And out of Sozomen that the emperour made a lawe that heretickes shoulde neither haue churches neither be permitted to preach of the faith a good lawe to be earnestly thought vpon and practised in these our dayes nor ordaine bishops or others All these things being set downe in the Bookes of Councils by them deliuered vnto vs who can thinke that Master Bellarmine who alleadgeth this Councill for strength of his cause and that falsely also wherein all things are so direct against him would see the truth if it were neuer so plaine before him The third councill is that which was assembled at Ephesus that also M. Bellar. belike by some wonderful attractiue vertue wil draw to his side The third Councill saith he as Euagrius doth witnesse saith that it deposeth Nestorius by the commaundement of Caelestine bishop of Rome How now master Bellarmine haue you quite fallen out with truth and made a league with falshood haue you purposed still to abuse your reader by most shamelesse affirming that which is not true The counsell said we by the necessitie aswel of the canons as also of the epistle of the most holy father our felow minister Celestine bishop of Rome compelled c. Where is this that master Bellarmine affirmeth Celestine bishop of Rome wrote perchance to shew his detestation of the heresie of Nestorius and they willing to doe him that honour that they would seeme much to esteeme of his zeale in faith that beeing so farre distant in place he would be vnited as it were to them in their iudgement against Nestorius they shew that they were mooued much by his letters and incouraged to proceede against Nestorius But here is no word of any commaundement that he gaue them but rather the contrarie For they call him their felow minister and so acknowledge not him to be a commaunder ouer them Yea and in a mandate to Philip priest vicar or vicegerent to Celestine then bishop of Rome and others sent to Constantinople they tell the popes vicar plainly and his felowes thus Wee will your holinesse to vnderstand that if you despise any of these things neither this holy synode will ratifie it neither shall you be permitted to be pertaker of our communion Yea and before that council directeth euen the popes legate and the rest that if the emperour sent for them they must in any wise be obedient to his commaundement and must not refuse to goe which doctrine were heresie in our dayes but they should not agree with Iohn of Antioch and the rest but vpon such conditions as not the pope the council did set them downe vpon the paine aforesaid And that this Councill was assembled by the Emperours is in many places declared as out of Euagrius that it was at the appointment of Theodosius the younger and after by the commaundement of the most religious Emperours The like is also testified in the superscription of the former mandate that I haue spoken of And it is also worth noting that the councill writing to the Emperours for the credite of their councill doeth not vrge that the pope is head there but indeede they craue that Cirill and Memnon not Cirill onely whom they say the pope Celestine deputed for him be restored to them again that their councill be not without a head but they say that Celestine Archbishop of Rome doth sit ioyned with them there he doth assidere sit I say with them not praesidet he ruleth not he coutroleth not the councill and so it is also said of Aphrica and Illyricum that they assident sit with the councill And out of this that hath beene spoken as also by such other thinges as in that councill are recorded we may gather what truth is in that also that maister Bellarmine alleadgeth of an Epistle sent by the councill to Celestine reseruing the cause of Iohn of Antioch as more doubtfull to be decided by the bishoppe of Rome But as I finde not any such Epistle in that councill so this is plainely written in the report that the councill maketh of their doings to the Emperours that they excommunicated Iohn of Antioch the president of the Apostatas councill and them that were with him and depriued them of all priestly ministery and reuoked all their vnlawfull doings If this be to referre his cause to the pope let the world iudge Then he commeth to the council of Chalcedon and that maketh for him too if we wil trust him but in examining it we shal finde it much like the rest directly against the supremacy of the bishop of Rome For first in the beginning of that councill it is declared that it is gathered by the decree of the most godly and faithfull Emperours Valentinian and Martian who also professeth that he desired to be there to confirme the faith wherein were iudges appointed to moderate their doings and sayings and to conclude their articles not the pope or his legates for they as it appeareth in this councill were at the commaundement of these iudges as well as others but lay men officers vnder the Emperour It will be hard then for maister Bellarmine in respect of some fewe excellent names that may be giuen to Leo bishop of Rome whereof also it may be he was worthy in respect of some good parts that were in him it will I say bee harde by such names to proue his supremacie by this councell which hath almost done what it can in preiudice of any such prerogatiue that he might claime For if it belong not to him to call councils neither to rule in them when they are called he hath but little supremacie ouer others And we see in this councell both these things are done by others and not by him But what doth Maister Bellarmine finde in this councill for the popes supremacy That in that the pope Leo is called the bishop of the vniuersall church This tale hee hath tolde but a little before perchance that maketh him more perfect in it saying that three letters are sent from the East church to Leo bishop of Rome and in them all he is called the pope of the vniuersall church there are indeede foure such letters euen togither to the bishop of Rome and the councill of Chalcedon and in none of them is he called the pope of the vniuersall church but only the vniuersall archbishop or patriarch But there is a great difference betweene a vniuersall bishop and a bishop of the vniuersall church But such misses are smal faults with master Bellarmine Indeede Paschasinus the popes owne legat doth call him pope of the vniuersall church who did also seeke afterwardes by falsifyiug the coppies of the councill of Nice to procure the supremacie vnto his maister and therfore we must not ground our faith vpon his wordes But for that name of vniuersall bishop which is often giuen to the bishop of Rome it is not yet a name peculiar to him as
