his Apostles to the end of the world that is with the Church their Successor which was to continue to the worlds end shee declares what is true and what is false as agreeing with or disagreeing from that doctrine which shee hath received from her Fore-fathers the Prophets and Apostles upon whom shee is built as S. Paul saith built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets Ephes 2.20 For as in a building there is not the least stone which rests not upon the foundation so in the doctrine of the Catholique Church there is not the least point which is not grounded on or contained in that which was delivered by the Apostles For example in the principles of every Science are contained divers truths which may be drawn out of them by many severall conclusions one following another These conclusions were truths in themselves before though they did not so appear to us till wee saw the connexion they had with the premises and how they were contained in them And by the many severall conclusions so drawn the truth of those principles doth more shew it selfe but doth not receive any change in it selfe thereby even so in the prime principles of our faith revealed immediately by God and delivered to the Church are contained al truths that any way belong to our faith but it was not necessary that the Church should manifest all these at their first meeting in Councell but only so much in every severall Councell as should concerne the present occasion of their meeting which is some particular heresie or heresies then sprung up and so more according to the successive growth of heresies which when shee hath done shee cannot be charged with creating of a new faith or altering of the old but shee doth only out of old grounds and premises draw such conclusions as may serve to destroy new heresies and shew them to be contrary to the ancient faith In this manner the Church hath grown and increased in knowledge by degrees and shall still do so to the end of the world And as the sun spreads the raies of his light more and more betwixt morning and noon and his beames display themselves in a valley or some roome of a house where they did not before without any change of light in the sun himselfe So may the Church spread the light of her faith shewing such or such a point to be a divine truth which before was not known to be so or which though it were a divine truth in it selfe yet it was not so to us for want of sufficient proposall that is of the Churches wherein the Church resembles our Blessed Saviour her Lord and Spouse who though he never received the least increase of grace and knowledge from the first moment of his being conceived yet the Scripture saith He grew in wisdome and age and in favour with God and men Luc. 2.52 to wit because he shewed it more and more in his words and actions This also further appeares by the method which Catholique Fathers and Doctors observe in and out of Councells in proving and defining points of faith namely by having recourse to the authority of Gods Word conteined both in Scripture and Tradition and to the belief and practise of the Church in searching whereof the Holy Church joynes humane industry with Gods grace and assistance For when any question or doubt of faith ariseth particular Doctors severally dispute and write thereof then if further cause require the Holy Church assembles her Pastors and Doctors together in a generall Councell to examine and discusse the matter more fully as in that first Councell of the Apostles whereof the Scripture saith The Apostles and Elders assembled together to consider of this word Acts 15.6 The Pastors being thus come together and having the presence of our Saviour and his Holy Spirit according to his promise amongst them out of Scripture and Traditions joyning therewith the consent of holy Fathers and Doctors of foregoing times she doth infallibly resolve and determine the matter not as new but as ancient orthodox and derived from her forefathers making that which was ever in it selfe a divine truth so to appeare to us that now wee may no more make question thereof So that from hence it appeares that the Church makes no new Articles of faith such as then may be said to have their beginning but only explications and collections out of the old which were delivered to the Apostles and by them to us And though the Church doe thus grow in the knowledge of points of faith yet this is no newnesse of faith but a maintenance of the old with a kind of increase by way of explicating that which was involved cleering that which was obscure defining that which was undefined obliging men to believe more firmly and explicitly that which before they were not bound so to believe That is only to be called a new faith which is contrary to that which was held before or hath no connexion with it and when we cease to believe that which we believed before this indeed is change of faith the other is but encrease And if this encrease of faith by the declaration of Councells may be called a change and innovation of faith there is no Heretique but may challenge antiquity to himselfe and put novelty on the score of the Church For he may say such a thing for example that the Sonne is of the same substance with the Father was not held de fide a matter of faith before the Councell of Nice therefore it is new That Baptisme administred by Heretiques is good baptisme was not held as a matter of faith before the daies of S. Cyprian therefore it is new And the Heretique may say that he believes only that which was believed before such or such a Councell which he please for the case is alike in all and therefore he believes the antient Faith By which way of arguing he may renounce the decrees of all Councells as Novelties and maintaine many Heresies as the antient Faith Yea by this absurdity a man may deny divers Books of the Scripture as the Epistle to the Hebrewes the second Epistle of S. Peter the Epistle of S. Iames of S. Iude and the Apocalyps with some others because they were not admitted for Canonicall untill 300. or 400. yeares after they were written Yet when they were declared to be Canonicall there was no change of faith in the Church thereby for the believing of these Books was involved in this revealed Article I believe in God and the believing of them to be Canonicall was involved in this revealed Article I believe the holy Catholike Church onely hereby was an increase of the materiall object of our faith to us not in it selfe we being bound upon the declaration of the Church to believe that thing firmely and without dispute
adversaries thereof that are under the title of Christian being divided amongst themselves and notorious changers and according to this notion the Church is ever visible and sensible to all men even to her enemies Otherwise there is no ordinary meanes left for men to know what the Apostles taught nor consequently what God by inspiration revealed to them And if she and the light of truth she carries with her should be hidden and lost we must begin again anew from a second fountain of immediate revelation from God and build upon the new planting thereof with Miracles in the world by some new Apostles And if this be absurd then there must ever be in the world a Church visible whose Traditions are famously Catholique and consequently shewing themselves to be the Apostles to all men that will not be obstinate And that the Church shall be universally visible even in the daies of Antichrist may be gathered out of the Scripture Rev. 20.8 For she shall then be every where persecuted which could not be unlesse she were visible and conspicuous even to the wicked And even during the first 300. years after Christ wherein the Church indured incomparably more universall and raging persecutions than ever were yet the a Magd. cent 1 2 3. Fulke cont Stapleton de success Eccl. p. 246. Century-writers and sundry others do take certain and particular notice of the Catholique Bishops and Pastors by name in those very ages of their administration of the Word and Sacraments and their open impugning of Heresies And surely our Lord himself had been which is blasphemy to think of him who is the eternall wisdome of the Father the most imprudent of all Law-makers to have a Law so obscure and exposed to so many suppositions depravations and false expositions whereto the malice of the Heretiques of all ages hath subjected it without leaving a depository to keep it and a judge to interpret it or to leave it to such a keeper and such a judge as should be invisible § 4. Other Protestants I have observed who though they confesse the invisibility of their Church yet professe the being thereof and assigne the place for it to be in the Roman Church mixed like a great deal of ore with a very little pure gold so that it was not discernable But this assignation of their Church seemed to me very unreasonable for either those Protestants did professe their owne faith or they did not if they did then doubtlesse they were visible and the Roman Church would soon have taken notice of them as she did in all ages of such though it were but one man that differed from her If they did not make profession of their faith what wretched sonnes of fear were they that to preserve their temporall security durst not publiquely avow their own Religion but comply in all things with a Religion in their opinion false and impious and dissemblingly do all the externall acts thereof and this all their lives for many generations successively This was not the part of a true Church or of any true member thereof who will surely die rather than deny his Saviour as he doth who believing himselfe to be of the true Religion makes profession of that which he deemes to be false Nor did they fulfill the Prophesie of Esay concerning the true Church which saith I have set watchmen upon thy walls which shall never hold their peace day nor night Esay 62.6 But Doctor Feild hath a new fancy of his owne which I never observed in any but himselfe who saith to this purpose that before the separation of the Protestants from the Church of Rome the Church of Rome it selfe was the Protestant Church and that the Papists were but a faction of the Court of Rome an assertion so grosly false that all the world is a witnesse against it yea even I think all other Protestants themselves and needs no confutation § 5. Others taking all these Pleas for insufficient do affirm that their Church was in being and in sight also in all ages but that through the injury of later times no testimony thereof is now remaining but that all their records through the violence of the Pope and his Clergie have been utterly suppressed Of which vaine conceipt there is no proof at all and if the assertion without proof will serve their turne it may serve also for any other Religion Christian or not Christian who if they please may say the same thing but are never like to be believed by any man of common understanding Besides it thwarteth all experience as appeares by the example of Husse and Wickliffe whose writings are yet extant of Charlemaines pretended Book against Images and Bertrams concerning the Sacrament Also by the decrees of Catholique Councells and the large writings of Catholique Doctors reciting and condemning all opinions contrary to the Roman faith Lastly by the Ecclesiasticall Historiographers of every age who make this the argument of their writings yea even from them the Protestant * Centurists of Magdeburg Cent. Madg. Osiand Ep. Illyricus Catol VVhitak cont Duraeum pag. 276. 469. and others do recite the opinions mentioned and condemned in every age by the Church of Rome of which some were the very same that have since been revived by Protestants So that the Church of Rome hath been so far from extinguishing their records that she hath been the chief recorder of them and their doctrines § 6. The last and most valiant attempt of Protestants is to affirme that as the Church must be allwaies visible so theirs hath been in persons distinct from the Roman Church and thereby invite us to * A Protestants book so entituled look beyond Luther Which barren endeavour of theirs hath been like Peters fishing all night and catching nothing For they whom the Protestants claime for their predecessors were neither of their Religion nor yet alwaies visible there happening huge gaps betwixt them nor can the Protestants by any art or industry bring both ends together First they were not of the same Religion for to be of the same Religion or Church with another imports an agreement in all points of faith for the truth of doctrine being of the essence of the Church whosoever erres in any little thereof he ceaseth to participate of the soule of the Church which is the Spirit of truth and is but a dead member one equivocally and in name but not in truth We see that the Arrians Macedonians and many other Heretiques were accounted and are so by many Protestants not of the Catholique Church for one single error against faith now the Protestants disagreeing in many points not only from one another at this present but from all that went before them and that in points which they believe to be revealed in the Scripture their only rule are neither one Church amongst themselves at this present nor any one of them one with any society that hath gone before In particular the Grecians whom
nor feet And even such imperfect things are all hereticall and deformed Churches which want faith for their head charity for their heart firmnesse and perseverance for their feet Holding such monstrous and absurd opinions that they make up a bundle of Heathenisme Turcisme Heresie and contradictions to common-sense Can then any indifferent and prudent man who knowes that God made the world with wisdome in number weight and measure can he think that they are the Church of God the deare Spouse of Christ for whose sake he descended from his heavenly Throne and took and lost humane life Or will he not rather say that they are mad 1 Cor. 14.26 Who are framed neither in number weight nor measure their societies and Churches being or being possible to be according to their principles as many as their persons their opinions vaine and foolish and their government confused and mis-shapen seeming rather a chaos than a creation In summe there is nothing that can be said for a true Catholique Church but may be truly said for the Roman there is â—othing that the Protestant Churches have said or can say for themselves but have been or may be said by Heretiques and are said by those who subdivide and separate from them which pretences if they be good in them against the Church of Rome they are good in others against them which yet they will not admit So that the Church of Rome is the true Church or there never was any true Church and all Protestants are Heretiques or there never were any that deserved that name § 9. What remaines then for all Protestants of what sort or title soever but to listen to the voice which sayeth Goe out of her my people that yee be not partakers of her sinnes and that ye receive not of her plagues Revel 18.4 To redeem their soules from forfeiture that have been thus long morgag'd to eternall death and with the Prodigall son to returne home to the Catholique Church their mother and thereby to God their Father in whose house there is plenty of celestiall Manna while they perish for want of food or become fellow commoners with the hogs and feed upon huskes and draught and thereby to give joy both to earth and heaven in their conversion seeing that as the elements never rest contentedly but in their proper placeâ— so they will find no rest but in the bosome of the true Church which is the proper place of every Christian To listen to the voice which crieth Return return ô Sunamite return return Cant 6.13 And the Spirit and the Bride say come And let him that heareth say come and let him that is athirst come And whosoever will let him take of the water of life freely Revel 22.17 by coming to Mount Sion and to the city of the living God the heavenly Jerusalem and to an innumerable company of Angells to the generall assembly and Church of the first borne which are written in heaven and to God the Judge of all and to the Spirits of just men made perfect and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant Heb. 12.22.23.24 before he come to them as a terrible Judge revealed from heaven with his mighty Angells in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the Gospell of our Lord Jesus Christ 2. Thess 1.7.8 And that they may all doe so especially the Kingdome of England and most especially the most excellent King thereof Strike ô strike their and his soule O Lord with thy omnipotent grace whose magnetique vertue may draw his Royall heart to thee and make him a glorious and happy instrument of drawing others till they all meet in the unity of the faith so to continue untill their mortality shall put on immortality and his temporall crown of thornes be exchanged for an eternall crown of glory Amen FINIS S. Ambr. Ep. 31. ad Valent. Imp. Non erubesco cum toto orbe longaevo converti verum certè est quia nulla aetas ad perdiscendum sera est Erubescat senectus quae emendare se non potest Non annorum canities est laudanda sed morum Nullus pudor est ad meliora transire A Table of the Contents of the severall Chapters contained in this Book Chap. 1. THe Introduction And that the knowledge of the meanes to arrive unto eternall life is not otherwise attaineable then by faith grounded on the Word of God pag. 1. Chap. 2. Of the means to know which is the Word of God And that all the arguments imployed by Protestants to prove that the Scripture and it only is the Word of God are insufficient And that the Generall Tradition of the Catholique Church is the only assured proof thereof p. 6. Chap. 3. Of the insufficiency of means used by Protestants to find out the true sense of Scripture The absurdity of that assertion of theirs That all points necessary to salvation are clear and manifest p. 26. Chap. 4. Of the vanity and impiety of those who affirm that each mans particular reason is the last Judge and interpreter of Scripture and his guide in all things which he is obliged to believe and know And that the Catholique Church is the only Judge p. 36. Chap. 5. Of the meaning of those words Church and Catholique and that neither of them belong to Protestants p. 49. Chap. 6. Of the Infallibility of the Church p. 54. Chap. 7. That Catholique Tradition is the only firme foundation and motive to induce us to believe that the Apostles received their Doctrine from Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ from God the Father And what are the means by which this Doctrine is derived down to us p. 66. Chap. 8. That the Church is infallible in whatsoever she proposeth as the Word of God written or unwritten whether of great or small consequence That to doubt of any one point is to destroy the foundation of Faith And that Protestants distinction between points fundamentall and non-fundamentall is ridiculous and deceitfull p. 78. Chap ' 9. That there is and ever shall be a visible Church upon earth And that this Church is one holy Catholique and Apostolique p. 94. Chap. 10. That the Roman is that one holy Catholique and Apostolique Church p. 105. Chap. 11. That the true Church may be knowne by evident marks and that such marks agree only to the Roman Church And first of Universality the first mark of the Church p. 137. Chap. 12. Of the second mark of the Church viz. Antiquity both of persons and Doctrine p. 151. Chap. 13. Of Visibility the third mark of the Church And of the vanity of Protestants supposition that the true Church is sometimes invisible That Protestant Churches have not alwaies been visible p. 188. Chap. 14. Of the fourth mark of the true Church viz. a lawfull succession and ordinary vocation and mission of Pastors And that it is ridiculous to affirme that Catholiques and Protestants are the same Church p. 208. Chap. 15. Of the fifth Mark of the true Church viz. Unity in Doctrine and of the horrible dissentions among Pretestants p. 216. Chap. 16. Of the sixth Mark of the true Church viz. Miracles And that there are no true Miracles among Protestants p. 240. Chap. 17. Of the seventh Mark of the true Church viz. Conversion of Kingdomes and Monarchs p. 254 Chap. 18. Of the eighth and ninth Marks of the true Church viz. Sanctity of Doctrine and life p. 260. Chap. 19. Of the tenth and last here mentioned Mark of the Church viz. That the true Church hath never been separated from any society of Christians more antient then her felf p. 276. Chap. 20. That the Pope is the head of the Church p. 281. Chap. 21. That English Protestants do much mistake Catholike Doctrine being abused by the malice or ignorance of many of their Ministers And that upon their owne grounds they are obliged to inform themselves more exactly of the truth p. 297. Chap. 22. Of Communion in one kind p. 331. Chap. 23. Of the Liturgie and private prayers for the ignorant in an unknowne tongue p. 351. Chap. 22. Of the foolish deceitfull and absurd proceedings and behaviour of Protestants in matter of Religion And of the vanity and injustice of their pretext of conscience for their separation from the Roman Church p. 336 Chap. 23. The Conclusion wherein is represented on the one side the splendor and orderly composure of the Roman Catholique Church And on the other side the deformity and confusion of Protestant Congregations p. 362. The faults made by the Printer I desire the Reader thus to correct Page 21. line 1. dele § 5. p. 37. l. 2. r. tittle p. 47. l. 25 r. faith p. 61. l. 18. dele come p. 71. l 19. r. dangerous p. 85. l. 14. 15. r. ununiversall p. 140. l. 24. r. Psal 2.8 p. 147 l. 3. r. became l. 17. r. man p. 165. l. 9. r. intermingled p. 168. l. 11. r. unexpressible p. 188. l. 23. r. to a City p. 199. l. 9. r. tittle p. 201. l. 21. r. one p. 208. l. 22. r. all meet p. 210. l. 4. dele ought r. accusing p. 221. l. 13. r. call p. 261. l. 17. r. of hell l. 25. r. in our p. 276. l. 23. r. different p. 290. l. 2. r. say of l. 12. r. pillar of p. 293. l. 8. r. denying them p. 292. l. 18. r. Bishop p. 307. l. 12. r. as his p. 341. l. 15. r. consequentiae p. 358. l. 12. r. done in p. 358. l. 14. r. to this p. 367. l. 15. dele in p. 368. l. 5. r. Vnion Postscript The French Printer to the English Reader WHilst this piece so generally and deservedly lik'd and applauded both in the English Originall and in the French Version was reprinting here at Paris the learned Author returning hither from Rome in the very nick of time hath thought fit to add a Preface and two new Chapters to it the first Of Communion in one kind the other Of praying in an unknowne tongue both no lesse requisite then abundantly satisfactory So that I make no question but the contentment and benefit you will receive thereby will easily reconcile you aswell to the misnumbring of some Chapters pages occasioned by the Addition as to some other Errata's for which my ignorance in your language craves the benefit of a pardon Adieu
be said to believe it but to know it and if so what excellency what vertue what merit what pious affection towards God to believe that which they see plainely before their eyes A bold presumption also it is in them to claime a cleerer degree of knowledge then the Apostles had for they did but see through a glasse darkely 1 Corinth 13.12 but these men are convicted of the divine truth of the things they believe Fran White Orthodoxe p. 107. by the lustre and resplendent verity of the matter of Scripture which is a priviledge which whosoever hath equalls the blessed Saints in heaven whose happinesse it is to see what we believe especially seeing one point of the Doctrine Protestants pretend to see is the mysterie of the Blessed Trinity the true light resplendent veritie wherof no man can see manifestly out of the state of Blisse § 4. Secondly they pretend to know the Scriptures to be the Word of God by the * Whites Reply p. 16.30.68 Feild Appendix pag. 34. Cal. Inst l. 1. c. 7. majestie of the matter and purity of the Doctrine but I conceived that though some mysteries of the Scripture carry a majesty in them in respect of naturall reason and an elevation above it as of the B. Trinity yet other matters of Scripture seem unto reason ridiculous as the Serpents talking with Eve and Balaams Asse reproving of his master with many others Nor could the purity of the doctrine convince me seeing we know that many learned and godly men have written very holily whose writings are not therefore accounted the word of God Besides there are many historicall parts of the Scripture which do not at all touch upon purity therefore cannot be discerned by it Againe they affirme that the Scripture may be knowne by the stile but I considered that God hath no proper stile or phrase of his owne but can at his pleasure al stiles that he did vse the pens of those whom it pleased him to inspire couching his heavenly conceipts under their usuall language and ability of expression whence issueth so great difference of stiles as is on all sides acknowledged amongst sacred Writers and that God did only guide them in the truth they wrote not in the stile for then all their stiles in likelihood should have been alike Indeed God hath an eternal increated manner of speaking which is the production of the eternall word by which the blessed do discern him from all other speakers by the evidence of blissefull learning but no created manner of speaking no not his speaking inwardly to the soule is so proper to God as that it can be knowne to be his speaking by the meer sound of the voice or by the stile without especiall revelation or some consequent miraculous effect § 5. Thirdly the * VVhites Reply p. 19. Harmony of the Scriptures is alledged by some as an argument to prove them to be the Word of God But though this Harmony appeare in divers things yet it is most certaine that there are very many seeming contradictions many of which are but probably answered by Commentaetors by assuming some things without proofe because otherwise they must admit contradictions some places are not fully answered but the Fathers were forced to fly from literall to allegoricall senses as appeares particularly in the foure first Chapters of Genesis the Genealogy of our Saviour and in the reconciling of the Chronologies of the Kings And seeing no man is infallibly sure that all the answers used to reconcile the seeming contradictions of Scriptures are true no man can be assured by the evidence of the thing that there is this perfect harmony in them nor consequently that they are thereby knowne to be the Word of God Moreover if we were infallibly assured that there were this perfect harmony in the Scriptures yet this to me seemed not a sufficient proofe that they are the Word of God because there is no reason forbids me to believe that it may not be also found in the writings of some men yea I make no question but it is to be found and that with lesse seeming contradiction then is in the Scripture yet no man accounts that this proves their writings to be the Word of God Neither as I saw could these pretences before mentioned be laid hold on by the unlearned multitude an innumerable company whereof cannot read at all and when they heare them read if they were asked would say that they see not this light this majestie stile and harmony which their learned men talk of nor do they know what it meanes nor that a tittle of it is the word of God but only because they are told so Indeed S. Peter saith in the behalf of the old Testament 2 Pet. 1.21 That holy men of God spake as they were moved by the holy Ghost But we are as uncertaine by any thing in the words themselves that S. Peter said this as of all the rest that is altogether § 6. So that I could not find that there was any more then probable arguments to be drawn from the Scriptures themselves to prove them to be the word of God For that which is the word of God and the rule of faith must be certaine not only in some parts but in every part and particle book chapter and line thereof which is impossible to be knowne by the light and evidence of the sense and doctrine seeing many places even by * Field of the Church lib. 4. cap. 15. VVhites Reply p. 35 Protestants confessions are darke obscure and full of difficulties and how can that be knowne to be the Word of God by the light thereof when the light thereof is not knowne As uselesse also to their purpose is the majestie purity stile harmomony or any the like for we believe it to be harmonious because it is the Word of God not to be the Word of God because it is harmonious which wee doe not infallibly see So that upon these considerations I saw no evident certainty out of the Scriptures that they were the Word of God but that they are believed to be such without being seen upon some other Word of God more cleerly appearing to be the Word of God and lesse liable to corruption then the Scriptures are assuring us so much and that is the Tradition of the Church according to the saying of S. Augustine * Aug. contra Epist fundament c. 5. I would not believe the Gospell unlesse the Authority of the Catholike Church did move me To which Hooker one of the learnedest men that ever the Protestant party could boast of agreeth saying * Eccl. Pol. lib. 1. sec 14 p. 36. Of things necessary the very chiefest is to know what books we are bound to esteem holy which point is confessed impossible for the Scripture it self to teach * Ibid. l. 2 sec 4.102 for if any one book of Scripture did give testimony to all yet
of two thousand years had no word of God but that which was unwritten which we call Tradition the Church of the Jewes had Scripture but with it Tradition as the prayer of Elias concerning raine Jam. 5.15 The contention of the Archangel S. Michael and the Devill about the body of Moses Jude v. 9. with others and of the Scripture both Old and New many books are lost as many Parables and Verses of Salomon 3 King 3.32 with many other books and S. Paul wrote an Epistle to the Laodiceans Col. 4.16 and another to the Corinthians which are not extant 1 Cor. 5.9 And seeing we have not the whole Canon of the Scripture how can we be sure that that part which we have conteineth all that we are bound to believe and do we do not read that the Apostles were sent to write but to preach and S. John denies that he had expressed in writing all that he had to say Having more things to write unto you saith he I would not by paper and inke for I hope that I shall be with you and speake mouth to mouth that your joy may be full Now that these things that the Apostles did not write but teach by word of mouth were matters also of weight and belonging to Faith S. Paul assures us in these words Night and day more abundantly praying that we may see your face and may accomplish those things that want of your faith 1 Thes 3.10 By which it is evident that the Apostles besides their writings did preach other things which were wanting to their faith § 10. Nor did the Apostles surely intend to write all points of faith for if they had it is probable that they all together or some one of them would have done it purposely punctually and methodically and declared so much unto the world But we know the contrary to wit that they did not write all by their own confession and that which they did write was but accidentall and upon particular occasions as Hooker affirmes Eccles Pol. l. 1. sect 15. p. 37. The severall Books of Scripture are written upon severall occasions and particular purpose which occasions if they had not happened it is most likely that they had not written that which they did For instance the Epistles of S. Peter James John and Jude were written against certain Heretikes who mis-understanding S. Paul did thereupon teach That faith onely without works sufficed to salvation of which very point S. Augustine saith Because this opinion was then begun De fide operibus c. 14. other Apostolicall Epistles of Peter John James Jude do chiefly direct their intentions against it that they might strongly confirm Faith without works to profit nothing S. John also did preach the Gospell till his last age which was very long without writing any Scripture and took occasion to write as S. Ierome affirmes by reason of the heresie of the Ebionites De Scriptoribus Eccles which then brake out The like might be shewed of all the rest And lastly which is worth the observation all the Epistles are written to such persons onely as were already converted to the Christian Faith therefore they were written not so much to instruct Tom. 2. l. de Eccles fol. 43. as to confirme as Zuinglius also confesseth § 11. By all which it is evident so far as we can see that the Apostles and Evangelists did write their books not by any command from Christ but upon some accidentall occasion moving them thereunto Wherein one and the same matter is often repeated as in S. Pauls Epistle to the Romans and to the Galatians and also in all the Evangelists and many other things are omitted as a world of works which our Saviour did as S. John testifieth 2. John 21.25 and which the Apostles did also the small book of their Acts being too little to expresse all their actions and also the things which S. Paul ordained in the Church of the Corinthians 1 Cor. 11.34 by which it is manifest that they neither intended any compleat Ecclesiasticall history nor body of divinity containing all matters of faith and practice So that it did neither appear to me that the Scripture contained all the doctrine of salvation that the Apostles taught nor yet any of it because I could not see by the directions that Protestants gave me whether the Scripture were the Word of God or no. CHAP. III. Of the insufficiency of the Protestants meanes to find out the true sense of the Scriptures And of the absurdity of their assertion that all points necessary to salvation are clear and manifest § 1. AS to know the letter of the Scripture so to know the meaning thereof I found a matter of great difficulty agreeable to S. Peter who saith speaking of S. Pauls Epistles 2 Pet. 3.16 In which are certain things hard to be understood which the unlearned and unstable deprave as also the rest of the Scriptures to their own damnation But * Falke Con. Rhē Test in 2 Pet. cap. 3. Morton Apol. part 1. lib. 1. cap. 19. VVhitaker contro◠2. q. 5. c. 7. p. 513. Protestants to avoid their dependence on the Church for the interpretation thereof say that all things necessity to salvation are easie to be understood even by the most unlearned Reader But they never yet expressed what points were necessary to salvation and what not nor have given any rule by by which it might be found out but have left themselves the liberty of adding to or substracting from that title what and whensoever they pleased And who seeth not that with this device they may exclude if they please almost all the points of Christian belief and practise § 2. Wonderfull confusion I found herein for here the understanding of the most unlearned Reader is made the size of things necessary to salvation and if it be a measure unto all men then the most learned Clerk is bound to believe no more than the most unlearned peasant that can but read and the most unlearned need not the help of the learned for the understanding of things necessary but can find them out by his own reading So that you must take the arrantest dunce in their Church that can read and after he hath diligently perused the Bible and prayed for understanding therein that which he understands must be accounted necessary to salvation and no more Surely me thinks they are to blame that have not for the greater credit and cleernesse of their cause made this tryall upon some silly fellow and from his mouth have set downe their points necessary to salvation But by this it appears that they are willing to draw the matters necessary to salvation for their great ease into a very narrow compasse and make the same measure serve the silliest clown and the greatest Clerk which is uncomly And coming closer to the matter I have known some affirm which I believe is the opinion of very many that to believe
being no such plaine places in many cases to be found which they themselves prove by their disagreement about the sense of many places Therefore to allay the unreasonablenesse of this assertion they add that it is Scripture diligently read by us and one place conferred with another all circumstances weighed and much prayer used which is in effect that not the Scripture it selfe but they interpret the Scripture by the aforesaid meanes § 6. But all these waies of study and conference skill in the tongues or the like are but humane endeavours and subject to error yea though much fervour of prayer be mixed therewith and such as the meanes are such of necessity must be the interpretation and determination but the meanes are uncertaine doubtfull and fallible therefore such must be the interpretation and if it be uncertaine it may be false and whether it be so or no Protestants have no way to discover but by the Spirit as he instructs every particular man whose insufficiency I found in my former consideration of the meanes to know the Scripture to be the Word of God And if it cannot assure me of the letter of Gods Word no more can it of the meaning considering that I can neither know whether another have the Spirit nor yet whether I have it my selfe or no without some miraculous revelation for all other proofs of having the direction of the Spirit are but humane and so subject to deceipt but miracles we are sure are from God because they exceed all humane and created power § 7. And seeing Protestants ground their salvation upon faith onely which as they say doth onely justifie and faith upon Scripture only which according to them containes all things necessary to be believed and the Scripture and sense thereof upon the private Spirit only by which they expound the Scripture it followes that the private Spirit is the sole or principall ground to them of the sense of Scripture the Scriptures sense the like ground of their faith and this their faith the like ground of their salvation therefore no Protestant can have greater certainty of his faith or salvation then he hath of this private Spirit whereof seeing he hath none either from Scripture Church Councells Fathers common sense or experience it must needs follow that he hath certainty of nothing and that this relying upon the private Spirit must needs plunge him into infinite and abominable errors CHAP. IV. Of the vanity and impiety of those who affirm that each mans particular reason is the last Judge and Interpreter of Scripture and his guide in all things which he is bound to believe and know And that the Catholike Church is the sole Judge § 1. FInally Chillingworth the last reformer and calciner of the Protestant Religion seeing the weaknesse of all the former pretences hath boldly and roundly reduced all to one only principle and that is of naturall reason affirming that our belief of the Scripture to be the Word of God and also our belief of the Scripture in every particular part thereof depends upon each mans reason and discourse beyond which or different from which he is not bound to believe a title Yet he doth not say that this way is infallible but because all wayes else are fallible as he supposes and this the onely way God hath given us to be guided by we must be herewith contented and God also must be contented herewith in us and give salvation to those that believe and do according to their best understanding And this opinion I observed had got a large possession in the minds of Protestants especially of the Clergy and Gentry whose ingenuous education gave them the highest claime to the exercise of reason who were therefore very glad to embrace such a principle of Religion as of which they accounted themselves the chiefest Masters § 2. This conceipt seemed to me no lesse absurd and much more insolent than any of the other for the other did seem at least to ascribe our knowledge of the Scripture and sense thereof to God either speaking in the Scripture or by his Spirit speaking to their soules or concurring with their humane endeavours though in conclusion they drew it to the determination of their owne fancies But this man more impiously hardy than all that went before him doth directly and in plaine termes attribute all the assurance we have of the Word of God the director to salvation unto our selves and that too as we are meer men And this resolving of faith not into Authority but into reason and that not as preparing or inducing us to believe which Catholiques allow but as the maine ground and strongest pillar of our faith and the dependence of faith upon reason as the Conclusion on the premises is a doctrine incredibly pernicious and the source of monstrous impieties And for this purpose he builds much upon this * Pag. 36. n. 8. Axiome we cannot possibly by naturall meanes be more certaine of the conclusion than of the weaker of the premises as a river will not rise higher than the fountaine from whence it flowes Hence in the same place he inferres that the certainty of Christian faith can be but morall and humane and not absolutely infallible Therefore as an instance to the same purpose he saith * Pag. 116. We have as great reason to believe there was such a man as Henry the eight King of England as that Jesus Christ suffered under Pontius Pilate And in larger explication of this his doctrine he saith If upon reasons seeming to my understanding very good I have made choice of a guide or rule for my directions in matters of faith when afterwards I discover that this guide or rule leads me to believe one or more points which in the best judgement that I can frame I have stronger reason to reject than I had to accept my former rule I may and ought to forsake that rule as false and erroneous otherwise I should be convinced not to follow reason but some setled resolution to hold fast whatsoever I had once apprehended From which wild and vast principle doth follow that if the Scripture for example propound things seeming more contrary to any mans reason and opinion than the inducements which first moved him to believe Scripture were in his opinion strong and convincing he must reject the Scripture as an erroneus rule and adhere to his owne reason and discourse as his last and safest guide Especially considering that according to him the motives for which we believe the Scripture are but probable and by consequence subject to falshood which in all reason must give place to reasons seeming demonstrative and convincing as there will not want many such against the highest mysteries of Christian faith if once we professe our assent to them must be resolved into natural discourse For for what reason do the Socinians and such like deny the misteries of the blessed Trinity the Diety of our blessed Saviour