by the doctrine of the church of Rome be gainsaide without danger of heresie so long as man hath not approued the same The lessons I perceiue that God teacheth vs must not bee counted the doctrines of the church vntill the bishop of Rome or some councill haue set downe some order therein Well howsoeuer the wise maisters of Rome will define what shall be heresie yet I trust they will graunt that hee erred in iudgement because he taught then that which not only the scriptures gainesay but euen the papistes themselues will confesse to be erronious But what should I stand in particular examples If it bee true that both Melchior Canus and Bellarmine confesse especially Canus that both the seuenth and the eight sinodes did condemne as an hereticke Honorius the pope doth it not appeare manifestly thereby that they made no doubt whether a pope might erre or not It is not a question amongst them they heare of his doctrine they condemne it as erronious Neither did Formosus his friends vse any such argument to hinder Steuen his cruell dealings against Formosus or Steuens friends to mitigate the rage of Iohn the tenth against Steuen they saide not thus Formosus was a pope and Steuen was a pope they cannot erre No it is a doctrine of later growth and of a newer stamp Maister Bellarmine answereth that those two councels that are before mentioned did thinke that the pope as a priuate man might erre Wherein although he consent not with himselfe who thinketh that he cannot erre as before I said yet would he thereby if he could take away the strength of the argument But he laboureth all in vaine for how doth it appeare that the councels thought of any such matter There is no shew no likelihoode of it No wordes to induce him so to thinke As for that which he saith of Honorius his letters that they condemned him of heresie because of that which they found in his letters I maruell maister Bellarmine hath so soone forgotten himselfe as to alleadge it Seeing himselfe in the beginning of the eleuenth chapter doth first doubt of the credit of those letters and secondlie he denieth that any error is in the same contained Doeth maister Bellarmine thinke the fathers of those councels to haue beene so simple that they could not iudge of Honorius his writings whether they were hereticall or not aswell as himselfe Or will he imagine that they were so rash that they would condemne him without cause If he in his epistles had no errour as maister Bellarmine affirmeth almost in the beginning of his eleuenth chapter why doth he heere affirme that for his epistles and the heresies which therein he maintained he was condemned of those councels If he were an hereticke as by very many testimonies it doth appeare why doth maister Bellarmine seeke so to free him from that fault and to take from him that staine Euen because he would as wel as he can defend that most vntrue doctrine of the church of Rome that the pope cannot erre And yet their owne law supposeth that the pope may erre and confesseth that for heresie he may be reproued But in this as almost in euery point wherein they dissent from vs they shew how little they are in deed according to their name that they woulde faine be called by For they call themselues catholickes as if the doctrine that they teach or beleeue were catholicke that is vniuersâ—allie receiued And yet in this controuersie they are not agreed how to defend it or what to say of it Gerson of Paris Almain Alphonsus all of them papistes and pope Adrian the sixt himselfe are of one mind Albert Pighius an other papist of an other Bellarmine and his maisters make a third sect And yet these men reproue vs for difference in opinion bragge of their owne vnity and must needs be thought to haue a catholike faith But to conclude seeing the giftes of the spirite whether of sanctification or of truth are giuen vnto men according to measure and not in fulnes for to Christ only God giueth the spirite not by measure and therefore he speaketh without errour Gods words seeing that pope Adrian the sixt hath assured vs that popes may erre and we haue it plainely recorded in their owne histories and confessed by many of themselues that they haue erred lastly seeing they haue been euen by councils condemned of heresie and their owne lawe prouideth and taketh order for popes that doe erre and the Church of Rome is not yet resolued how to defend the cantrarie we may I trust hauing so good warant euen from their owne frends without any note of heresie affirme that popes may erre Yea what is there in them but errour They wander out of the wayes of truth and of godlinesse So that in that accursed companie we may see that to be most true that where there is a boundance of sinne there God iustly may and often times in his iudgements doth cast such into the deepth of errour that they who had no desire to liue according to the light that did shine vnto them in seruing the Lord in true holinesse should be cast into the dungeon of ignorance as vnworthie to inioy that light which they so vnthankefully refused of that grace which they so wickedly abused The matter then being thus that neither Peter had any such iurisdiction ouer the whole church as is claimed by the church of Rome neither if he had it he could or for any euidence that yet is shewed he did bequeathe it to the Romish church and lastly seeing that church if any such priuiledge had beene lawfully to her deuolued hath committed such things as would haue forfeted a better right then euer shee had in that vniuersall authoritie it doth I trust appeare to the indifferent Reader that their claime is vniust their title false and that they haue no colour of interest from Christ whose ouely possession that is that they would haue But it is no new thing in the church of Rome to bring in false euidence to prooue a forged claime They did so in the council of Carthage when by vntrue copies of the council of Nice they sought the soueraignty ouer all other churches For Alipius a bishop in that council affirmeth twise that they could not find in the decrees of the Nicen councill any such thing as they aleaged for the authoritie of the Bishop of Rome Nouatus also another bishop saith we reade no such thing in the Nicen councill The fathers therefore of that council did decree that messengers should be sent to Constantinople Alexandria and Antioch as Alipius had inoued them to get the true copies For they hauing read many bookes of the council of Nice yet could neuer read in any latine or yet in any Greeke copies that they had that which the bishop of Rome his legat did alleage To trie the truth therfore they sent and sought that they