government can best determine § 7. Lastly if any of these fore-mentioned waies of Protestants for the knowledge of the Word of God the guide to eternall life were sufficient what need were there of preaching and instructing of the people at least of them that can read but let them take the Bible and let nature work which in the co-operation of their owne wise fancies will hatch a goodly Religion no doubt borne like Minerva of the brain of Jupiter and be as comely as a Chymera of many seuerall shapes tackt together and to them instead of the ancient heathens houshold-Gods which every one must adore as his private God within himselfe O sacras gentes quibus haec nascuntur in ipsis Numina Who prove the truth of this saying in themselves that He that is Schoole-master to himself is Scholler to a fool § 8. Observing thus the weaknesse and absurdity of all the Protestants alledged in proof that the Scripture is the Word of God easie to be understood at least in all things necessary to salvation and that it is to be interpreted by it self or by the Spirit to everie particular man so making way for as much variety in Religion as there may be diversity of opinion I saw that although some probable arguments may be drawn from the Scriptures to prove them to be of God yet there was no other infallible way to know what is the true Word of God first taught by the Apostles and their hearers but by the testimony of some sure certain and agreeing witnesses and what is the meaning of this Word of God in case there should be any important difference about it thereby to give a period to all controversies but by some society of men renowned for their wisdome And this I conceived in common prudence a far better way than for a man to rely upon himselfe But though this were a better way than those of the Protestants yet if this society of men were not in these matters free from error although it is more likely they should tell truth than the Protestants yet I could not have an immovable foundation for my saith but it would be subject to wavering and inconstancy and so there could be no prudent setlednesse in Religion nor any well-built hope of the end thereof eternall life I saw then that it was needfull that there should be a faithfull witnesse a wise judge and so wise and faithfull that he should not be subject to falshood or error otherwise it seemed to me that God had not contrived a competent way to his own glory or mans salvation which to be wanting in is neither sutable to his wisdome nor his goodnesse I therefore concluded that there was some society of men who must instruct us in the premises and that this society in reason ought to be infallible and that none could with any colour pretend to be this society but that which we call the Catholique Church which all Christians professe to believe according to the Creed of the Apostles But before I could proceed any further I was cast upon the examination of the sense of the words Church and Catholique finding therein much difference amongst the pretenders to these titles CHAP. V. Of the meaning of these words Church and Catholique and that neither of them belong to Protestants § 1. THere were seven Cities that strove for the body of Homer And very many societies of Christians there are that lay claime to the body of Christ which is his Church And as when Telesius a young Grecian having won the prize in the Pythian games was to be led in triumph there arose such a dispute between the severall Nations there present every one being covetous to have him for their owne that one drawing one way another another instead of receiving the honour that was prepared for him he was torne in pieces even by those who seemed most ambitious to honour him So happens it to the Church all those that beare the name of Christians avow that to her only appertaines the victory over hell and that whosoever will have part in the prize and glory of this triumph must serve under her Ensigne but when they come to debate about the body of this society then every Sect desirous to draw her to themselves they rend and teare her in pieces and instead of embracing the Church which consists in unity they embrace Schism and Division which is the death and ruin of the Church § 2. The Protestants do somtimes give a strict definition of a Church somtimes a large somtimes they restraine her to the number of the predestinate only somtimes they enlarge her so far that they imbrace within her compasse because they will be sure not to leave out themselves all the variety of Christians whatsoever But by all the former they exclude the visibility of the Church which is an inseperable companion thereof as I shall shew hereafter for the predistinate are not knowne to any body nor ordinary unto themselves But those that are so presumptuous as very many are to assume unto themselves the assurance of their predestination do easily lay hold on this tenure which they do the more boldly by how much it is more difficult for another to disprove but as it is not easie for another to disprove so it is as hard for them to prove and concludes nothing therefore in the behalf of the Churches description in generall or of their share in particular Beside the word Ecclesia Church is derived from a verb which signifies to call not to predestinate And the Church is a society but the predestinate are a multitude and there is this difference between a societie and a multitude that a society hath a certain form and vertue whereby they communicate together which the other without this association have not Now predestinaton as it is meere predestination establisheth nothing in the predestinate nor is it made in them but in God only and by consequence doth not make them actuall parts of the society called the Church It is not the union of predestination but of vocation that builds men into a Church By the later definition of a Church they deny the very being of Heresie and Schisme for if the whole Masse of Christians be the Church notwithstanding the errors in faith which some of them hold or separation in communion which they make then there are none that can be called Heretiques or Schismatiques or else which is equally absurd all Heretiques and Schismatiques are of the Church and this destroyes the holinesse of the Church in doctrine which is another inseparable ornament thereof Others which are some of the subdivisions of sects amongst the Protestants as Brownists Anabaptists and the like say each sect for it selfe that that is the Church excluding all others from that title even their fellow Protestants but this excludes the universality of the Church another inseparable companion thereof at least after the Apostles had
and Apostolique Church THese premises considered I look'd round about to see amongst al the societies of the world professing the name of Christ to which of them the title and dignity of the Church might most justly be applyed and I found that the Roman Church that is the multitude of Christians spred over the face of the known world adhering to the doctrine of the Church of Rome is the One Holy Catholique and Apostolique Church The vulgar objection against the title of Catholique Roman that is say they universall and yet but particular seemed very childish the one title being applyed in regard of the doctrine and the extent thereof which is universall the other of the discipline and the fountaine and head thereof which is particular from the Bishop of Rome For the word Catholique is taken three waies to wit formally causally and participatively Formally the universall Church only that is to say the society of all the true particular Churches united in one selfesame Communion is called Catholique Causally the Roman Church is called Catholique for as much as shee infuseth universality into all the whole body of the Catholique Church For to constitute universality there must be two things one that may be instead of matter thereto to wit the multitude and the other instead of form thereto to wit unity for a multitude without unity doe not properly make universality Take away vnity from the multitude saith S. Augustine and it is a tumult De verb. Dom. sceundum Luc. Serm. 26. but bring in unity and it is a people Therefore the Roman Church which as the center and beginning of the Ecclesiasticall Communion infuseth unity which is the forme of universality into the Catholique Church may be called Catholique causally though in her own being shee be particular Even as the chief Captaine of an army on whom all the inferiour Captaines Officers and common Souldiers have their dependency and with whom they hold correspondency is called The Generall though he be but one particular man because it is he that by the relation that all others have to him gives unity to the whole body of the Army And thirdly particular Churches are called Catholique participatively because they agree and participate in doctrine and Communion with the Catholique Church § 2. Now I was induced to believe that the Roman Church is the only true Catholike Church by these ensuing reasons First God being the Prime Verity revealing truth cannot suffer the knowledg of saving doctrine to be impossible but it is impossible if it be hidden or if a false meanes of knowledge thereof be so drest with the marks of the true as that the true become undiscernable from it And if the Roman be not the true Catholique Church and Tradition then the true Catholique Church and Tradition is hidden and a false Church hath the marks of the true so cleerly that no other can with any colour pretend to be Catholique rather than it that is to have doctrine delivered from the Apostles by whole worlds of Christian Fathers to whole worlds of Christian children Hence either there is no meanes left assuredly to know the saving truth or else it must be inward teaching by immediate revelation without any externall infallible meanes or the Scripture known to be the Word of God and truly interpreted by the light and evidence of the things or by the force of naturall reason the vanity and falshood whereof I have already shewed for knowledge of supernaturall truth by the light and lustre of the doctrine is proper to the Church triumphant inward assurance without an externall infallible ground is proper unto Prophets and the first publishers of Religion Hence it may be concluded that if God be the Prime Verity teaching Christian Religion darkely without making men see the light of things believed and mediatly by some externall infallible meanes upon which inward assurance must rely then he must ever conserve the Catholique Church and Tradition visible and conspicuous that the same may be by sensible marks discerned And if any object that the senses of men in this search may be deceived through naturall invincible fallibility of their organs and so be no ground of faith that is altogether infallible I answer that evidence had by sense being but the private sense of one man is not ordinarily fallible but when the same is also publique generall that is when a whole world of men concur with him then his evidence is altogether infallible Besides seeing God will not teach men immediatly but will have them cleave to an externall infallible means and to find out this means by the sensible evidence of the thing he is in a manner bound by the perfection of his veracity to assist mens senses with his providence that therein they be not deceived when they use such diligence as men ordinarily use that they be not deceived by their senses Now what greater evidence can one have that he is not deceived in this matter of sense that the Roman doctrine is the Catholique that is doctrine delivered from the Apostles by worlds of Christian Ancestors unanimous amongst themselves in all matters of faith what greater assurance I say can one have that herein he sees aright than a whole world of men professing to see the same that he doth And surely this was the meaning of God by the Prophet Esay when speaking of the Church of Christ he calls it a direct way so that fools cannot erre therein Esa 35.8 which cannot be but by following a world of Ancestors going before them in the same Tract Otherwise it is not only possible for fools but even for them that seem to be wisest to erre yea in this case it is impossible to be otherwise And if it be further objected that I believe the Catholique Church is an Article of Faith and Faith is the argument of things not seen I answer an Article of Faith may be visible according to the substance of the thing and yet invisible according to the manner it is believed in the Creed The third Article He suffered under Pontius Pilate was crucified dead and buried according to the substance of the thing was evident to sense and seen of the Jewes and is now believed of their posterity but according to the manner that it is believed in the Creed to wit that herein the Word of God by his Prophets was fulfilled and that it was done for the salvation of man in this manner this visible Article is invisible and so it is believed in the Creed In like manner that there is in the world a Catholike Church and that the Romane is this Catholique Church Pagans Jewes and Heretiques if they shut not their eyes against the light do clearly behold but that herein the Word of God concerning the perpetuall amplitude of his Church is accomplished that this is an effect of Gods varacity to the end that the meanes to learn saving truth may not be hidden this is a
thing invisible and according to this notion the Catholique Church is proposed in the Creed Secondly propositions of Faith must be invisible according to the Predicate or thing believed but not alwaies according to the Subject or thing whereof we believe some other thing The things the Apostles believed of Christ to wit that he was the Son of God the Saviour of the world were things invisible but the subject and person of whom they did believe these things was visible to them yea God did of purpose by his Prophets foretell certain tokens whereby that subject might by sense be seen and discerned from all other that might pretend the name of Christ or else his comming into the world to teach the truth had been to little purpose In this sort the Predicate or thing believed in this Article the Holy Catholique Church to wit Holy is invisible but the Subject to wit the Catholique Church which we affirme and believe to be holy in her doctrine is visible and conspicuous to all Yea God hath of purpose foretold signes tokens whereby shee may by sense be cleerly discerned from all other that may pretend to the title of Catholique For were not this subject the Holy Catholique Church which we believe to be holy and infallible in her teaching visible and discernable from all other that pretend to that title of what use were it to believe that there is such an infallible teaching Church in the world hidden we know not where like a Candle under a Bushell or a needle in a bottle of hey § 3. Secondly if there must be alwaies in the world as was proved before one holy Catholique and Apostolique Church that is a Church delivering doctrines uniformly thereby making them credible universally thereby making them famously known to mankind holily so making them certain and such as that on them we may securely rely Apostolically so making them flow in the channel of a never-interrupted succession of Bisbops from the Apostles then this Church must be either the Roman or the Protestant or some other opposite to both Protestants cannot say a Church opposite to both for then they should be condemned in their own judgement and be bound to conforme themselves to that Church which can be no other but the Grecian a Church holding as many doctrines which the Protestants dislike as the Church of Rome as might easily be proved if need were It is further manifest that the Protestants are not this One Holy Catholique and Apostolique Church since their revolt and separation from the Church of Rome because in that very act of separation they did extinguish all these titles for they changed the doctrines they once held they forsook the body whereof they were Members brake off from the stock of that tree whereof they were branches neither in their departure did they joyne themselves with any other Church different from the Roman professing the particular Protestant doctrines so that they made a new Church of their own not agreeing in all points of faith with any that went before neither have they which have come after them as there are very many Sects risen out of the first Protestant agreed with them And therefore there is none or the Roman is the One Holy Catholique and Apostolique Church § 4. Thirdly the Protestants had the Holy Scripture from the Holy Catholique and Apostolique Church otherwise they cannot be sure that they are the true Scriptures of the Apostles because the testimony and Tradition of any other Church is fallible and may deceive them And if it may for ought they know it hath seeing they lived not in the Apostles daies thereby to make themselves certain thereof and so they will be altogether uncertain of that which they make the only object of their faith Luther cont Anab To. 7. German Ien fol. 169. whitaker de Eccles l. 3. p. 369. Now it is most certain that they had the Scriptures from the Roman Church acknowledged by Luther himselfe and also by Doctor Whitaker only they took the wicked boldnesse to cancell some parts thereof therefore they must either acknowledge that they are not sure that the Scripture is the Word of God or that the Church of Rome from whom they received it is the true Church And if the true Church hath delivered the true Text of Scripture then hath she also together with the true Text delivered the true Apostolicall sense because the Apostles themselves did not deliver to her the bare Text but with it the true sense to be delivered perpetually to posterity not by making a large and entire comment of all difficult places but by delivering with the Text the sense also about the maine and principall points So that they who by Tradition receive from the Apostles the true Text must together with it receive the true sense Now principal * Chemnit exam Cont. Trid. p. 1. fol. 74. Doctor Bancroft in the Survey p. 379. Protestants affirme the former saying No man doubteth but the Primitive Church received from the Apostles and Apostolicall men not only the Text of Scripture but also the right and native sense Which is agreeable to the Doctrine of the * Vincentius Lyrinens cap. 2. Fathers that from the Apostles together with the Text descends the line of Apostolicall interpretation squared according to the Ecclesiasticall and Catholique sense Whereupon * Aug. de util cred c. 14. S. Augustine affirms the later that they that deliver the Text of Christs Gospell must also deliver the Exposition saying that he would sooner refuse to believe Christ than learn any thing concerning him but of those by whom he was brought to believe Christ For they that can deliver by uniform Tradition a false sense may also deliver a false Text as received from the Apostles their freedome from or liablenesse to error in both being equall If therefore the Church of Rome have delivered the true Text then she hath also delivered and preserved the true sense or else we are sure of neither and so she only is the true holy Catholique and Apostolique Church or else there is none § 5. Fourthly it is granted by Protestants that the Romane Church was once the true Church and it cannot be proved that she hath changed her doctrine since the Apostles time therefore she is still the same true Church And that she hath not changed her Doctrine is thus proved the Doctrines that have continued for divers ages in the Christian Church and no time of their beginning can be assigned must needs be Doctrines descending from the Apostles and unchanged and such are the Doctrines of the Church of Rome Than the Doctrines of the Romane Church which Protestants reject have been universally received for many hundreds of years is by many learned Protestants confessed Perkins saith * Expos of the Creed p. 307. 400. during the space of nine hundred years the Popish Heresie hath spread it selfe over the whole world and
which before perhaps we were not so obliged to doe § 6. A fifth argument moving me to believe that the Roman Church is the Catholique was this That doctrine which hath been delivered by Tradition as the doctrine of our Ancestors without any opposition made by any known Catholique Fathers and Doctors and if any did oppose the doctrine he was censured of Novelty and after admonition if he persisted therein was condemned of Heresie such doctrine is derived from the Apostles and unchanged and such is the doctrine of the Roman Church 'T is true indeed that divers points of the Roman doctrine have been opposed as by Arrius Pelagius Berengarius Waldo Wickliffe Husse and many others but these were not accounted orthodox Fathers but were taxed of Novelty and innovation and for such are delivered to us by Tradition and history of the times wherein they lived And it cannot be prudenty imagined that if the Church of Rome had like these men attempted to change the doctrine of the Apostles there should be no Tradition of it no historicall narration of it but that all the good and true Catholiques should be asleep to this great businesse of defending the flock from Wolves or which is more absurd should against their knowledge and conscience suffer damnable errors to steal in to the destruction of themselves and all the world that should succeed them Now the opposition of the Church in the forementioned manner is so far from obscuring the Churches doctrine that it makes it far more famous and illustrious and apparently Apostolicall even as the sun strugling with a misty morning breaking through it appears more beautifully glorious and unconquerable And this Doctor Feild a learned Protestant confesseth when a doctrine is in any age constantly delivered as a matter of faith Field of the Church l. 4. c. 14 and as received from ancestors in such sort as the contradictors thereof were in the beginning noted for novelty and if they persisted in contradiction in the end charged with heresy it is impossible but such a doctrine should come by succession from the Apostles But Protestants think it sufficient that they find as they say the Roman doctrine contradicted in the writings of orthodox Fathers though their opposition was not noted by antiquity nor by the fame of Tradition delivered to posterity But this answer leaves no meanes to common people to know certainly the perpetuall Tradition of Gods Church which is the guide of their faith but by reading and examining the Fathers which to them is impossible Besides if that some few obscure and hard passages out of the Fathers may suffice to call the Tradition of the Church into question then there is nothing so cleerly and unanimously delivered by Tradition but may fall under a new examination seeing nothing is or can be writ so plainely especially where there is very much also written but that some obscure and oblique passages may be raked out to make shew of a contradiction and if this counterpart may have the title of antiquity set over it what Heresie will want its defence out of the Fathers What Tradition was more constantly delivered by the Christian Fathers and Doctors than our Saviours Consubstantiality with his Father Yet the new Arrians as we may see in Bellarmine bring divers testimonies out of the antient Fathers Lib. 2. de Christ c. 19. to prove that in this point they contradicted themselves and one another In like manner doe the Protestants now bring some obscure places out of the Fathers in the defence of their heresies which yet in a true sense doe import no such thing but being a little obscure they more easily wrest them to their corrupted meaning But on the contrary the Fathers are abundant and cleer in those places which maintaine the Catholique doctrines and none of the Fathers of those times did accuse other of error in those points which if they had thought them so there is no doubt they would For wee cannot imagine the true believers of those times lesse vigilant than of these and we see now that no man can broach an error against faith but presently he hath abundant opposition and further questioning if the cause require Therefore it is apparent that Protestants when they alledge the Fathers as contradicting themselves and one another in the Catholique Doctrines of those times either mis-alledge their words or mistake their meaning For if those contradictions were reall why did not antiquity note them as it noted their differences about smaller disputable matters S. Hierome and Epiphanius took pains to note the errors of Origen yet amongst them all they did not note any which the Church of Rome now holds though his writings be full thereof If the sentences of the Fathers be true in the sense that Protestants alledge them why did not some charge them for maintaining the contrary Romane Doctrines a thousand times more frequently mentioned in their writings And on the other side if the Romane Doctrines were true why did not some tax them for maintaining of Protestantisme doubtlesse they would if they had understood them in the sense that Protestants now do It is manifest therefore that they that lived in those times who were therefore better able to understand their meanings than the Protestants that are sprung up so many hundred yeares after did not conceive that the Fathers maintained the Protestant doctrines in their writings for if they had they would quickly have been reproved seeing the current of Christian Religion even of those times was agreeable to the present Roman for as * Napier On the Revelat p. 191. also Cent. Mag. cent 2. c. 4. col 55. Napier saith during even the second and third ages the true temple of God and light of the Gospell was obscured by the Roman Antichrist himself And according to * Treatise of Antichrist lib. 2. c. 2. p. 25. Downeham the generall defection of the visible Church fore-told 2 Thess 2. began to work in the Apostles time § 7. On the contrary wee find in the writings of the Orthodox Fathers that the Doctrines which Protestants now hold were condemned as hereticall in those persons that then held them and they were not therein opposed by any other Orthodox Fathers For example the Protestants hold that the Church may erre so did the Donatists for which they are frequently reproved by * S. Augustine Passim cont Donat. Protestants deny unwritten Traditions urge Scripture only so did the Arrians and are condemned for it by * Epiphan Her 75. Aug. cont Maximin l. 1. c. 2. ult S. Epiphanius and S. Augustine Protestants teach that Priests may marrie so did Vigilantius and for it is condemned by * Cont. Vigilant c. 1. S. Hierome Protestants deny prayer for the dead so did Arrius for which he is condemned by * Aug. haer 53. Epiphan har 75. S. Augustine and S. Epiphanius Protestants deny invocations of Saints so did Vigilantius
Disciplines you shall find none Tradition is shewed thee for the Author custome the confirmer and faith the observer And in the first age S. Clement speaking of S. Peter reports thus of him g Clem. Ro. Ep. 1. de S. Petre prope fin His daily preaching amongst other divine commandements was this c. every one as farre as he understands and is able to love God with all his heart and his neighbour as himself to relieve the poor to cloath the naked to visit the sick to give drink to the thirsty to bury the dead and diligently to perform their funeralls and to pray and give alms for them § 8. Concerning Traditions in the fift age S. Augustine saith h Lib. 4. de bapt con Donat c. 24. That which the whole Church doth hold and is not instituted by Councells but is alwaies retained is rightly believed not to be delivered but by Apostolique authority And S. Chrysostome i In 1 Thes 2. In 1 Thes hom 4. It is manifest that the Apostles did not deliver all things by Epistle but many things without writing And as well these as those are worthy of the same credit wherefore let us esteem the Tradition of the Church to be believed It is a Tradition seek no further In the fourth age S. Basil speaks thus k Lib. de Spirit sancto c. 27. The opinions which are kept and preached in the Church we have partly out of written Doctrine partly we have received by the Tradition of the Apostles brought to us in a mystery Both which have the same power to piety and no man contradicted these who hath but mean experience of Ecclesiasticall rights In the third age * Heres 61. we must use Traditions saith S. Epiphanius for all things cannot be received from divine Scripture wherefore the holy Apostles have delivered some things by Tradition even as the holy Apostle saith As I have delivered to you and elswhere so I teach and have delivered in Churches In the second age S. Irenaeus thus expostulateth * lib. 3. c. 4. But what if the Apostles neither had left Scriptures unto us ought we not to follow the order of Tradition which they delivered to them to whom they committed the Churches And in the first age S. Dennys tells us that c Areopag c. 1. Eccles Hierar those first leaders of our Priestly Office delivered to us those chief and supersubstantiall things partly in writings partly in unwritten institutions I could give plenty of proofs in all other particulars But as the cluster of grapes which was brought out of Canaan to the Israelites was a testimony of the fruit the Land brought forth Numb 13.23 So this small parcell of antiquity taken out of their great store is proof sufficient that the most antient Church even in all the first ages and the Scripture it selfe in the judgement of those Fathers did teach the same Doctrines that the Roman Church now doth and hath had a perpetuall and uninterrupted succession in those Doctrines and her Pastors and is therefore the self-same Church with the Apostles A thing fore-told by Daniel who cals it a Kingdom which shall never be dissolved Dan. 7.14 And in which the Maxime of wise Gamaliel is verified if this counsell or work be of men it will come to nought but if it be of God ye cannot overthrow it Act. 5.38 39. § 9. But among the Protestant Churches I found no such thing neither Antiquity in their Doctrine but contrariwise their Doctrine condemned by Antiquity as I have shewed before nor yet in the bodie of their Professors And though they alledge some places of the Fathers in proof of their Doctrines yet they corrupt the meaning as may easily appear to those that divesting themselves of all interest can and will indifferently examine the places who shall find that they make not for them Nor indeed can they for my former alledged reason namely that if Antiquity had understood them so to wit in the Protestant sense some or other would either have reproved them for so frequently elswhere affirming the Roman Doctrines as Protestants confess they did as I have shewed or for affirming those Protestant doctrines which were contradictory to them which seeing they did not 't is manifest they believed no such contradictions in their writings but understood those places which Protestants alledge as Catholiques now doe as making nothing to the Protestants purpose But for their Catholique doctrines it is manifest that they cannot be interpreted to comply with the Protestant Religion for if they could why do the most learned Protestants accuse them of Popery It is a rule of * De doct Christ lib. 3. cap. 25. 26. S. Augustine in the interpretation of Scripture which is also as proper for the Fathers and agreeable to reason that where there are many cleer places on the one side and some few obscure places on the other the obscure must give place to the cleer and be reduced to an agreement with them in meaning which rule if it be observed it will easily appeare whether the Fathers were of the Roman or the Protestant Church As for the Antiquity of the body of the Professors of the Protestant religion it whom the antient Apostolicall Church hath her resurrection which like Epimenid◠they say fell asleep when she was yong and waked not till she was old no man knowing what was become of her in the mean while I could not indeed find i◠more antient than some very old men somewhat above sixscore yeares old Pa◠that died in England but few years agoe might have been grandfather to the Religion or at least elder brother to the Father thereof Martin Luther who in the year 1517. like a prodigious Comet began to appear and ingendring with the devill blasted the beauty of the Spouse of Christ and filled the Christian world with Heresie and bloud And in the year 1529. Luther and his Disciples received the name of Protestants from their Protestation and Appeal from the decree of the Diet of Spira in which title the nation of England I think doth more triumph than any of Luthers ofspring And whereas they do pretend some of them to have alwaies had a Being before that time it will fitly be examined in the next mark of the Church which is visibility For the maxime of law will hold good in this case IDEM EST NON ESSE ET NON APPARERE it is all one not to be and not to appear For the present seeing no more of them than yet we doe we may speak to them in the words of Tertullian * Tertul. de praescript 17. QUI ESTIS VOS UNDE ET QUANDO VENISTIS who are you from whence and when came you for either they are as young as Luthers Apostasie or else older than Christ and his Apostles even Jewes and so old that the mark is quite worn out of their mouth CHAP. XIII Of visibility the
third mark of the Church And of the vanity of Protestants supposition that the true Church is sometimes invisible That Protestant Churches have not alwaies been visible § 1. The third mark we will seek the true Church by is Visibility which was foretold by the Prophet Esay 2.2 Micah 4.1 It shall come to passe in the last daies that the mountaine of the Lords house shall be established in the top of the mountaines and shall be exalted above the hills and all nations shall flow unto it Also Ezek. 37.28 The nations shall know that I am the sanctifier of Israel when my sanctification shall be in the middle of them for ever And S. Augustine resembles it according to the saying of our Saviour Matth. 5.14 A city placed on a hil that cannot be hid And he hath placed his tabernacle in the sun Psal 18.6 that is in open view c. his tabernacle his Church is placed in the Sun not in the night but in the day Tom. 9. in Epist Jo. Tract 2. And further saith of the Church that e Cont. Petil. l. 2. c. 104. she hath this most certain marke that she cannot be hid she is then known to all Nations the sect of Donatus is unknown to many Nations that then cannot be she To the children of the Church it is appointed by Christ that for the redresse of their grievances they tell the Church Mat. 81.17 which were a delusion unlesse the Church were alwaies visible who did also forewarn us against all obscure congregations saying If therefore they shall say unto you behold he is in the desert go you not forth behold he is in secret places believe it not Mat. 24.26 Now according to these assurances I found that the Roman Church was alwaies and eminently visible but the Protestant never eminent and for the most part not visible at all Concerning the visibility of the Church of Rome it is proved before by those testimonies which shew the antiquity perpetuall continuance thereof which cannot be proved but with the granting of her visibility Nor have I found the Protestants denying it the thing being so visible that it leaves no place for objections But they think to wipe out this mark by saying that it is not necessary to a true Church to be alwaies visible but others disliking that assertion by reason of the absurdity thereof do affirme to counterpoize the Roman that the Protestant Church hath been alwaies visible § 2. And first they that hold that the Church hath been invisible and that therefore visibility is not a certain mark of the Church indeavour to prove it by the example of the Church of the Jewes in the daies of Elias 3 King 19.10.18 who complained that the Prophets were slaine and he only was left alive and God answered that there were left seven thousand that had not bowed the knee to Baal To which objection I found the answer of Catholiques very true namely that this complaint of Elias was uttered with relation to the Kingdome of Israel onely wherein Elias then was and was persecuted by King Ahab but in the Kingdome of Judah the Church did florish and was sufficiently known to him and all men under the reigns of Asa and Joshaphat 3 Kings 22.41 who reigned in Judah when Achab reigned in Israel As what time the number of true believers was so great 2 Chron. 17.14 15 16 17 18 19. that the men of war only did amount to many hundred thousands And whereas M. Meade makes reply to this answer saying that the Church was invisible in the Kingdome of Iudah also in the daies of Manasses because it is said 2 Chron. 33. that Manasses set up Idolatry committed all impiety and caused Judah and Jerusalem to erre I answer that this comes short of a proof for though the Kings example in all cases though never so bad have a mighty influence on the people yet this proves not but that the Kingdome or an eminent part or at least a visible part both of Priests and people was still untainted even as it was in the daies of the persecution of Antiochus against the Jewes who set up the Abomination of desolation the Idoll of Olympick Jupiter in the Temple and compelled men to worship it Besides if it were as he would have it the case is much different between a very short time of the invisibility of the Church of the Jewes for we read in the same Chapter that Manasses quickly repented and amended all and the invisibility of the Protestant Church which by their own confessions was above a thousand years Also the comparison between the Church of the Jewes and Christians is not equall the New Testament being established in better promises Heb. 8.6 and therefore that may be incident to the one which is not to the other Moreover if there had been this totall eclipse it had relation but to the Nation of the Jewes only besides which were many other faithfull people in all ages as appears by the examples of Melchizedek Job c. in the Old Testament and in the New of Cornelius and the Eunuch to the Queen of Candace amongst which the Church might be visible though amongst the Jewes invisible § 3. Others I have heard say that by Catholikes own confession in the daies of Antichrist the Church shall be invisible But I never have read any Catholique that said so yet on the contrary I have found Protestants affirm a Bullinger in Apoc. 20. Fulk against Rhē in Thes 2. sect 5. the visibility of the Church and that universally even all the daies of Antichrist which makes against themselves if they account the Pope Antichrist as most of them do and themselves the Church Yet Doctor White contrary to his brethren saith that b F. VVhites Reply p. 61. lin 15. 26. in time of persecution the true Church may be reputed an impious Sect by the multitude and so not be known by the notion of true and holy nor can her truth be discerned by sense and common reason To which I answer that as there are four properties of Church-doctrine so there are foure notions of the Church The first is to bee Mistresse of saving truth and according to this notion the Church is invisible to the naturall understanding both of men and Angells for God only and his Blessed see our Religion to be the truth The second is to be Mistresse of Doctrine truly revealed by secret inspiration according to this notion ordinarily speaking the Church is invisible to almost all men that are or ever were the Apostles and Prophets only excepted The third to be Mistresse of the Doctrine which Christ and his Apostles by their preaching and miracles planted in the world according to this notion the Church was visible to the first and Primitive times but now is not The fourth is to be Mistresse of Catholique doctrine that is of Doctrine delivered received by full Tradition and profession all the
not prove it shewes the interruption of their succession and while they affirm it shewes that they believe their succession and calling insufficient unlesse they derive it from the Church of Rome thereby acknowledging the Church of Rome the true Church which they in their Doctrine and dependence have forsaken and there can be no reason to forsake the true Church upon what pretence soever For the errors of the Church of Rome are but supposed and their Reformation neither is but supposed they being infallibily sure of nothing since they hold their Church may erre and so for ought ought they certainly know it did in accu and forsaking the Church of Rome and in their own imaginary amendment and instead of Christ have chosen Barrabas And what can be more inconsiderate than to forsake the true Church by their own confession upon pretences of whose truth they are by their own confession also uncertain For he that confesseth he may erre in that wherin he may erre being an object of the understanding not of the sense cannot be sure that he doth not erre And so they are altogether at a losse and a ground not infallibly no nor prudently sure of the least tittle they affirm They cannot be infallibly sure because they may erre as themselves confesse they cannot be prudently sure seeing there is a hundred voyces and judgements of men for the Roman Church to one for any Protestant Church They had therefore done much more wisely to have followed the admonition of S. Paul to Timothy DEPOSITUM CUSTODI keep that which is committed to thy charge 1. Tim. 6.20 and what is that saith Vincentius Lirinensis He answereth Comomnit advers haer c. 27. It is that which thou art trusted with not that which is found out by thee that which thou hast received not which thou hast devised a thing not of wit that is of thine own fancy but of learning that is which thou hast learnt not of private usurpation but of publique Tradition a thing brought to thee not brought forth by thee wherein thou oughtest to be not the Author but the keeper not a Master but a Scholler not a leader but a follower § 2. As for their assertion who say that Roman Catholiques and Protestants are all one Church it is both false foolish False it is because the differing in any one point of faith proposed by the Church makes one party not to be of the true Church it is certain that the Church of Rome and England differ in many Doth not the Church of England account the four grand Heretiques who were condemned in the first four Generall Councells to be out of the Church and not one with her that condemned them and they held each of them but some one or very few points different from the Church of Rome So that either they must confesse themselves also not to be one with the Roman Church or else that all Hretiques are of it which is absurd and contrarie to the mind of d De fide Symbolo c. 10. S. Augustine who saith that neither Heretiques nor Schismatiques are of the Church If Protestants say that they that were condemned in those Councells did indeed hold Heresies and so were not the Church but their own are truths and amendments of the Doctrine of the Church I answer so did those Heretiques also say yea and prove it by Scriptures and Fathers in their own sense and did believe their Doctrines to be the pure Word of God as confidently as any Protestants in the world do theirs who cannot say more for themselves than they did and they were some of them as numerous and as learned as Protestants are nor was there more authority against them than against the Protestants which is The Catholique Roman Church guided by the Spirit of God and the Word of God written unwritten Moreover they were the parties accused so are the Protestants it is not fit therefore that they should be the Judges If they say that they also accuse the Church of Rome of errors and therefore it is not fit that she should be Judge I answer some body must if ever we will have an end of controversie and then whether the whole society of Christians or some one or few men for so all Heresies began and so did the Protestant Religion in one Luther let any indifferent man judge Moreover God hath made the Church the Judge saying tell the Church and that is the Church of Rome as those Protestants must grant who say they are one with it and that it was the Church when they revolted from her And to consider the matter according to reason seen in the practise of all societies and bodies whether Ecclesiasticalll or Civill if any one or few members break the law and rule of the whole who shall judge whether it be well or ill done Surely either the head or the head and whole representative body together And this was the proceeding against Luther and the Protestants in a Generall Councell by which they were condemned and cast out of the Church Which judgement if it be not sufficient but that the condemned party justifying himself by his own bare affirmation or interpretation of the Law according to his own particular fancy contrary to the whole body whereof he is or was a member may be admitted what Heretique or Rebell will ever be found guilty or will not in despite of all mankind be accounted a true Christian and loyall subject and the soundest member of the whole body Secondly it is both poore and absurd for Protestants to seeke for shelter and countenance under that Church which they have abandoned disgraced and cruelly wounded though to their owne destruction thereby also abusively perswading many people to keep still in the Protestant Church while they think they are of the Roman they being as their new Masters teach them both but one Church § 3. But Catholiques whose consent it is very fit should be taken in this matter acknowledge no such union of Churches betwixt themselves and Protestants for Catholiques doe not allow their Ordination and Consecration of Bishops and Priests for good which appeares in that if a Priest of the Roman Church revolt to the Protestant party he is allowed by them to be a lawfull Priest but not so if a Protestant Minister returne to the Roman Church Also some Protestants grant that Roman Catholiques may be saved in their Religion but Catholiques doe not grant the like to Protestants which they would doe surely if they thought they were all one Church Besides the denying to communicate with each other is a proof that in the opinion of both they are not all one Church And whereas Protestants magnifie their own charity in this kind conceit of theirs and accuse Catholiques of the want therof it is very idle for the controversie about the meanes of salvation and the Church wherein it is to be had is not to be determined by