might get the true copies of that Nicen council from those places making no doubt but if those copies did agree which came from thence they must be most true as they all acknowledge writing to pope Boniface When the copies came they could finde no such thing Is it not then very plaine that the Bishop of Rome his legate vsed false writings for proofe of a bad cause But maister Bellarmine telleth vs that Saint Augustine and all they of they council mistooke the matter being deceaued by ignorance because they knew not what the council of Sardis did set downe concerning that point The question is whether the council of Nice did giue superiority ouer all other to the bishop of Rome as his legates did affirme And it is most plaine that it did not And therefore that which is in the councill of Sardis which if we shall beleeue the booke of councils set forth by Peter Crab a frier and a papist was at the least fortie yeares after the councill of Nice it maketh nothing to iustifie them and excuse their falsehoode that for the decrees of the Nicen council doe alleadge that which was ordained in that council of Sardis And of that council of Sardis it may truly be said as in the Lateran council or at the least in the Tripartit worke added vnto it complaint is made that now adaies it is harde to finde either olde or newe councils insomuch as the authour doth there maruell that the church of Rome hath beene so negligent in that pointe as not to take order for the better keeping of them Augustine writeth of that council of Sardis that is was an Arrian council holden against Athanasius The time also when it was kept is very vncertaine Yea almost al the circumstances argue great doubtfulnes of that council They that write the story of that council doe write thereof so diuersly both for the number of bishops assembled there and also concerning the Arrians being there which some affirme some deny that therby we may learn how little credit is to be giuen to it for to ground any vncertain or doubtful doctrine vpon y â— it might haue credit But that which maister Bel. doth afterwards say is yet more absurd For hauing affirmed that he is indeed perswaded that these canons which the church of Rome alleadgeth for her supremacy are not in the Nicen couecil but onely in that of Sardis yet he thinketh that Zozimus and Boniface two bishops of Rome did therefore name them the decrees of the Nicen council because they were both written together in a booke at Rome the ignoraunce whereof did much trouble the fathers as he saith Can master Bellarmine suppose that those fathers whose earnest indeuour was at that time to keepe the decrees of the councill of Nicen were ignorant what was to be accounted of that council or what articles belonged to the same Or is it likely that the copies of the councill of Nice shoulde bee more perfect at Rome so many hundreds of miles distant from Nice then at Constantinople which is hard by it or at Antioch or Alexandria not so far distant from it Or doth he thinke it reason that one Romish and another vnknowen copie writen perchance with that councill of Nice by some that sought thereby to increase the dignitie of the church of Rome of set purpose to bring it to that credit that it should be accounted as parcel of the council of Nice can he I say thinke it reason that those two copies should correct and control so many of better credit by a great deale then they are No these are but shifts to blind mens eies and indeede but bables for fooles to play withall Master Bellarmine doth also labour in this place very earnestly to prooue that the council had many decrees moe then those that are in the first tome of councils set forth by Peter Crab or spoken of by Ruffâ—nus To what end is all this Forsooth to excuse his holy fathers that they should not be thought to giue counters for gold or lead for siluer But how can hee excuse them for that they added to the begining of the sixt canon that the church of Rome hath alwaies had the supremacie in which false tricke Paschasinus Legate vnto the Bishop of Rome was taken in the council of Chalcedon For it is not the translation out of Greeke of Dionyse an Abbat almost three hundred yeares after that council was kept that Alan Cope speaketh of and master Bellarmine before hath aleaged for his defence that can haue credit against so many authenticall copyes so diligently sought and sent for so carefully examined by so many hundreds of learned men and so faithfully deliuered for discussing euen of this controuersie for Paschasinus hauing alleadged in that councill of Chalcedon for his maister the Bishoppe of Rome the wordes before mentioned was by those copies disprooued And whereas maister Bellarmine doth set downe this as the intent of the Bishop of Rome in the Councill of Carthage that he meant to shew that not onely all men might appeale to him but also that it were expedient for the church that so they should do Marke how directly the councill of Carthage doeth oppose it selfe against the Pope therein in their epistle which hath this title The Epistle of the Affrican Council to pope Celestine bishop of the citie of Rome For whereas master Bellarmine did confesse that the causes of inferiour ministers might be heard at home but Bishops must be heard at Rome this councill in this epistle saith directly contrary vsing it as an argument from the lesse to the greater If say they the causes of inferior clarks by the councill of Nice are prouided for how much more is it ordered then that bishops if they be excommunicate in their prouince shall not of your Holinesse be hastily or rashly or against order thought to be restored to the communion Thy will him to banish from him such as seeke such wicked refuges because say they the Nicene decrees haue plainely committed not inferiour clarkes onely but also the Bishops to their metropolitanes They assure themselues that no prouince shall want the grace of Gods spirit to order these things And that euerie man may if he mislike of the iudgement of them that haue heard his cause appeale to a councill either prouinciall or generall no wordes of appealing to the pope Unlesse a man will imagine say they that God will grant his spirite of triall of matters to euery one and deny it to all assembled in a Councill And further they alleadge that the trueth of matters examined farre from home can hardly be found out by reason that witnesses can not well be carried so farre For as for the legates à latere that should come from the popes side for examination of such matters they vtterly mislike as a thing not to be found in any of the synods of the
his at their good leisure to answere No inuisible body can haue a visible head for that were a monster in nature But the vniuersall or catholike church is an inuisible bodie for things that are vniuersall are not seene with the eie but conceaued in the minde and vnderstanding Therefore the catholike church must not haue a visible head But all this that Maister Bellarmine hath hitherto spoken of the necessity of hauing one supreme gouernour of the whole church is rather an inducement to make men thinke that they haue some reason for this supremacie in the church then any strong argument whereby they thinke to cary away the weight of the matter But the very strength and staie of this their doctrine is contained in this one syliogisme whatsoeuer iurisdiction Christ gaue to Peter and not to the rest of the Apostles all that belongeth to the church of Rome but Christ gaue vnto Peter iurisdiction ouer the vniuersall church and not to the rest of the Apostles therefore the Bishop or church of Rome hath iurisdiction ouer all churches or ouer the vniuersall church And in this argument is contained not onely all that Maister Bellarmine can say but all that they all can alleadge for this matter and therefore it is the more diligently to be examined And to beginne with the minor wherein is affirmed what iurisdiction or power ouer others Peter had Maister Bellarmine doth confidently and plainely affirme That Saint Peter is appointed of Christ himselfe in Christ his place the head and prince of the church or these are his verie words What is Christ wearie of his office hath hee giuen ouer his interest hath he resigned his right vnto Saint Peter If hee haue so done it is more then Saint Paul knew who after that Christ had left the world yet still he tooke Christ for the head of the church as appeareth by his epistle to the Ephesians and to the Colossians Yea Saint Peter himselfe seemeth not to know so much For when hee calleth him the head corner stone he meaneth doubtlesse in the building of Gods spirituall house which is the church And yet master Bellarmine seemeth to tell vs 〈◊〉 when hee telleth vs that Saint Peter is head in Christs place For Christ must leaue his place before S. Peter can be in his place A meaner place would very well haue contented Saint Peter As for many of them who in our fathers dayes and ours haue bragged that they are Peters successors deserue not to bee dog-driuers out of a poore parish church wherein godly christians are assembled much lesse to be vniuersall bishops ouer the whole world Neither standeth the church of Christ now in neede of any such lieutenant seeing Christ is much more effectually with his church now then hee was with the people of the Iewes when he was conuersant vpon the earth For he that promised that hee would be with vs alwaies euen vnto the end of the world and that hee would pray the father and he should giue vs another comforter which should abide with vs for euer enen the spirit of truth he I say by the same spirit whom he hath made his vicar generall as before I aleaged out of Tertullian doth husband the earth of our hearts to make them fruitfull and is Christs vicar in all places with all persons to supply all their wants So that hee which in respect of his bodily presence could at no time be but in one place by the piercing power of his spirit is at once euery where And therefore is he much more present now in the spirit then before in the flesh because before he could be at once but with a few of the faithfull whereas now he is withal at one instant It is therefore ouermuch boldnes in master Bellarmine either to thrust Christ out of his office to lay the same vpon Peter or else to imagine that Christ is not better able by his spirit then by the pope to execute the same His iudgement is also very hard wherein he pronounceth that to say that saint Peters supremacy is not instituted by Christ it is not a simple errour but a detestable heresie This I am sure of that not onely some priuat men as Cyprian haue thought all the Apostles to be of as great honour and power as was Peter but euer some councils haue thought that the B. of Rome who thinketh by succession from Peter he hath as good right thereto as Peter had yet had not from Christ any right to the supremacy For the sixt council of Carthage where Faustinus and others were legats from the pope would not yeld that souerainty to the bishop of Rome although his legats did most earnestly seeke it not onely by their diligent indeuour but also by aleaging false canons of the Nicen councill thinking thereby to haue deceiued them And although this were a great foile to the church of Rome yet their ambitious and aspiring minds would not suffer them to be quiet but within a little time after they attempt the like in the counsell of Chalcedon Paschasinus and Lucentius being the popes legates Paschasinus alleaged a decree as if it had beene out of the Nicen councill That the the church of Rome always had the supremacie but the councell finding that there was not there anie such decree did ordaine that the bishop of Constantinople should haue as great euen such like priuiledges as the bishop of Rome had Which had beene more wickedlie ordained of them if Rome by Christ had the supremacie then wee maie imagine so manie godlie fathers assembled togither would haue done Yea that we maie knowe that at that time if bishops of Rome had anie priuiledge aboue other bishops they did not thinke it was so by Christs institution they set downe the reason why the church of Rome was more honoured then the rest Euen because it was the imperiall citie as also Ireny long before them did testifie And this made the fathers of the councell of Chalcedon the bolder to yeeld to Constantinople which they called newe Rome such priuiledges because it was now become also an imperiall citie Thus wee see these learned writers Ireny and Ciprian and all the fathers of these two councels learned and manie did not thinke nor would confesse that this supremâ—cie was Christes institution and yet master Bellarmines sharpe penne hath prickt them all with one dash as guiltie not of simple errour but of pestilent heresie Nowe wee must needes imagine that he would neuer burst out into these excessiue speeches as if hee were rauished and besides himselfe as in these two pointes mentioned it maie appeare vnlesse his opinion rested vpon a sure ground Let vs therefore examine his proofes and trie the waight of his reasons This most necessarie controuersie as the church of Rome esteemeth it hath not in all the scriptures anie good warrant euen in master Bellarmines owne opinion