the judgement of charity but of discretion Catholiques judge no particular man to be damned because they know not the operations of God upon his soule in his latest minutes but they judge that all men out of the Roman Catholique Church are out of the road of salvation because they are assured thereof by the word of God And if to grant the possibility of salvation to others be such a testimony of charity as they conceive then surely Origen was of all men most charitable who held that at the last even the devills themselves should be saved and yet I find no man agreeing with him in this charitable opinion But the truth is as I conceive that Protestants are thus kind to Catholiques for their own ends which are to provoke Catholiques to shew the same favour to them that so they may have the better security in their way by the concurrent opinions of others and also for feare lest by denying salvation to the Church of Rome they cut off the hope thereof from themselves who acknowledge no lawfull ministry by consequence no Church and by consequence no salvation but that which they derive from the Church of Rome Which seeing they do indeed want they are neither united with her nor can justly hope for salvation without her CHAP. XV. Of the fifth Mark of the true Church viz. Unity in doctrine And of horrible dissentions among Protestants § 1. A Fifth Mark of the Church is unity in doctrine of which it is said by S. Paul I beseech you that all speak one thing be ye knit together in one mind and one judgement 1. Cor. 1.10 endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace Ephes 4.3 Continue in one Spirit and one mind Philip. 1.27 of one accord and one judgement Philip 2.2 Thus in the first times were the multitude of them that believed of one heart and one soule Acts 4.32 Thus our Saviour prayeth and no doubt was heard that they may be one John 17.11 and the effect of that prayer we see in the Church of Rome and no where else Thus also the Holy Ghost describes the Church of Christ saying my dove is one Cant. 6.8 And the want of this unity is so improper to God that he is therefore termed the God not of dissention but of peace 1 Cor. 14.33 And it is such an assured meanes to shorten continuance that the Scripture saith if you bite and devoure one another take heed that you be not consumed one of another Galat. 5.15 and that a kingdome divided against it self shall perish Luc. 11.17 And by the want of this mark of unity did the antient Fathers discover the Heretiques of their times S. Crysostome saith Op. imperfect in Math. Hom. 20. All infidells that are under the devill are not united nor hold the same things but are dispersed by divers opinions one saith so and another so c. in the same manner are the falshoods of Heretiques who never hold the same things but have so many opinions as there are persons To the same purpose speakes Jrenaeus Tertullian and others Iren. l. 1. c. 5. Tertull. de praesc advers haer 42. And this unity I found apparently in the Church of Rome and the contrary as apparent amongst Protestants Thus the antient writers do wonderfully agree in all matters of faith so also do all the decrees of all lawfull Councells and Popes though they were men living in severall ages in severall countries and wrote in severall languages And now also all Catholiques in the world howsoever otherwise divided by country language particular interest civill dissentions or war yet agree exactly in all points of faith And this because they have a certaine compasse to steere by to wit the generall Tradition of the Church and the decrees of Generall Councells who they have reason to believe doe preserve that which was delivered by the Apostles and if any doubt arise about the sense of Scripture are better able to interpret it than any other persons to which therefore they doe modestly and wisely submit their judgements But no such agreement was ever found or ever can bee found amongst Protestants or any sort of Heretiques S. Irenaeus lib. 1. cap. 21. saith of Simon Magus his Heresie that it was divided into severall sects S. Augustine of the Donatists lib. 1. de Bapt. c. 6. that in his time it was cut into small threds And particularly the same is happened to Protestants who soon after their separation from the Church of Rome were divided amongst themselves and have ever since so continued multiplying daily in their divisions insomuch that even in the one Kingdome of England and even in the one City of London there are very many And in many particular houses there are some different Sects of Religion each pretending to be the true Protestant and denying that title to the other Nor is there any meanes to reconcile their differences but they are rather likely to grow more and greater as wee see at this day For no Sect will acknowledge another its superiour in matter of Religion nor stand to its judgment except it be by force no not any one particular person thinks himself obliged to submit to the whole world therefore they use to say that they will not pin their faith upon another mans sleeve but all pretend to be guided by the Word of God which each one will interpret for himselfe and accuse all others of error so far as they dissent from him And though Sects and Heresies do first arise out of the Catholique Church as the Apostle saith There must be Heresies 1 Cor. 11.19 yet the Church doth not lose her unity hereby because she having a certain Touch-stone whereby to try them namely the judgement of the Church if they will not submit to that they are excommunicated and by judiciall sentence cut off from that body from which they first cut themselves by mis-belief as the Apostle saith an hereticall man after the first and second admonition avoid Tit. 3.10 whereby they preserve the rest of the body intire and at unity within it self So that the Heresies do not arise from the Doctrine of the Church but from the malice of the Devill But amongst Protestants the liberty of reading and interpreting Scripture and the examining and judging the Preachers Doctrine thereby being given to every silly soul as Doctor Bilson saith c True difference part 2. p. 353. The people are discerners and judges of that which is taught as with good reason they ought for it was upon this ground that they first separated from the Church of Rome undertaking to be judges of her Doctrine and if the present Clergie should not continue this liberty to the people against themselves who are no more infallible than the other nor can pretend to it they would play very foule play with the people and instead of giving them liberty of conscience which they promised only translate them from
one Tyrant over their consciences so they called the Church of Rome to another the Church of England there must needs arise varieties of Sects in Religion according to the various conceipt and apprehension of people even out of the very nature of this their Doctrine which is the ground-work for all the rest and is the most exercised in those who are most conversant in the reading of Scriptures to wit the Puritans and Sectaries And in the many differences that are amongst them they call no Generall Councells nor indeed can they by way of authority no Sect acknowledging it self subject to anothers Jurisdiction if it be under another temporall Governour but constitutes a Church by it selfe absolute and independent And in the variety of Sects in any one Kingdome or Government neither party believing it self justly subject to another in matter of conscience But supposing themselves alwayes in the truth they think they are bound to maintain that truth with the hazzard of their lives and to oppose their lawfull Soveraignes in the defence thereof and whensoever they have power they put it in execution and turn Rebells for Gods sake As we see many have done heretofore and the English are many of them now in the accursed act Nor can the men under whose conduct the people do this hope for more calme obedience from them longer than by force they are subdued to it unlesse they give them that in possession which now they have in hope and for which they have all been united in their service to wit Liberty of Conscience to every particular person to be of what Religion soever he shall make to himself out of the Bible free independent on the jurisdiction of any other And with very good reason for seeing they have all shaken off Christs yoke why should any man put a yoke upon another mans conscience and oblige him to believe or do or suffer that which is against his Word of God Thus as their Religion is divisible according to their severall senses of the Scripture so Kingdomes are divisible according to their Religions So that there must still be division either in Religion or in War for the defence thereof Yea so accurately doth Heresie teach to run division that it is meerly by accident that any two Protestants are of the same Religion in any one point for seeing they do not oblige themselves to agree in any one Principle but only the letter of the Scripture and refer the interpretation to themselves as Chillingworth Preface fine saith Let all men believe the Scripture and that only indeavour to believe it in the true sense and require no more of others it is but by the constitution of their brains and the grain of their fancie running the same way that brings any two of them to an union in the same belief concerning any point of Religion which constitution as it was accidentall in their generation so it is daily changeable by age education and many other occurrences and so also as uncertain for the future as accidentall at the present Thus all tends to division amongst them through the nature of their doctrines and the method of knowing and preserving them And this division of theirs in doctrine and opinion is the reason why when I mention the belief of Protestants I usually say some Protestants because they are not all of a mind scarce in any one point wherein they differ from Catholiques And some of them are so silly as to think that if they themselves doe not believe such a point no Protestant else doth supposing all Protestancy included in their owne brests which indeed is nothing so only they have reason according to their principles to believe as they do that that which every particular man holds is the true Protestancy and ought to be a rule to all the world beside § 2. The Catholique Roman Church hath in it the propriety of heat and doth congregare homogenea gather together things of the same kind and disgregare heterogenea separate things that are of different natures casting out of her Communion all sorts of Heretiques And on the contrary the Protestant Religion hath the property of cold which is congregare heterogenea to gather together things of different natures enfoulding under her name a miscellane of Religions freezing them altogether and withall making them so brittle that every chance breakes them into smaller sects and sub-divisions which in the end will be the destruction of the whole as it hath been of all foregoing heresies And this truth Sir Edwin Sandys a learned Protestant In his Relation of Religion of the Western parts confesseth saying The Papists have the Pope as a common father adviser and conductor to reconcile their jarres to decide their differences to draw their Religion by consent of Councells unto unity c. whereas on the other side Protestants are like severed or rather scattered troupes each drawing adverse way without any meanes to pacifie their quarrells no Patriarch one or more to have a common superintendency or care of their Churches for correspondency and unity no ordinary way to assemble a generall Councell on their part the only hope remaining ever to asswage their contentions Of which seeing there is no hope the sword must be the Umpire Which if it should in England prevaile on the Puritane or Roundheads side as they now stile them which God forbid I think I may without rashnesse say that it falls out by the just judgement of God that they that cast out the Catholique Religion and Catholique Bishops their predecessors upon pretence of the Reformation of Errors which they discovered as they said by the pure word of God are upon the same pretences cast out themselves and are forced to say with Adonibezek in the first of the book of Judges As I have done so God hath rewarded me So true a rule it is that he that practises disobedience to his superiours teaches it to his inferiours § 3. But the Protestants say that they do not differ from one another in fundamentalls no not from the Catholiques so much at unity with all the world do they professe to be The impertinency of their distinction of fundamentalls and unfundamentalls I have before discovered and little reason have they to use it in this case For to my apprehension all their differences are in fundamentalls yea all that they believe they account fundamentall For the Church of England saith in her sixth Article That whatsoever is not read in Scripture nor may be proved thereby is not to be required of any ma that it should be believed as an Article of Faith or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation as nothing but what may be proved by the Scripture is by her accounted necessary to salvation which is the same with fundamentall so I suppose that all that can be proved by the Scripture is necessary to salvation even in their own opinion for I think they will not say
not in the setling thereof fill their hands with blood And by Rebellion and unutterable cruelties propagate as they thought the Gospell of peace The Kingdome of England only excepted where the change was made by the Princes Which change not having gon far enough from the Catholique Roman Religion the people having got the sword into their hands doe now attempt according to the patern of all their fellow Protestants to make a second Reformation with such witty Rebellion and cruelty the only things wherin they did ever excercise any wit that as no posterity wil be able to imitate so no posterity will keep it silent but blazon it throughout the world to their eternall infamy when the Religion their Idoll to whom they sacrifice all this humane blood shall be sunk from whence it came to hell CHAP. XVI Of the sixth Mark of the true Church viz. Miracles And that there are no true Miracles among Protestants § 1. ANother mark of the Church is Miracles of which our Saviour saith John 14.10 He that believes in me the works that I doe he shall do and greater of which words the marginall notes of the English Bibles printed Anno 1576. say This is referred to the whole Body of the Church in whom this vertue doth shine for ever And againe Christ saith Mar. 16.17.18 These signes shall follow them that believe in my name they shall cast out devills they shall speak with new tongues they shall take up serpents and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover In so much that S. Augustine Cont. Ep. Fund c. 4. reckons this amongst many things forementioned that holds him in the Churches bosome saying The consent of people and nations retaines me the authority begun by Miracles nourished by hope increased by charity confirmed by antiquity retaines me the succession of Prelates since the Sea of Peter to whom our Lord consigned the feeding of his sheep after his resurrection to the present Bishops Sea retaines me finally the very name of Catholique retains me which not without cause this Church alone amongst so many so great heresies hath so maintained as when a stranger asks where they assemble to communicate in the Catholique Church there is no heretique that dares shew him his own Temple or his own house § 2. Now concerning Miracles the Protestants say that they are ceased and it is true to wit amongst them since they ceased to be members of the true Church and is therefore a signe that they have ceased to be so For this promise hath no limitation of time but is to continue for ever in the Church Nor do they prove the contrary by Scripture and if they cannot prove it by Scripture according to their own principles they are not to be believed And whereas some do alledge Fathers and Schoolmen to prove that Miracles are ceased they ought to distinguish and to know that there are two manners of being of Miracles to wit ordinary and extraordinary concerning which three things are affirmed First that in the Primitive Church Miracles were absolutly necessary for the planting of the Gospell in the world John 5.36 Acts 4.29.30 and then the gift of Miracles was ordinarily annexed to the ministry of preaching so that most Christians commonly had that gift in one kind or other 1 Cor. 12.28 Acts 8.17 Secondly that since the planting of the Gospell by 12. fishermen which was the Miracle of Miracles no further Miracle is absolutely necessary for men to whom this is known and therefore the gift of miracles is ceased to be ordinarily annexed to the office of preaching or common almost to all Christians as before it was Thirdly notwithstanding this in all ages there were are and ever shal be some speciall places and persons extraordinarily endued with the gift of Miracles for the comfort of Christians and conversion of remote nations to whom the same of the first miraculous planting of our Religion is not come And of Miracles of this kind c Aug. de civit lib. 22. c. 8. Greg. Dial. the writings of the Fathers and all Christian histories are full in so much that S. Augustine having mentioned many Miracles saith what shall I do I am not able to remember all that I know and doubtlesse sundry of ours when they read these will grieve that I have omitted so many which likewise they know aswell as I. And concludes that it would require many books to set downe the Miracles of healing done onely at the monument of S. Stephen * Beda hist l. 1. c. 26. Many Miracles also were done by S. Augustine the Monk who being sent from Pope Gregory above a thousand yeares ago converted the Kingdome of England the third time to the Roman Catholique faith Yea many Miracles were done in severall ages and severall places by Roman Catholiques by the confession of Protestant writers themselves In so much that the Centurists of Magdeburg do make report thereof in their 13. Chapter of every severall Century for thirteen hundred years after Christ out of the credible writers of those severall times In particular e Antonius 3. part Hi◠tit 23. 24. S. Francis S. Dominick and other holy men about their times did abound in Miracles also S. Katherine of Sienna and S. Bernard who being a Roman Catholique is yet acknowledged by f De Ecclés p. 369. post med Whitaker for a true Saint So did g Hackluit Navigat vol. 2. part 2. p. 88. Hartwell of the Kingdome of Congo in the Epist S. Xaverius in his conversion of the Indies of late yeares and many other Romish Priests in the conversion of the Kingdome of Congo in Africa and the same so credible that they are published to the world by Protestants themselves I will instance in some few that have been done in confirmation of some particular points of the Roman Faith Concerning Prayers to Saints S. Augustine de civit Dei l. 22. c. 8. saith that a devout woman called Palladia being diseased did in the presence of him and others pray to S. Stephen at his monument and was presently made whole Concerning Images Eusebius l. 7. c. 14. reports that the woman mentioned in the Gospell whom our Saviour cured of a bloody-flux by the touch of the hem of his garment erected the Image of our Saviour at the foot whereof there sprang up an herb which when it grew so high as to touch the bottome of the garment of the Image had power to cure all diseases c De passione imaginis Christi in Berito alledged in the 2 Councell of Nice Act. 4. Athanasius also and d De gloria Martyr l. 1. c. 22. Gregorius Turonensis make mention that upon violence offered by the Jewes to the Image of Christ blood did miraculously issue from thence The Miracles done by the signe of the Crosse by report of the Fathers are almost infinite in
so much as Couell the Protestant in his Answer to Burgesse pag. 138. saith No man can deny but that God after the death of his Son manifested his power to the amazement of the world in this contemptible sign being the instrument of many Miracles Concerning the neglect of Confession we read divers Miracles in S. Bedes History l. 5. c. 14. S. Francis and S. Dominick preached against the Albigenses who denied Purgatory Prayer for the dead Confession Extreme Vnction the Popes authority Indulgences Images Ceremonies Traditions with many other and are by the Protestants claimed for their Predecessors in the Protestant Faith and wrought many Miracles whereof one of S. Francis is most notable to this purpose and is recorded by Mathew Paris an approved Author amongst Protestants who thus relates it pag. 319. The fifteenth day before his death there appeared wounds in his hands freshly bleeding such as appeared in the Saviour of the world hanging on the Crosse Also his right side appeared so open and bloody that the inward parts of his heart were to be discerned whereupon there repaired to him great store of people amongst whom the Cardinalls themselves demanded of him what this sight imported to whom he said This sight is therefore shewed in me to them to whom I preached the mystery of the Crosse that you may believe in him who for the salvation of the world suffered upon the Crosse these wounds that you see and that ye may know me to be the servant of him whom I preached c. And to the end that you may without doubt persevere in this constancy of faith these wounds which you see in me so open and bloody shall immediately after I am dead be whole and close like to my other flesh Afterwards he yeelded up his soule to his Creator without all anguish or pain of body and being dead there remained no marks of his foresaid wounds Lastly for confirmation of the Reall Presence it is reported that in a town called Knobloch in the year 1510. one Paul Forme a Sacrilegious person went secretly into the Church by night brake the Pyx and stole from thence two consecrated Hosts one of which he sold to a Jew who in disdainfull malice said If thou be the God of Christians manifest thy selfe and thereupon pierced the Sacrament with his dagger whereupon blood did miraculously flow forth This Miracle was so publique and evident that 38. were thereupon apprehended and burned in the Marquisate of Brandenburg and all other Jewes banished out of the said Territory And this is reported for credible not onely by a Surius in Chron. Pontanus l. 5. rerum memorab Catholique but by b Ioan. Manlius loc Com p. 87. Osiander Epit. cent 16. c. 14. p. 28. fine Protestant writers If I should undertake to set down all the Miracles that have been done in the Catholique Church I might say as S. Iohn did of our Saviours doings that if they were all written the whole world could not contain the books Ioh. 21.25 To all which Protestants answer as the Blasphemous Iewes did to our Saviour that they were done by the Devill To whom Catholiques cannot give that answer our Saviour did If I by Belzebub cast out Devills by whom do your children cast them out Mat. 12.27 For your children cast out none And truly I believe that they that do thus accuse the Miracles done by so many holy Catholique men and women would have done the same to our Saviour if they had lived in his daies For Miracles being the last and highest proof of other things can have no proof for themselves but the evidence of sense to them that see them and their testimony and report to others But if as Protestants say the Miracles of Catholiques were done by the Devill how were they Miracles For the Devill can do none though he can do wonders if they were Miracles how were they done by the Devill Now that they were Miracles many Protestants do grant and therefore Chillingworth their Paragon doth also confess that they are done by God whence any reasonable man would infer that his next word would be the profession of himself a Roman Catholique in which Church God works Miracles the last and highest motive of belief But instead hereof O the accursed power of the devill he belcheth forth the most blasphemous speech against God that ever struck the tender sense of a pious eare and saith a In the preface of his book fine that it seemes most strange to him that God in his justice should permit some true Miracles to be wrought to delude them who have forged so many to delude the world As if God the Father of truth would set his seal which is Miracles to confirme falshood to delude the soules of men into sin and so change titles with the Devill and be the father of lies and deceiver of mankind Than which what can be imagined more hellish More true and pious was the saying of Nicodemus and appliable to our workers of Miracles we know that thou art a teacher come from God for no man could do these miracles that thou dost except God were with him John 3.2 But wee may take up the complaint of the Prophet Esay who hath believed our report and to whom is the arme of the Lord revealed Esay 53.1 Protestants will not believe these things and in matter of proof Catholiques can goe no further our Saviour himself did not so that now nothing remaines but for God to touch their hearts with his grace and to move them to believe that which they have most reason to think to be his word which God of his great mercy grant And if they consider it they shall find it the most unreasonable thing in the world to deny Miracles in the Roman Church for that there are and shall be Miracles in the world no prudent man I suppose will deny at least for the conversion of the people Yea we read of many Miracles done in the Church of the Jewes amongst those that were of the true faith and therefore were not intended for conversion but for confirmation or to some other end And why may it not be so in the Church of the Christians Now Protestants or any other Christians doe not so much as pretend to Miracles therfore they that are are amongst Roman Catholiques Indeed I have read of Calvin that for the credit of his new doctrine he would make shew to the people of doing a Miracle and hired one that was sick to counterfeit himselfe dead who when Calvin should speak certain words was to rise up as it were from the dead but he not stirring nor answering at his cue they looked and found him dead indeed b Capcavil in chronicis Pontificum Leodiensium But on the other side the sonne of Calvin being bit by a mad dog and his father not able to cure him he was sent to S. Hubert in Ardenne where the body of that