church of Rome we should discredit that which hath so long beene receaued especially seeing the counsell of Chalcedon the matter on both sides being discussed and heard did giue vnto the church of Constantinople as great priuiledges as the church of Rome had Which they woulde not haue done but that they sawe Paschasinus his allegation for his maister the bishop of Rome for he was one of his legates to be forged Nay if that Rome had gotten this prerogatiue by Gods lawe as nowe the papistes teach without wickednesse they coulde not haue done it Then these words of that canon of the Nicen council Because the bishop of Rome hath such like custome must also haue a newe interpretation For whereas Ruffinus who liued if not in yet very neare the dayes of the Nicene councill doeth plainely expound howe in those dayes they tooke the sence and meaning of those wordes namely that the Bishoppe of Rome should haue cure of the churches that belonged to the suburbs thereof Maister Bellarmine that commeth many hundreds of yeares after will in no wise like of that exposition because he imagineth it to be too narrow a compasse for the proud pope But hee must remember that when these limittes were appointed vnto him the Bishops not of Rome onely but of other places also were other manner of men than now they are for the most part And it seemeth that these limittes were laide vpon them rather as a burden thē sought and sued for as an honour And that the godly and learned men who sought especially the good of the church did cause this diuision of those places to be made for the better keeping of vnitie in the church appointing vnto euery one of these primates or patriarches such to bee in some respect vnder their charge as they sawe were for such considerations as were best knowen vnto them most likely to shew themselues willing to be ruled by them Yea. and the lesse compasse or circuite of iurisdiction might perchaunce bee appoynted to the Bishop of Rome because that thorowe great recourse of people of all places vnto that Citty beeing the imperiall Citty hee was so troubled with many matters of al mens that he might not so well intend and looke to a great charge of his owne And I knowe not why maister Bellarmine should so alter as hee doth the worde parilis into talis but to gaine as much credite as he can to his interpretation For parlis consuetudo which are the wordes vsed by the Councill is an equall custome and hath respect to that which is saide of the Bishop of Alexandria So that this is the meaning of those wordes that Egypt Lybia and Pentapolis should be vnder the Bishop of Alexandria because the Bishop of Rome hath such like custome or a custome equall to that But the exposition that maister Bellarmine would haue to stand for good is that the bishop of Rome had such a custome to appoint the Bishop of Alexandria those limittes which interpretation howe forced it is how it cannot aptly be gathered out of the words of the councill I referre it to the indifferent Reader to consider And because this word parilis equall custome will not stand with Maister Bellarmines sense he truneth it away and in steede thereof would vse a word more indifferent for him And so good Reader thou mayest see how Master Bellarmine most absurdly reiecteth the plaine and old interpretation of this canon which Ruffinus affordeth vs and would haue vs beleeue a new glose of his owne that must quite alter the sense and adde much to the wordes of the text it selfe And yet when antiquitie serueth their turne none crie out for Antiquitie more than they They go about to discredite our doctrine because it is newe onely and yet theirs we see here is both new and naught and yet are not they ashamed to bragge that all that they teach is catholike The second Councill alleaged by Maister Bellarmine is the Councill of Constantinople of which hee saieth out of Theodoret that they came together in that place by the commaundement of the Popes letters sent to them by the Emperour The more I reade Maister Bellarmine the more I find and mislike his euill dealing who handleth Gods cause nothing sincerely but walketh in the same as in this his argument may easily appeare with a deceitfull heart For first to make the matter seeme more plaine on his side then in deede it is hee saith that they came to Constantinople at the commandement of the Popes letters but Theodoret speaketh nothing of any commaundement but vpon the Popes letter The like also is in the letters themselues that are set downe in the Councill For it seemeth that Damasus whether it were vpon desire he had to christian vnity and agreement in religion or else because he sawe the emperour Theodosius bent to haue a councill and he was perchance desirous to seeme to haue some saying in that matter or for any other consideration whatsoeuer wrote vnto the Emperour about a Councill But if the Pope might haue called a Councill hee woulde then haue directed his commaundements vnto the Bishoppes to assemble not to the emperor what these letters were it is not knowen If they were to require and intreate the emperour to call a Councill it maketh nothing for proofe of master Bellarmines argument or the popes power If it were to commaund the emperour to send his letters to them or to cause them to be summoned it were in deede somewhat like vnto the sawcy and vnmannerly writings of these prowd prelates of our time but then neither the Pope burst so to commaund neither the emperour did owe or would performe any such seruice or duety to him But the report of the Councill it selfe as it is deliuered vnto vs by themselues _ doth sufficiently declared that all was done in that councill at the commaundement of the emperour First he commaunded that the Bishops should come out of euery bishopricke to Constantinople as he that gathered the councils together teacheth out of Theodoret. The emperour desired them to haue a care of that they had in hand And out of Socrates he sheweth that the emperour called also the Macedonian heretickes because he had good hope that they also might be vnited to the Church Moreouer out of Theodoret that the emperour consulted with Nectarius what course were best for quietnesse in the church they came to the emperour to take some good order in these matters he questioned with the heretikes concerning the the triall of the matters in question he tooke order that both partes should set downe their minde in writing hee tooke that they had written prayed earnestly to God to direct him to chuse the truth tore the writings of the heretickes allowed or receiued onely that docrine that taught the equalitie of the persons He also allowed the Nouatians their churches in the city because they were in this point constant