Saint is kept with great veneration and frequent Miracles wrought thereby and there was he made perfectly whole and thereupon abjured the Religion wherein his father brought him up and became a Roman Catholique § 3. Now for the Miracles that are said to be done in the Roman Church we have as high humane Testimony as can be imagined So that Protestants may with as much reason deny all humane story as that there were Henries and Edwards Kings of England whom they never saw yea they may as justly deny or doubt of the truth of their owne names which they doe not know but by report and mens calling them so and the poor record of a Church-book but Miracles have much more famous Records and more people that believe them And can they prudently imagine all Christians but themselves so stupid and foolish to believe these things without sufficient proof who in all other matters they must without the help of modesty acknowledg more wise and learned then themselves What did Christ and his Apostles doe more than the Roman Church hath since done and what can Protestants say more against her than the unbelieving Jewes or Gentiles might say against them And because some feigned Miracles are sometimes discovered from thence to charge all with the same accusation as it is unjust so it is absurd and destroies all humane faith they may as well deny all that is or hath been done in the world whereof they have not been eye-witnesses because some of those reports have been false Therefore as they believe Catholiques when they say some were feigned so in justice they ought to believe them when they say others are not so Otherwise by the same way of reasoning they may say that the Miracles of Moses were not true because the Magitians were counterfeit or that the new Testament is not the word of God because there were many Gospells Epistles counterfeited under the names of the Apostles And surely Catholiques would never endeavour to discover feigned Miracles if they were not sure that some were true but rather by one act condemn all that have been since the Apostles that are or shall be for false and counterfeit as Protestants in effect doe when they say that Miracles are ceased Moreover to affirme that Miracles are Antichristian as some Protestants doe is improper first because it is yet in question betwixt us whether Antichrist be come or no which Protestants have not proved nor never will with reference to the Pope Secondly it is granted on both sides that Antichrist shall doe no Miracles properly but only some signes and wonders not exceeding the power of nature and the devills art whereof one is to cause fire to come down from heaven Apoc. 13.13 which never any Pope did but the Miracles done in the Church doe exceed all created power And lastly many Miracles were done in the Roman Church before the time or times for they agree not in their reckoning that Protestants say Antichrist did first appear as at the reliques of d Chrysost in lib. cont Gentiles Babylas e Nazian in Cyprian Cyprian f Ieron in vita Hilar. Hilarion and many others So that all Catholiques may say with Richardus de Sancto Victore not with doubt or feare of being deceived but with assurance to the contrary g Lib. 1. de Trinit c. 2. O Lord if it be error that we believe we are deceived by thee for thou hast confirmed these things to us with signes and wonders which could not be done but by thee CHAP. XVII Of the seventh Mark of the true Church viz. Conversion of Kingdomes and Monarchs § 1. ANother Mark of the true Church is the conversion of Kingdomes and Nations from Heathenisme to the faith of Christ As the Prophet Esay saith Kings shall bee thy nursing-Fathers and Queens thy Mothers Esay 49.23 thou shalt suck the milke of the Gentiles and the brests of Kings Esay 60.61 Their Kings shall minister to thee and thy gates shall be continually open that men may bring to thee the riches of the Gentiles and that their Kings may be brought c. Esay 60.10 11. And the English Bible printed Anno 1576. upon the 49. of Esay vers 23. saith The meaning is that Kings shall be converted to the Gospell and bestow their power and authority for the preservation of the Church And this Mark I found on the Roman Catholike but not upon the Protestant Church The first three hundred years after Christ being a time of great persecution there were few or no Kings converted to Christianity and from Constantine to Boniface the third which was almost 300. years more there were few Kings converted except the Emperours of the East and West and they were converted to the Roman Catholique not to the Protstant Faith as Napier in his Treatise on the Rev. p. 145. confesseth saying After the year of God 300. the Emperour Constantine subdued all Christian Churches to Pope Sylvester from which time till these our daies the Pope and his Clergie hath possessed the outward and visible Church Now since the yeare 600. these Prophesies have been accomplishing and they have been done by the Roman Church not by the Protestant Churches which were untill Luthers daies under hatches and invisible by their owne confession before mentioned And if wee look upon the conversion of Kings and Nations in these later times since their ignis fatuus which they call the glorious light of the Gospell hath appeared we shall find it performed not by Protestants but by Roman Catholiques in the remote and divided parts of the m Joan. Petrus Maffeus hist Indicarum 16. East and n Jos Acosta de natur novi orbis West Indies and of o Hartwell of Congo Epist to Reader Africa as by sufficient testimony appears In so much that Simon Lythus a Protestant before alledged saith The Jesuites within the space of a few years have filled Asia Africa America with their Idolls And whereas it is objected that the Gothes were converted to the Christian Religion by the Arrians first p Cap. 22. de not Eccl. Bellarmine proves it to be false secondly if it were true yet it is of no moment to prove the power of any other Religion but the Roman Catholique for the converting of nations and the fulfilling of the large Prophesies of the Scripture therein seeing they that are pretended to be converted by the Arrians were but the lesser part of the Gothes most of them having been Catholiques before Thirdly this example doth rather make for the Roman faith in that of all the world converted to Christian Religion there is but one poor half example of conversion and that false too wrought by any other Religion Which when it is observed that this pretended conversion was wrought by Arrians who even in the opinion of most Protestants were Heretiques it will turne to the shame and reproach of Protestants who pretending to be the true
Majesty is on my side so that I doe not care though a thousand Augustines a thousand Cyprians a thousand Henricane Churches stood against me And in his defence of his Translation of the new Testament he saith If thy Papist wil prattle concerning this word alone which he added to the text where it is said that we are justified by faith presently answer Doctor Martin Luther will have it so and saith a Papist and an asse are the same So I will so I command my will be a law For wee will not be the schollers of the Papists but the Masters and Judges And Sleydan his deare Scholer l. 3. fol. 29. b. initio l. 2. fol. 22. a. doth report that he himselfe acknowledged his profession not to be of life or manners but of doctrine wishing that he were removed from the office of preaching because his manners and life did not answer his profession In so much that it gained the place of a Proverb amongst the Protestants of those daies to expresse their riot and intemperance by saying c Morgensterne in â—ra de Eccl. p. 225. HODIE LUTHERANICE VIVEMUS to day we will live like Lutherans His impudent railing his foule filthy and Bedlam-like expressions have bred a stench through all his writings and it is no wonder for who would look for better language or beter life from one who was such a darling of the devill Luther in Conc. Dom. Reminis fo 19. apud Cochleum Idem in Colloq Germ. fo 275. 281. that he knew him very well as he to his great credit confesses that he had eat more than one measure of salt with him and that the devill slept with him oftner than his wife Katherine Concerning Calvin that admired Apostle of Protestants it is affirmed by Conradus Schlusselburg in Theol. Calvinistar l. 2. fol. 72. a man of eminence in the Protestant Church and certainly a great enemy to the Church of Rome that God in the rod of his fury visiting Calvin did horribly punish him before the fearfull houre of his unhappy death for he so struck this Heretique with his mighty hand that being in despaire and calling upon the Devill he gave up his wicked soul swearing cursing and blaspheming He died of the disease of lice and worms increasing in a most loathsome ulcer about his privy parts so as none present could indure the stench These things are declared concerning his lasciviousnesse his sundry abominable vices and Sodomiticall lusts for which he was by the Magistrate under whom he lived branded on the shoulder with a hot burning iron unto which I yet see not any sound and clear refutation made Thus far he Of Beza also another Father of the Protestant Religion many foul and impious things are recorded his odious conspiracies and seditious books are mentioned by Bolseck in his book of Beza's life and by Bancroft in his Survey pag. 127. 54. 59. 219. 220. By whom also he is taxed of insolency pride and impudence in being too bold with the antient Fathers Lastly he wrote a Faius de vita obitu Beza p. 19. many lascivious Poems and that after he was turned Protestant and one Epigram amongst the rest most infamous wherein debating with himself whether he should prefer his lust with Candida his wench or Andebertus his boy in conclusion he prefers the later and of two evill doings both of which he ought to have avoided he doth deliberately choose one and that the most foul and unnaturall These things and much more to this purpose are recorded of these and others the supposed Apostles converters of the world and restorers of the purity of Evangelicall Doctrine of whom we may say as Josephs brethren did to Jacob of his Coat all smeered with blood VIDE UTRUM TUNICA FILII TUI SIT AN NON See whether it be thy sonnes coat or no Gen. 37.32 Judge whether these be the lives of the Sonnes of God sent to controule the world to reform and lead out of error the misguided sonnes of men Surely any prudent man will believe that either God never intended the change they have made or if he did he would have chosen other kind of men than these such as Moses and the Prophets who gave the Law unto the Jewes and Christ and his Apostles who brought the Gospell to the Gentiles As for the common multitude Luther to the credit of his Doctrine confesses Postill super Evang. Dominicae 1. Advent that the world grows daily worse men are now more revengefull covetous licentious then they were ever before in the Papacy And again he saith Domin 26. post Trin. before when we were seduced by the Pope every man did willingly follow good works and now every one neither saith nor knowes any thing but how to get all things to himself by exactions pillage theft lying usury c. And of those that have changed from the Catholique Roman to the Protestant Religion it is confessed by Luther in Serm. convivial Germ. fol. 55. Musculus Loc. Com. cap. de Decal in explanat 3. praecepti p. 62. circa med That they have changed their lives into worse Which made Paulus Eberus a Protestant writer of note complain saying in praefat Comment Philip. in Ep. ad Cor. which evills seeing every one doth behold with his proper eyes he doubts not without cause whether our Evangelicall congregation be the true Church Which also with the other reasons forementioned hath made me not at all to doubt thereof but to believe assuredly that it is not the true Church § 3. As for the recriminattion of the Protestants and charging the lives of some Popes and many of the Clergie and Religious with great impiety as it is not denied so far forth as it is true so it is in it self impertinent for what Church pretends to have every particular person though of the highest rank blamelesse Let them look upon the heads of their own Churches whosoever they be that they count so and see whether by their owne members they are accounted spotlesse particularly the first head of the Church of England King Henry the eight And upon their own Clergie of whom not I but Doctor King Bishop of London in Jonam Lecture 45. saith that scarce the tenth man of the Ministry is morally honest But howsoever the successors may faile yet it is a matter highly suspitious yea altogether convincing that they that pretend to be the first revealers or revivers of the forsaken truth of God if they be not of godly lives are counterfeit Messengers and false Prophets And the Protestants have no reason to make an inventory of the faults of Catholiques for so many hundred years as they confesse Catholiques have possessed the Church and that throughout the world and compare it with their own faults whose Church is little above one hundred year old and possessing but some corners of the world Nor is the sanctitie of the Church I confesse to be measured exactly
he saith l. 7. ind 2. Ep. 96. If there be one that is universall Bishop all the rest are no more Bishops Now S. Gregory maintained that all Bishops were true Bishops Ministers and officers of Christ although concerning jurisdiction they were subordinate the one to the other He therefore that usurps that title wholely to himselfe exalts himselfe with relation to the Episcopall order above his brethren denying him the essence and propriety of Bishops and officers of Christ and makes them only Commissioners to him as if they had the originall of that office from him and not from God And in this sense S. Gregory withstood the title of universall Bishop and not to deny in case of jurisdiction the superiority of one Bishop over another and the Bishop of Rome over all For that he maintaines Lib. 7. ind 2. Ep. 62. saying If there be any crime found in Bishops I know no Bishop but is subject to the Sea Apostolique He also addes for explication of the matter in hand Lib. 4. ind 13. Ep. 32. that The care of the Church hath been committed to the holy Apostle and Prince of all the Apostles S. Peter the care and Principality hath been committed to him and yet he is not called universall Apostle In which words hee ascribes the Primacy and headship of the Church to S. Peter yet denies the universality it must therfore needs be that the word universal in S. Gregories sense in this case is not the deniall of the Primacy of Jurisdiction over the whole Church but of his being the only Apostle as if there were none but he such as should derive their authority originally from him not from God And with application to the Pope it is the denyall of his being the only Bishop as if there were no Bishop in the world but he or such as he should constitute his deputies as from himself and not by command from God and as the Officers of God Moreover the Histories of all ages beat record that the Bishop of Rome hath exercised authority over all other Bishops in the world even in all Forraign Nations both before S. Gregory and after and even in his person and therefore he cannot mean the universall Government when he reproves the title of universall Bishop as by creating them himself by confirming them created by others by deposing them by restoring them being deposed by others by appointing them his Vicars by finall deciding their controversies by accepting their Appeales by making Lawes over all the Church by dispensing with them by inflicting his censures by being President in Generall Councells by calling of Councells so far as concerned the Ecclesiasticall authority which is the chiefest though the Emperours concurred therein in regard of temporall authority and of that only to make them obligatory to the secular tribunall and executory by the Ministry of the Officers of the Emperour as witnesseth the sixt Generall Councell Act 18. speaking of the first Generall Councell of Nice which saith The most sacred Constantine and the Praise-worthy Sylvester called the famous Councell of Nice which may also be proved of all the rest And by the saying of Athanasius ad solit That an Emperour presiding in Ecclesiasticall judgements is the Abomination of Desolation fore-told by Daniel And of Osius the Bishop of Cordua in an Epistle of his to Constantius the Emperour Go not about to meddle in Ecclesiasticall affairs and command not us in such matters but rather learne of us God hath committed the Empire to thee and the government of the Church to us And by the Protestation of the Emperour Constantine Pogonat sent to Rome for the holding of the sixth Generall Councell I will not sit as Emperour amongst them I will not speak imperiously In Epist Greg. 2. ad Leon. Imp. Ep. 1. but as one of them and what the Prelates shal ordain I will execute All which do undoubtedly prove the Pope of Rome both by divine and humane Law and by the right of prescription in all ages to be the supreme Pastor and Head of the Church And all the objections urged by Calvin all other invaders of this Sea are but like water furiously beating against a Rock broken into drops and forced creepingly to recoile and to foame and cry through shame and indignation at their vaine and impossible attempts impossible indeed unlesse they have more force then the gates of hell for they shall never prevaile against this Rock CHAP. XXI That English Protestants do much mistake Catholique Doctrine being abused by the malice or ignorance of many of their Ministers And that upon their owne grounds they are obliged to inform themselves more exactly of the truth § 1. AFter all these fore-going considerations for my more explicite satisfaction I descended to the examination of all the particular Doctrines in controversie betwixt the Church of Rome and the Protestants whom I found in all things to be exceedingly over-weighed both by Scripture Councells Fathers and reason Of which I will say no more than I have done but onely to shew in some few particulars how our poore English people are abused by their ordinary Preachers and made to believe monstrous things of the Doctrine and practice of the Church of Rome who for the most part stating the question false and laying to the Catholiques charge the things that they do not teach raise an error out of their own fancy and then fight against it most couragiously under the title of Popery And every young Minister is so valiant herein that he thinks he baffles the most learned Cardinall Bellarmine as Goliah thought he could have done David and in this case for the most part the most ignorant and imprudent are the forwardest And this I add to rectifie the opinions of the lesse learned and to reconcile them so far to the Catholique doctrines as to believe they are not so monstrous as they are vulgarly imagined First then they tell the people that the Papists as they call them are Idolaters in that they worship Images stockes and stones little painted babies and puppets with many such like titles wherewith they make themselves merry and then alledge all the places of the Scripture or Fathers wherein the Idolatry of the Heathen is reproved Now it is most certain that this is an unjust charge against Catholiques first because the worship of Images and Idolls is not all one seeing the words are of different signification as is manifest by those places where it is said Let us make man after our Image Gen. 1.26 And a man ought not to cover his head because he is the image and glory of God 1 Cor. 11.7 with many the like wherein if they say that Image Idoll were all one they must say also that when God made Adam hee made to himselfe an Idoll Secondly Catholiques doe not worship Images as God which the Heathen and Jewes when they had committed Idolatry did as appears by Elias who saith
way of receiving it is impossible to receive him unworthily which is contrary to the Scripture and the common beliefe of all Christians for according to them none receive him but they that receive him worthily faith being the means with them which makes them receive him both really and worthily which who so wants doth not receive at all so that every one that receives him really receives worthily and the rest receive nothing but bread and wine and so do not receive Christ unworthily but only bread and wine at the most unworthily and how this should make them properly guilty of the body and blood of our Lord which they do not receive and liable to damnation thereby as the Apostle saith it doth is beyond the reach of my apprehension Others coming yet nearer say that they believe the reall and corporall presence but they do not believe Transubstantiation they believe that Christ is truly there but the manner they say is unknowne and unexpressible But they ought to know that men ought firmely to believe the manner of a mystery revealed when the same belongs to the substance of the mystery so that rejecting the manner we reject also the substance of the mystery Now the mystery in substance is that the body of Christ is present in the Sacrament in such sort that the Priest the Minister thereof shewing what seems bread may truly say thereof in the person of Christ this is my body This supposed as the substance of the mystery I infer that two Catholique doctrines concerning the manner thereof belong to the substance of this mystery and cannot be called in question without danger of misbelief First the reall presence of the whole body of Christ under the forme of bread Secondly that this is done by Transubstantiation because it cannot be done otherwise Even as he that believes the mystery of the Incarnation the substance whereof is that in Jesus Christ the nature of God and the nature of man were so united that God is truly man and man God he must necessarily believe that this union is not metaphoricall and in affection only but true and reall Secondly that this union is substantiall not accidentall Thirdly that this union of natures is not by making one nature of both as Eutyches taught but hypostaticall whereby the nature of God and man is united in one person This mystery is high subtile and incomprehensible to flagging reason yet must be believed seeing it belongs to the substance of the mystery which could not be true if it were not thus so it is in the reall presence As for the novelty of the word which some object they have little reason to do so knowing it is some hundreds of years older than the name Protestant and for the thing it is as antient as our Saviours celebrating his last supper And had not the Catholique doctrine been opposed by Heretiques perhaps the word had not yet been in use no more had consubstantiall used in the Nicene Creed had not Arrius denyed the Son to be consubstantiall or of the same substance with the Father For the Church doth and may make fit words to explicate the truth of her doctrine as occasion requires wherein she doth not change the doctrine but expresseth it more plainly or significantly CHAP. XXII Of Communion in one kind § 1. I Will instance in two particulars more because I know that Protestants doe mightily check at them the former is Communion in one kinde the later Prayer in an unknown tongue Concerning the former Protestants are by their Ministers instructed to beleeve that in this matter Catholiques are sacrilegious against God and injurious to men robbing the Church of the precious blood of Christ and giving the people a lame and halfe Sacrament instead of one whole and entire But to rectifie their understandings they may be pleas'd to take notice that the Catholique Church doth not count it in it selfe unlawfull to receive in both kinds nor yet doth she hold it necessary but in its owne nature indifferent and so by consequence determinable to one or both kinds according to the differences of persons times and places as she in her wisedome shall think fit But Protestants think it absolutely necessary for the Laity to receive in both kinds first because it was so instituted secondly because it was as they think so commanded These being the two hinges of this their opinion we must here a while arrest our considerations wherein I shall shew that there is no precept of receiving under both kinds and that the institution hath not the force of a precept § 2. To begin with the institution we must know that for a man to be bound to use any institution of God two things are required First that the end of the institution be necessary and that it be necessary for every particular person to endeavour the attaining thereof whence all men hold that though the propagation of mankind by marriage be an institution of God necessary for the continuation of the world yet while there are enough that comply with that duty to which mankind is in generall bound every particular person is not oblig'd to marry Secondly that if every particular person be bound to endeavour to attaine the end of an institution that also the whole thing instituted be necessary for the attaining of that end for if there be variety of meanes ordained sufficient for the attaining of that end a man is not bound to use all that which is instituted but it is sufficient to use so much thereof as will lead a man to that end Whence all men againe hold that although God created and instituted variety of meats and drinks for the maintainance of mans corporall life yet no man is bound to use them all but he dischargeth his duty sufficiently if he use so much of any of them as will suffice to arrive at that end for which they were instituted to wit the maintainanee of his corporall life so that if a man can live of two or three sorts of meat he is not bound to use ten or twenty and if he can live of meat without drink he may without offence choose whether he will ever drink or no. To apply this to our present purpose it is apparent enough that by the force of divine institution only no man is bound to use Communion under both kinds For though the end why Christ did institute the Sacrament in both kinds be necessary and all must endeavour the attaining thereunto to wit maintainance and increase in grace which is the life of the soule yet there are other meanes of Gods institution also by which we may attaine to this end Whence it is that learned Divines hold that though the Sacrament of the Eucharist be necessary NECESSETATE PRAECEPTI by the necessity of precept yet it is not necessary NECESSITATE MEDII as they speak that is the use thereof is not such a necessary meanes for the maintenance of spirituall
much as concernes the full sense thereof be not all one to him as if they were in Hebrew I will set them downe according to the English Protestant translation and their number of the Psalmes Moab is my washpot over Edom will I cast out my shoe Psal 60.8 Also this Though ye have lien among the pots yet shall ye be as the wings of a dove covered with silver and her feathers with yellow gold Psal 68. v. 13. And this in the same Psalme v. 30. Rebuke the company of spearemen or as it is in the margent the beasts of the reeds the multitude of the bulls with the calves of the people c. Also this as it is in the Service book Or ever your pots be made hot with thornes so let indignation vex him even as a thing that is raw Psal 58.8 Therefore when Protestants read these and the like unintelligible places of Scripture to the unlearned people without interpreting them their end in reading being only the instruction of the people they truly fal into that error of which they untruely accuse us of speaking in the Church without the edification of the people So have many of them alone in their Sermons also speaking Latin or some other more unknown tongue without interpreting it Moreover the end of the Church meetings here spoken of by the Apostle was to instruct the ignorant and convert the infidels as may be gathered out of the 23. and 24. verses But the drift of the Church in appointing Liturgies and set formes of publique prayer and readings in the Masse was not for the peoples instruction though that as I have shewed be not neglected but for other reasons as first that by this publique service a continuall dayly tribute or homage of prayer and thanksgiving might be publiquely offered and payed unto God by his Priests Secondly that Christians by their personall assistance at this publike Service might professe exercise exterior acts of religion common with the whole Church represented by the Synaxis or ecclesiasticall meeting of every Christian Parish Finally that every Christian by his presence yeelding consent unto the publike prayers praises thanksgiving of the Church might participate of the graces benefits fruits which the Church doth ordinarily obtaine by her Liturgies publike oblations Now for these ends there is no need that every one should understand word by word the prayers that are said in the publike Liturgie but it sufficeth that the Church in generall and in particular Pastors Ecclesiastical persons dedicated to the Ministeries of the Church have particular notice of all the prayers that are said and that all may be taught and instructed in particular if they desire it and will be diligent therein But Protestants are more easily lead into this error of beleeving that the Church Service must be said in the vulgar tongue because they conceive the principall intent thereof with us is as it is with them for the instruction of the people For with them they doe not usually read the Church Prayers unlesse there be company to heare not is there any receiving of their Communion unlesse there be a number of the people to communicate But in the Catholique Church it is not so for with us the Office of the Church is said though there should be no people present for it is the Priests Office not the peoples and the daily Sacrifice is offered though there be no people present these are done to the service honour of God and for the benefit of the people too though not for their instruction and they are bound to be present at Masse only upon Sundaies other Holydaies yet may be present at any other time and are present more frequently numerously than the Protestants are at their Service or Sermons and for the substance of things done or said understand much more And all women children in their answers to the Priest are as ready if not more than ever they were in the use of the Liturgie of England And while they understand the generall purport of that which is said though they cannot apply every Latin word to its proper signification in the vulgar yet I suppose their understandings are more edified then theirs that know the signification of most of the words but not a jot of the inward sense meaning thereof as happens to the unlearned Protestants while they hear most parts of the Scripture read in the vulgar tongue Moreover most certain it is that the present custome of the Roman Church to have their Liturgie in a tongue not vulgar is agreeable to the custome of the Church in all ages and also of all Churches now in the world bearing the name of Christian though opposite to the Roman only those of the pretended Reformation excepted which constant concurrence is a great signe that the same is very conform unto reason not any where forbidden in the Word of God The Scripture was not read in any language but Greek over al the Churches of the East as S. Jerom praefat in Paralip witnesseth Also the Greek Liturgie of S. Basil was used in all the Churches of the East yet the Grecian was the vulgar language of all the countries of the East as is apparent by many testimonies particularly of the b Basil de Spiritu Sancto c. 19. Capadocians c d Hieron in Proâ—m 2. lib. com ad Galat. Act. Apost c. 1. v. 10 11. Mesapotamians d Galathians e Theodoret. in histor SS Patrum hist 13. Lycaonians f Hieron de Script Eccles in Anton. Egyptians Syrians yea that all these Countries most of the Orient had their proper language distinct from the Greek is manifest out of Acts 2. where divers nations of the East being assembled in Jerusalem at Pentecoste hearing the Apostles speak with tongues said How hear we every man in our own tongue wherein we were born Acts 2.8 No lesse manifest is it that the Latin Liturgie was common anciently to all those of the Western parts yea even in Africk as appears by testimonies of S. Augustine Epist 57 de doct Christ l. 2. c. 13. in Psal 123. in Exposit Ep. ad Rom. Ep. 173. Yet was not the Latin the vulgar language of all the nations of the West but every one had his owne distinct as now they have particularly in England the British language was then in use Nor yet was the Latin language vulgarly known in all these nations though understood by the beteer sort as it is at this day in all likelihood more generally known now than then in as much as the study of Arts Sciences communion in Religion are fitter meanes to spread a language than the sword of a Conqueror So that it is manifest that the Christian Church did never judge it requisite that the publike Liturgie should be turned into the mother tongue of every nation nor necessary that it should be presently
understood word by word by every one of the vulgar assistants neither doth the end of the publike Service require it As for those Sects that use no Liturgie at all but in their Church-meetings do only make an extemporall prayer before after Sermon as the custome is now for the most part in England that the people may pray with them they do as they ought in using the vulgar tongue Catholiques if they used such exercise no doubt would do it in like manner § 2. As for the comfort more plentifull edification of the understanding which some few want in that they do not so perfectly understand all the particulars of divine Service it may by other means abundantly be supplied without turning the publike Liturgie into innumerable vulgar languages which would bring great confusion into the Christian Church For first the Church could not be able to judge of the Liturgie of every country when differences arose about the translation thereof and so divers errors heresies might creep into particular countries and the whole Church never able to take notice thereof Secondly particular countries could not be certain that they had the parts of the Scripture used in the Liturgie truly translated for they can have no other assured proof thereof than the Churches approbation nor can she approve what she her self doth not understand Thirdly if there were as many translations of the Liturgie as there be severall languages in the world it could not be avoided but that some would in many places be ridiculous incongruous and full of mistaking to the great prejudice of souls especially in languages that have no great extent nor many learned men that naturally speak them Fourthly the Liturgie must of necessity be often changed together with the language which doth much alter in every age as is very well knowne Fifthly in the same country by reason of different dialects some provinces understand not one another and in the Island of Japonia as some write there is one language for men another for women one language for Gentlemen another for rusticks into what language then should the Liturgie of Japonia be translated So that it is cleer that the inconveniences of divine Service translated in all vulgar languages are insuperable the commodity is but to the most ignorant part and that but in part and to be recompenced by other means and is so by prayer books and other instructions in abundance in the vulgar tongue In so much that I dare boldly say for I have been an eye-witnesse that in the cities of Paris and Rome there is five times as much preaching and ten times as much catechising of youth and ignorant people as is in London so that blindnesse ignorance to Catholiques is ignorantly blindly objected Lastly we cannot imagine that if S. Paul had intended that which the Protestants labour to enforce out of the above-named chapter to the Corinthians that both he and his fellow Apostles would have practised the contrary at the writing thereof and all their lives after for we doe not find that they or any after them did use any Liturgie but in one of the learned languages which though they were vulgar to some people in those times yet but to a small part in comparison of all the nations of the world amongst whom they celebrated Masse § 3. As for private prayer the Catholique Church permits all men whether out of the Churches or in them to pray in what language they please yea the Pater the Ave and the Creed are commanded by divers Councells to be learned in the vulgar tongue and divers bookes of prayers in the vulgar tongue are published and used in all Catholique Countries Yet those Catholiques that do pray or sing Psalmes in Latin which they doe not understand either by choice or obligation are not to be condemned For either they understand the prayer in the whole masse thereof as the PATER NOSTER for example though they know not perhaps whether PATER signifie our and NOSTER father or the contrary yet saying this prayer with due devotion and knowing that it is our Lords prayer which they can very well repeat in their mother tongue no man I suppose can be so absurd to think this prayer is not acceptable to God though the pious thoughts be not measured geometrically to the words Or else they understand only more generally that such or such a prayer or Psalme for example MISERERE is a Psalme full of penitent affections and this they say with much inward sorrow and contrition for their sinnes and who can deny that this pious affection is pleasing to God though the thoughts and words doe not mathematically correspond the one to the other I am sure the Apostle approved the like saying in the 17. verse of the forementioned chapter Thou verily givest thanks well And to conclude he doth absolutely allow it in the 28. verse saying But if there be no interpreter let him keepe silence in the Church and let him speak to God and himselfe And in this matter as well as the rest the Protestants also may keep silence unlesse they could speak more to the purpose § 4. These points all other I examined with diligence and found that Protestants ordinarily did not truly apprehend many of the Catholique doctrines nor justly oppose any of them But I have only touched these few particulars to let the unlearned Protestant Reader see that the Catholique doctrines are not such monstrous things as they ordinarily conceive them but rather that it is monstrous in them not to believe them And to awaken the further diligence of all Protestants to search into the truth of all points so far as they are able either by themselves or others if they will not at the first cast themselves upon the infallibility of the Church which I conceive I have sufficiently proved in the former part of this Treatise and is the shortest and surest way and to read the Bookes of Catholiques set forth to this purpose not to exercise an implicite faith to the Protestant Religion and even against the rule of it to their hurt seeing they will not yet do it to the Catholique Religion to their advantage In which Catholique books they shall find all the Pleas for Protestancy all their objections against Catholique doctrine answered with that learning and solidity with that cleernesse and fullnesse that were not faith also required which is the gift of God only to the apprehension of those things which the Church teaches it were impossible in my judgement impossible I say that any reasonable man should continue in his judgement a Protestant Yet many there are I fear who though they be in belief and judgement Catholiques yet in outward profession are Protestants Who like the inferiour spheares which are moved one way by the PRIMUM MOBILE and a contrary way by their owne peculiar motion So they are moved to believe the Catholique verities by the influence of
to the direct meaning thereof and so either in those things become Popish themselves or accuse their teachers of Popery § 5. Another fraud I have observed amongst the Canonical Protestants which is that when they dispute against Catholikes they have recourse to the Scripture and wil be tried by that only but when they dispute against the Puritanes and other Sects amongst them who deal with them at their own weapon of Scripture only then they have recourse to the Fathers and the Tradition of the Church and use the same arguments against Sectaries that Catholiques do against them and particularly in the points of baptizing of Infants against the Anabaptists and the keeping of the first day of the week holy against the Sabbatarians who would have Saturday for either of which there is not any command in Scripture And shall Tradition serve them in those cases and not in others Or shall Scripture with them prove all other points and not those And this shift is such a one as S. Augustine in Psal 80. witnesses to be common to Foxes and Heretiques For as Foxes have two holes to save themselves by one when they are driven from the other so Heretiques whom the Scripture figures out by Foxes when the Spouse saith Let us take the young Foxes that destroy the vines Cant. 2.15 have a double passage to save themselves by the one when they are assaulted by the other so that he that will catch them must set his nets before both issues and besiege both passages as the excellent Catholique Writers have done and have left them neither Tradition nor Scripture wherby to escape For although the Scripture do not teach all in direct and particular terms that Caliques do yet it teaches nothing that Protestants do in the things they differ from Catholiques And in generall the Scripture teaches all that Catholiques do by referring us to Tradition And this is sufficient for it is not required that all that we believe or do be expresly set downe in Scripture it is enough that there be no Scripture against it for what is not forbidden is lawfull as the Apostle saith where there is no law there is no transgression Rom. 4.15 If then there be no law of Scripture against it it is lawfull especially if it be warranted by the Tradition of the Church to which the Scripture referres us and is to us more evident to come from God than the Scripture is which we do not know to do so but by the Churches testimony So that I found the Protestants were like to the Giant Procustus mentioned by Plutarch who having a great iron bed fit for himself all strangers that he took he layed therein and if they were too long for the bed he cut off so much of their leggs if too short he stretched them out till they came even So the Protestants having built a Religion after the modell of their owne fancy doe examine Scriptures Councells Fathers and all authority by it whereof some they cut off as being too long in affirming more than they do and others being too short for their purpose they miserably serue tenter and rack till they come to the length they desire And had I the wicked ambition by impiety to make my selfe famous I believe I could conjure up new opinions which laying aside the authority of the Church I could varnish with as much reason and Scripture as any they professe Whose attempts have had no better successe then Achelous had in fighting with Hercules who took upon him severall shapes hopeing in one or other to overcome him but was by Hercules beaten through all his shapes and forced at last to take his owne proper shape and yeeld So Protestants fighting against Catholiques are by them beaten through all their changes and formes and shifts through which they wander and are forced at last to take the true forme of Protestancy which is obstinatly to deny the plaine and manifest truth But I heartily pray that it would please God to bring them to the true form which they ought to have which is of Roman Catholique untill which they will like the blinded Sodomites perpetually roule wander and grope in the darknesse of uncertainty and instability till eternall darknesse seize upon them For by embarquing themselves in such an enterprize as is the boarding of the Ship of Peter they are like to arrive at no other port but ruine and destruction § 6. Moreover I found this proceeding of the Protestants to be most uneasonable and full of pride in that they being but few in number especially in their beginning yea but one one infinitely audacious Luther once a child of the Roman Church should presume to correct or reforme the whole Christian world a thing which no man would admit in the private regiment of his own family that a sonne or servant should presume to find fault with and change the customs of the house against the consent of the Father Master and all the rest and assume to himselfe alone to be judge of the cause One earnestly desiring Lycurgus to establish a popular State in Lacedemon that the basest might have as great authority as the highest answered Begin to doe so first in thine owne house which he refused and thereby saw the injustice of his own demand So these men that will not admit within themselves either in matters Ecclesiasticall or civill that they whose duty it is to obey should command they whose duty it is to learne should teach withwhat face can they defend the practise thereof in the Church which is the house of God of which our predecessors were guilty in the first attempt and this present generation in the continuance of their Rebellion Nor let them think that their having of the Bible in the Mother-tongue will save them as if it were like the Palladium to the Trojans a thing dropt down from heaven no man knowes how with this condition annexed that while they kept it in their city they should never perish while in the mean time they extreamly pollute it with two things their interpretation and their conversation whereas the Church of Rome hath not only the word but the meaning of God also as the Apostle saith we have the sense of Christ 1 Cor. 2.16 both proved by never-erring authority And lastly weighing all the Protestants arguments with all impartiality or if there were any inclination of the ballance it was to their side with whose doctrines I had been from my childhood seasoned and had been a teacher of others for the space of neere twenty yeares and to whom to receive contrary impressions I knew must prove extreamly prejudiciall who therefore addrest my selfe to this enquiry with the disposition of a jealous husband seeking that which I was most loath to find yet all this notwithstanding I found that all their pleas and pretences and their answers to Catholiques were weake sleight false or impertinent and like to a certain fish called Sleve