a great friende of theirs and at this day in great account among them doth tell them namely Caesar Baronius in his history For out of him they may learne that Eleutherius a pope himselfe in a decretall epistle of his written to the bishops of France calleth them vniuersall bishops as Ignatius calleth the bishop of Philadelphia the bishop of the common church and so Gregory Nazianzen speaketh of Athanasius bishop of Alexandria Which Baronius seemeth thus to vnderstand that they ought to haue a care as indeed euery man should haue of the good of the whole church And these names of head of the church vniuersall bishop and such like were doubtlesse at the first graunted to such as were most worthy men in the church in respect of their learning and skill that they had or their trauell and diligence that they vsed to benefit the vniuersall Church And by this meanes was it more commonly giuen to the bishops of Rome then to others because they in regard of the place or city wherein they were had moe occasions of doing good offered vnto them and moe opportunities by reason of his neerenesse to the Emperour to solicite such matters And in this sorte is it giuen for a rewarde of well deseruing and to incourage them that were able to doe their vttermost indeuour to benefit the church But now it is a name tied to one chaire in which for the most part doe sit of the vnworthiest men that are in the church So that if a man consider howe little good they doe in the church and how much hurt wee shall thinke that a ring of gold will better become a sowes snowt then they beseeme that honourable title or it them And as for that which the councill doth write vnto Leo saying that he is appointed of our Sauiour to keepe his vine they speake it not in respect of his being bishop of Rome but in consideration of his excellent giftes of learning and other good graces wherewith God hath indued him And that this is their meaning it doth plainely appeare by those things that afterwardes in that councill they did For if they had meant by those wordes that he as bishoppe of Rome had supremacy ouer the whole church then woulde they not haue giuen vnto the bishop of Constantinople equall priuiledges with Rome and so haue taken from Rome that which Christ gaue as they pretend to the bishop thereof Thus to be short in this one councill we see this supremacy had three notable checkes It was called by the Emperours and moderated by lay Iudges and the bishop of Constantinople made equall to him of Rome The fift councill that is heere alleadged is the fifth Constantinople councill But this can bring litle credite to their cause seeing it may iustly be doubted whether euer there were any such or not For besides that mistrust which the very title of that councill which is in the second tombe of Councils doth worke in them that reade it because it cannot be set downe when or in what popes dayes it was celebrated but that it was about the time of Agapetus Siluerius and Vigilius I say besides the vncertainety of it that there appeareth Functius one skilfull in histories hath noted that this is not once spoken of in the Constantinople histories And therefore it is not likely that any such councell was kept there Neither yet can the rest of the councels alleadged by maister Bellarmine stande him in any steede For we will not deny but after that once the pope had gotten into that proud chaire almost all did yeeld vnto him honour and reuerence some for feare some for flattery vntill they had made him little inferiour to God himslfe And therefore wee iustly reiect the councels that were gathered since his power was so greate and his pride so vntollerable that by some meanes or other hee would be honoured as himselfe thought good And therefore the second councell of Nice which was about the yeare seuen hundred eighty nine the lateran about the yeare one thousand two hundred and fifteene That of Lions about the yeare one thousand two hundred seuenty and foure and that of Florence about the yeare one thousand foure hundred thirty nine are no fit witnesses against vs who doe not deny but that the Pope sometime by faire meanes sometime by foule sometime by flattery sometime by threatning sometime by force sometime by craft and alwaies by euill dealing hath gotten to bee in sorte as yee see supreame head of the Church But we say that he is not so by the word of God which hee claimeth to be and maister Bellarmine promised to proue but he cannot doe it Neither was he accounted in the purer times of the Church to haue that supremacy by Gods word as before I haue spoken Neither would they in any wise permit such power vnto him although he sought it earnestly and shamefullie in the councell of Chalcedon After the councels maister Bellarmin will bring in popes to beare witnesse on his side But honester men then many of them were are not to be heard in their owne cause Yea and although many of them were good men and were profitable members in Christes church yet because they were men they might haue such infirmities as doe follow the nature of man and might especially not seeing the inconuenience and ruine of the church which the pride of that seate hath brought forth ascribe more vnto their owne seate then either in truth they could claime or in christian humility they could take vpon them And for the first popes which all they that write of this matter recken vp in great numbers I trust we shal not hereafter bee troubled with their names because maister Bellarmine hath giuen them a reasonable good discharge For he confesseth that in their writings there are some errours neither dare he affirme that they may not be doubted of and as for the rest of them because wee haue seene euen almost from the beginning of any credite that they had some sparkes of their pride now and then to glitter and burst forth in their importunate seeking or too ready accepting of that that belonged not to them as in equity we are not bound so neither in discretion should we when the cause concerneth not vs but Gods truth heare what they can say for themselues against the same Neither are their writings for the most part any such as that by them wee may iudge throughlie what they did thinke For epistles or letters such are those writings altogither almost which are alleadged against vs are vpon sundry particular occasions written whereby the writers might happely be forced to say more for the credite of that seate then themselues would haue said if that occasion had not beene offered But this I am sure of they for the most part speake far otherwise and more plainely in that point then doe the other
that those good bishops did much good with that their authority to the church of God and were a great reliefe to the oppressed a comforte to the troubled and a good stay for religion We yeeld moreouer that a care ouer the whole church a belongeth not to the bishop of Rome only but to euery christian as Baronius a papist telleth vs. And as Saint Paule saith of himselfe although hee were not an vniuersall Bishop or pope ouer all the church yt that he had a care ouer all the Churches Which care as it shoulde be in all yet it should be greatest in them whom God hath beautified with greatest graces of power wisedome knowledge credite or any other thing whereby they may doe good to others So that the effect of Athanasius his wordes vnto Felix is that as God hath inabled him so also he should apply his greatnesse to doe him good We doe not yet see the Bishop of Rome to haue iurisdiction ouer the whole church but that the greatnesse that hee hath hee should vse it to the comfort of the godly But indeede the Bishop of Rome in steed of the care that he should haue doth exercise the power that he hath And the excercising of his power beganne somewhat soone in that chaire And therefore the fathers in the sixt council of Carthage as it seemeth were moued in the canons of the Nicen council to alter one worde For hauing agreed in the ninth canon or chapter of that council of Carthage to heare the Nicen decrees read when they come to the sixt chapter where the Nicen council hath that the bishop of Alexandria should hane power ouer the churches of Lybia Egipt Pentapolis as the bishop of Rome hath within his libertie in steede of the word power they read care Which no doubt those godly fathers did because they sawe how immoderately and by what bad shifts they did then seeke to bring vnder their subiection all others And therefore by this meanes they would teach them to whome they did graunt such honorable places that they were called rather to a burden then to an honour to looke vnto their charge rather then to ouer â—ooke them So then this care that the bishop of Rome should haue ouer all churches we wish also that hee would haue And yet we doe not hereby make him the bishop of the vniuersall church And for the third place out of Athanatius it hath lesse waight then any of the rest For because some accused the bishop of Alexandria to the bishop of Rome therefore he concludeth that the bishop of Rome is chiefe iustice aboue all and may take vpon him to iudge all matters but accusations are for the most priuat And who can hinder but that any may make complaint to a man that hath nothing to doe in the matter And many such complaints wil be made to such as will be willing to heare all matters as were many of the B. of Rome to increase their owne power That which is aleaged out of Basil is a request that Basil did purpose to make to the bishop of Rome like vnto that which Athanasius made to Felix and therefore one answere doth serue them both But in that epistle Basil calleth Athanasius the Top of all christians which name they would faine should be peculiar to their pope That out of Gregorie Nazianzene was not woorth blotting of so much paper For hee saieth the Citie of Rome beareth sway ouer the whol world what is that to the church of Rome And that that is alleaged out of Chrysostom in the first place is not much material because Chrisostome maketh that request to the B. of the west church and not to Innocentius alone Yea not Chrysostom only in the same his epistle but Socrates also in his historie testifieth that Chrysostom appealed from his aduersaries not to the pope which he would doubtlesse haue done if hee had taken his authoritie to haue beene such as now the church of Rome would haue it imagined but to the generall council And not hee onely appealed to a council but the multitude also were readie to make a tumult for him and said it was meete the matter should be heard not by the pope but in a generall council Secondly out of Chrysostom he alleageth these words we alwayes thanke you for that you haue declared vnto vs your fatherly good will What will the charitable affection of the pope prooue him to be head of the whole church If it will not this will doe no good his third place is this I intreate your watchfullnesse that although they haue filled all with tumults yet if they will haue their desease healed they be neither afflicted neither put out of mens companie Must the bishop of Rome bee the supreame head or else this request be in vaine He being as it is alwaies confessed of great authoritie although not so great as they imagine might either by intreating or by authority winne many to be of his minde and so hinder the excommunication of Chrysostomes aduersaries So that none of these arguments can conclude for the popes supremacie as we see And yet they wring whatsoeuer is said or done to the church of Rome as if it were a strong proofe for supremacie Whereas the godly of the east church being thus distressed were in policie forced and not for religious causes to seeke for helpe of the West church and of the bishop of Rome for their owne quietnesse And this doth appeare most plainly in an epistle that Basil writeth vnto the bishop of the west church for their helpe and especially by the aduise that hee giueth to Athanasius to that end wherein hee sheweth that there is no way for their safetie but to cause the bishops of the West church to take good parte with them And then if they chance to seeke for this at the popes hand by and by without all doubt hee must be head of the church It maketh me weary euen but to reade their arguments They doe so force their authorities that they bring and so vnnaturally apply them that it is tediousnesse to thinke of it Such is that also that foloweth out of Ciril For Ciril did thinke that if Nestorius would not reuoke his heresies within the time limited by Celestine bishop of Rome all men ought to shunne his companie as a person excommunicat and deposed And writing to Celestinnus he doth desire to know of him whether he thinke good that men shuld yet communicat which Nestorius or they should shunne his company And what if Ciril sawe that in Celestine that he thought him worthie to be especially regarded in these matters doth it thereupon folow that he would haue him to haue soeuraigne iurisdiction ouer the whole church Or if hee thinke him meete to deale in his owne matter must he needs giue him power ouer all men in all causes Master Bellarmine must make