mentioned by Plutarch which hath a body like a sword but wants a heart they had at least in the opinion of some a shew of strength and sharpnesse but inwardly had no power Spirit or vigour And that all their specious shewes of purity Reformation and Evangelicall truth were but like a shallow brook or plash of water wherein we may discern the Sun or moone and stars with the whole face of heaven as if it were as deep as heaven is high when if we but sound it with our little finger we pierce it through even to the earth So their pretences of the pure Word of God heavenly truth and nothing but the truth as if like Prometheus they had fetch'd it themselves from heaven being fathomed I found no deeper than the shallow conceits of private heads And that like Micol they had sent away David and laid an Image in his place 1 Kings 19. they had renounced the true and living Word of God which is the true sense thereof and laid an image of their owne fancy drest in the same letter in the room thereof and so were though not of Saints and Images which they ought yet worshippers of their owne imaginations which they ought not as being a high Idolatry § 8. These these are the motives which have inclined me to believe that the Church of England and all other Protestant Churches are guilty both of Heresie and Schisme two sinnes of highest nature the one against God the other against our neighbour the one against faith the other against charity by denying their beliefe to doctrines revealed by God the supreme Author and proposed by the Catholique Church the supreme witnesse of divine truth and by rending the seamlesse coat of Christ separating from the Communion of his Church and that as some of their most learned say for things not fundamentall and what can be more imprudent than for an unfundamentall error to commit a fundamentall sinne And such it is to separate from the true Church as the learned amongst them confesse the Church of Rome to be And as the pretended errors for which they did separate they confesse were not fundamentall so for ought they know for they confesse that the judgement of their Church may erre they were no errors at all and so again for ought they know they have not reformed but deformed themselves and are gone out of Gods blessing as we say into the warm Sun What madesse it is to make or continue a separation from a true Church so acknowledged by all Christians upon pretences not accounted true by any but themselves and nor certainly known to be true so much as by themselves And as S. Augustine de unit Eccles c. 3. argues against the Donatists If both sides were true they had no cause to separate and to fly from those whom they had in possession If both false there was no cause of separation that they should fly from those who were no more faulty than themselves If our doctrines are true and theirs false there was no cause of their separation because they ought rather to have amended themselves and continued in unity and if ours are false and theirs true there was no cause of their separation because they ought not to have forsaken the innocent world to whom either they would not or they could not demonstrate their truth Nor can it excuse them to say that such or such things are against their conscience for as much as they ought to regulate their consciences by the Word of God in the mouth of the Church not of themselves otherwise contentious and self-will'd Spirits will never want this plea to separate from the Church and so to serve God with their Will-worship and not to demand of the Church that she make her conscience stoope to a compliance with theirs which is insolent and unreasonable 'T is true that he that doth any thing against his conscience sins so also if he do not that which he is commanded he sins therefore to reconcile this conflict of conscience men may and must though it go against the grain of their private judgement submit themselves by an implicite faith to the Church by believing her to be wiser than themselves and so believing what she saith to be true Otherwise this conscience would be a plea for all disobedience and impiety when wicked men might say that they could not be perswaded in their conscience that the things they were commanded to believe or do were good but rather the contrary were so and therefore they would do them Thus erroneous men may think it lawfull to commit murder or adultery as all Rebells do the one and Familists and Adamites the other And we see that Protestants who make conscience their Plea against the Church of Rome and a ground of Separation will not admit this from others that are under their command The legall Protestants of England would not permit any man under pretence of conscience to refuse the Oath of Allegiance and Supremacy but thought all men bound to submit their beliefes therein to them And now the Reformers of the reformed who heretofore complained of it as an Egyptian burden to have any thing imposed on them against their conscience make no scruple to impose upon other mens consciences in their oaths Protestations and Covenants of conspiracy and Rebellion against their lawfull Prince and of believing a Religion not only now in Being but whatsoever hereafter shall be by them contrived nor will they suffer any mans tendernesse of conscience to be a ground for the separation of his obedience So that the separation of all Protestants from the Church of Rome under pretence of conscience as it hath no ground of truth so hath it not either of prudence or justice § 9. And if the Protestants especially the Chilling worthians will be as they pretend the servants of reason and follow her whither she shall guide them I cannot see how they can avoid coming to the Catholique Roman Church For seeing that according to them there is no infallible certainty of the truth of any point of Faith for if there be so it is in their fundamentalls yet seeing they have no infallible knowledge what those fundamentalls are they must needs slide back againe to their former universall uncertainty all the assurance they have in matter of religion can be but probable Now Aristotle the great Master of reason gives this rule of probability That saith he is probable which seems so to all or to the most or to the most wise and amongst them to all or to the most or to the most famous and eminent which rule is so consonant to reason as I think no reasonable creature will deny it Nor can any Protestant except pride and ignorance shut the doore of his confession deny that this rule of probability amongst all sorts of Christians is applyable only to the Roman Catholique Church there having been infinitely more and more wise and learned people
Churches that never had the power to invite a King or nation to their Communion but such as were born to it or at first compel'd to it by the violence of some prevailing faction or moved to it by oblique and self-reflecting ends Barren and in jurious Churches that live not by their own labour and the gaines they make thereof but boast only of that which they have ravished from others and convert not from Heathenism but neerer to it § 5. Here you shall see a Church working wonders far above the power of all created Beings commanding by the rich dowry of her husband and Saviour heaven earth and hell and all the frame of the creation making them bow their fixt and stubborn natures and meekly yeeld to the dreadfull command of man propt by omnipotent Divinity In which the miracle of miracles Transubstantiation is most frequently wrought even millions of times a day and sufficiently proved to be so by the frequent effusion of blood that it hath made like murdered bodies many times bleeding afresh in the presence of the murderers to confute the incredulity of Jewes and Heretiques which if it do not so to those that do not see it having credible testimony thereof as well as to those that see it shall one day with the rest of his most precious soul-healing balm be required at their unhappy hands when he shall come incircled with flames and armed with dreadfull thunder to throw down vengeance on the impious and unbelievers who shall remedilesly feel that which heretofore they would not believe that he that believeth not shall be damned Mark 16.16 There you shall see Churches that do wonders indeed but they are wondrous evills the fowlest in all the stock and brood of villany too many to be repeated but not to be forgiven for that therefore I will alwaies pray Churches that are so poor in proof of their Doctrine that they neither come neere the Church of Christ nor yet do so much as the accursed Antichrist for he shall do some wonders but they do none Or at least it is but one only Miracle that they do and that is that being as they say the true pure Church of God they do no Miracle And one Miracle I beseech God to do amongst them and especially in the once-every-way happy and the now-every-way miserable Kingdome of England that is once more to convert them to his true faith and Catholique Roman Church where it is only to be had that they may see and submit before it be too late to him whom they have pierced and may as Christ admonisheth the Church of Ephesus remember from whence they are faln repent and do their first works Rev. 2.5 before all hope to see the Kingdome flourish be withered and that by their falling from bad to worse there remaine nothing but a fearfull expectation of seeing it over-run and possessed by some barbarous Nation as the Greek Churches are by the Turks for their Heresies most likely and Schism from the Church of Rome or else that they will become such themselves § 6. Here you may see a Church that is the worlds SANCTUM SANCTORUM most holy place guilded with the lives of innumerable both men and women persons of matchlesse sanctity shining through the vailes of their coarse cloth and neglected flesh yea in the feebler Sex God making his power as he saith to S. Paul perfect through weaknesse People so charitable to others that they will forgive every one but themselves and so severe to themselves that they had rather lose the reward of their well-doing than the punishment of their evill Whose fasting and prayers like empty-bellied instruments send up harmonious musick to heaven and exceed the Spheres Who suffer no mutiny of passions against reason or of reason against God Who disdain to stoop to the lure of sense or to serve it in any thing beyond the margent of necessity but ascending up to the mount Tabor of heavenly contemplation do there abide with Christ and are transfigured with the beauty of holinesse on whose hearts is written that which was on the brest-plate of Aaron Holinesse to the Lord. These are those noble Worthies of God who like Vriah one of Davids Worthies are ashamed to injoy the pleasures and delicacies of this life while they consider that their great Generall wanted them but like him spend all their time in suffering evill and doing good and are therein like to arched roofs whereon the more weight is laid the firmer and stronger they are And are many of them so extasied with heavenly raptures that their unbodied soules leave them forgetfull of all things that may tend to their temporall preservation Having such strong impressions of the presence of God that wheresoever they are or whatsoever doing they so behave themselves as if with S. Hierome they heard the sound of the Archangells trump summoning them to judgment Which high degrees of holinesse they underprop with the basis of humility and like the weightiest eares of corn bow down their heads the lowest to the earth and stand like figures in Arithmetique where the last in place is greatest in account So that this alone may perswade infidells that God was made man while they see men thus made Gods Into their secrets O Lord let my soule come let my glory be joyned to their assemblies There you shall see Churches calculated onely for the meridian of flesh and blood whose Apocryphall Priesthood cannot beget Canonicall much lesse super-canonicall vertues whose Priests like anticks which we see carved on the sides of sumptuous buildings seem with their bowed shoulders to bear up the house when they are indeed borne up by it so they pretend to be the only Pillars of the house of God but indeed have no share therein but what they derive from this Church of Rome Thou bearest not the root but the root thee Rom. 11.18 And what remaines of the perfume of goodnesse yet amongst the people bating the disposition of nature is but the reliques of the Roman scent perhaps not yet utterly faded § 7. Lastly look upon the Roman Catholique Church and you shall see a thing so complete and perfect in all her dimensions as if it had been as indeed it was moulded on a heavenly frame many members built up into one body and that body united under one head maintaining most sweet and admirable correspondence having in it selfe all fit means for the spirituall conservation both of the individuum and species of the particular body and of the kind For birth here is Baptisme Confirmation for strength and advancement in the state of grace The sacred Eucharist for our daily stock of spirituall improvement and encrease And so our spirituall sicknesses and wounds which we receive in our Christian warfare here are Physitians with the balme of Gilead the good Samaritanes with wine and oyle to powre into our wounds the holy Priests after the order of Melchisedeck with the Sacrament of Penance
but that it is necessary and fundamentall to believe God in all that he saith whether the matter be great or small now Protestants professing to believe nothing necessarily but what may be proved by the Scripture and their differences being in the things which they believe it followes that their differences are in things which are proved by Scripture that are the pure Word of God and the meaning of the Holy Ghost as they use to speak and therefore must needs be in the severall opinions of them that hold them fundamentall and necessary to salvation To instance in some particulars of their disagreement for to speak of all were to enter into a Labyrinth First concerning Scripture it selfe I think they will grant it is a fundamentall point I am sure their learned Hooker doth so Eccles Pol. lib. 1. sect 14. who saith Of things necessary the very chief is to know what books we are bound to esteem holy and as sure I am that in this there is great disagreement for the Lutherans do deny besides those books of the Old Testament which the Calvinists also deny * Châ—mnit exam conc Trid. part 1. pag. 55. also Enchyrid p. 63. the second Epistle of S. Peter the second and third Epistle of S. John the Epistle to the Hebrewes of S. James of S. Jude and the Revelation all which the Calvinists and the Church of England do undoubtedly believe to be the Word of God And if they disagree about their prime Principle how can agreement be expected in the things that they derive from thence Secondly concerning their translation of Scriptures in the truth whereof consists the truth of Gods Word to those that understand it not but as it is translated very great are the disagreements and bitter the reprehensions between Luther and Zuinglius between Calvin and Molineus between Beza and Castalio between legall Protestants and Puritans of England each party condemning the others translation I will instance chiefly in the English The Ministers of Lincoln Diocesse in a book delivered to King James being an abridgement of their grievances say pag. 11.13.14 that the English translation of the Bible is a translation that takes away from the text that addes to the text and that sometimes to the changing or obscuring the meaning of the holy Ghost And Broughton the great Linguist in his Advertisement of Corruptions tels the Bishops that their publique translations of Scripture into English is such as that it perverts the text of the old Testament in 848 places and that it causeth millions of millions to reject the new Testament and to run into eternall flames And yet the translators of the Bible and the Bishops were of another mind or else surely they would not have commended it to the use of the people And what a wofull condition were the people in who must be guided by such a Bible in which either there was certaine falshood or they were not certaine that it was the truth Secondly the Reall presence of Christs body in the Eucharist by consubstantiation and to the bodily mouth of the receiver is affirmed by the Lutherans but denyed by the Calvinists Thirdly that Christ descended into Hell which is an article of the Creed is affirmed by Hill in a Treatise of that subject by Nowell and by many Protestants but is denyed by Carleil in a book written to that purpose and commonly by all Puritans Fourthly Evangelicall Councells are affirmed by Hooker Eccles Pol. l. 3. sect 8. p. 140. but are denyed by Perkins Reformed Cath. p. 241. and most of the Church of England Fiftly concerning the head of the Church or the supreame governour in causes Ecclesiasticall which one would think a fundamentall matter the Church of England holds that the King or Queen when the Kingdome is governed by a Woman is the head thereof but the Church of Helvetia saith f Harmony of Consess p. 308. forward we acknowledge no other head of the Church but Christ and that he hath no deputy on earth and many there are in England of the same opinion who are not afraid to say so now though it be by law a capitall offence Sixtly the government of the Church by Bishops one would think were a fundamentall point for it is affirmed to be jure divino by divine law by many Protestants in England and particularly Bishop Hall wrote a book a few yeares since to that purpose and yet this is denyed by a great party in England as the Bishops by woefull experience do know A hundred other differences might be named in the maintenance whereof books have been written one against another one side holding with the Catholiques so that there is scarce any point of Catholique doctrine but is maintained by some or other Protestants amongst them all almost the whole Catholique doctrine If therefore they differ from the Church of Rome they differ from one another And that their differences are not light but about most important matters in their own opinions being about matters as they conceive revealed in the word of God to which all men are bound to adhere even their persuit of those differences doth plainly demonstrate which stretcheth to the g Luth. con art Louan Thes 27. condemning of one another for Heretiques h Osiander â—pit Eccl. hist cont 16 par altera p. 805. and banishing each other from their severall territories i Hospi hist Sacrament par alt fol. 393. 395. 397. 398. forbidding the reading of each others books imprisoning of their persons and finally breaking into open Arms one against another are not al these tragical particulars to our infinite grief now acted on the stage of England the chief pretence is Religion And surely they are guilty of extreme folly that will fight to the fundamentall overthrow of themselves families for ought they know of the whole Kingdome for matters which they hold not-fundamentall § 4. But the Protestants think to wipe off this staine of disagreement by retorting it upon the Catholiques accusing them of as great disagreement as is amongst themselves which when I considered I found altogether impertinent For amongst Catholiques there are two sorts of points some defined by the Church in a Generall Councell and so infallibly certain others not defined In the former they all exactly agree in the later each man follows the direction of his particular reason Like to this there are amongst Protestants certaine Articles as they call them which are agreed upon in each severall dominion of Protestants which are set down in their Harmony of confessions concerning which first it is to be noted that there is great disagreement in generall betwixt their Churches they never meeting all together in any one Councell to determine any one thing so that they are not united in any one point by consent Then in particular dominions the decrees that they publish are not firmely believed by all under those dominions but are accounted as