to bring some plaine proofe and not so to stand vpon strange coniectures Againe Sozimus bishop of Rome willed hini to go to a councill at Cesarea and hee therefore saide that hee must needes goe If Sozimus did commaund and Augustine would not stand vpon his right in such a matter where perchance his going might be profitable to Gods church yet that would not make Sozimus head of the church No at that time they did not gather any such hard conclusions For although they would not refuse to do good euen being more imperiously commaunded then reason would yet supremacie as I haue shewed they would not acknowledge in the Bishop of Rome but rather were content to bee at great charges to conuince the popes falshoode In the last two places saint Augustine commendeth the bishop of Rome in that being so high as he was yet he would be friendly to them that were humble or lowe and then confesseth euery Bishoppe to be high yet him to be higher A man may be friend to them that are lower then he is and one Bishop may be higher than others and yet not haue iurisdiction ouer them Higher I say in gifts credite place or many other waies In England we see differences of bishoprickes where yet the one hath not iurisdiction ouer the other Now for Prosper it were hard if his poeticall amplifications should be able to carry away the weight of so great a cause But for his words if he say that Rome is Peters seat in respect of the doctrine that there was taught and maintained as before Optatus and Augustine of whome he was a great follower haue done wee yeelde vnto him Otherwise I leaue the godly Reader to the arguments before alleadged to consider what he should think concerning this point whether Peter was Bishop there or not And where he saith that Rome is made vnto the world the head of pastorall honour wee yeelde vnto that also that at that time there was no church that either more sincerely did keepe that which the apostles taught or had more credit and authoritie amongst other churches then Rome had in respect that she was able and willing to do good vnto many other But where he saith that what by armes shee could not by religion shee hath subdued is not simply true For there are manie that neuer were nor will be by likely hood subdued to Romish religion But in some respect we also confesse that to be so in that religion subdueth the heart and winneth the affection of men to bee subiect whereas that outward force can onely preuaile against the outward man Now for Victor Vticensis who calleth the church of Rome head of all other churches I haue often shewed that it may truly so be called in respect of the authoritie which by many occasions it had goten not in respect of any inrisdiction that Christ gaue vnto it more then to other The next is Vyncentius Lirinensis who alluding vnto the name or indeede rather giuing vnto Rome that name that was commonly giuen vnto it saith that the head of the world gaue testimonie vnto it meaning the council of Ephesus You see saith master Bellarmine that the bishop of Rome is called head of the world Nay you see howe our popes catholiks incroch more and more for that vnsatiable gulfe of the church of Rome which will neuer haue honour and authoritie enough Who euer before master Bellarmine hath called the pope the head of the world He hath wont to be but head of the church But I feare that if his kingdome continue a while Acharonta mouebit hee will keepe a stir in hell also But Vincensius giueth no such name to Iulius bishop of Rome He would not be so iniurious to the ciuil authoritie he had learned better then so to giue to Caesar that that belongeth to Caeser and to God that that is Gods although the church of Rome might quite blotte out of their bookes that lesson for any regarde that they haue to keepe it As for Vincentius his meaning is plaine enough to them that will see the trueth For hauing spoken of sundry places from whence learned men came to that councill of Ephesus first out of the East then also out of the West churches he nameth Iulius bishop of the citty of Rome which citty he calleth the head of the worlde as immediately after he calleth Carthage one of the South and Millaine one of the North the sides of the world But if he had made so very great accompt of the church of Rome as in these daies men would haue vs to doe he would haue had perchance some more regard in placing that church in some other order then to make it almost the last that he mentioneth Out of Cassiodor a senatour and a great officer in Rome maister Bellarmine alleadgeth somewhat You saieth he to Iohn Bishop of Rome sit as watchmen ouer christian people as you are called father you loue all I see nothing heere that can helpe maister Bellarmine or his cause For who euer did thinke otherwise then that the Bishoppe of Rome was a watchman ouer christian people Or who will say that the Pope hath not or at the least shoulde haue a fatherly affection towardes all Well it followeth It is our part to looke to somewhat you looke to all Cassiodor liuing vnder the popes nose is content either by this praising of him to teach him what care he indeede should haue not onely to doe good to the people of Rome where he was Bishop but also as occasions should be offered to helpe others also Or els it may be that hee giueth him greater praise then he deserueth But what is this for the popes supremacy Must not the building needes fall that standeth vpon such weake propes Much like is that which followeth that the seat which is pope Iohns peculiar place is giuen generally to the whole worlde that is as I take it to doe good to all If a Romane magistrate to the bishop of Rome doe extoll more then in truth he may the power of that citty or els tell how farre their benefits doe extende must this be so strained and wrung to prooue supremacie The last testimony alleadged by maister Bellarmine doth so little helpe his cause that if he had done wisely he should neuer haue spoken of it For by that Epistle and others that are set before that councill of Chalcedon it may easily appeare that Leo Bishop of Rome did then bestirre him vsing the discention of the East church as a meane to increase his owne authoritie For it is most plaine and cannot be denied that afterwardes in that councill by his legates he sought the supremacy very earnestly and in sundry of his Epistles disanulleth that the councill did against it And in these Epistles he maketh mone to many to procure Theodosius the Emperour to stand his friend Anâ— in this Epistle
here cited by maister Bellarmine Valentinian sheweth howe Leo came vnto him told him of the diuision of the East church and great troubles there For indeede Flauianus a catholike bishop was deposed by Dioscorus and so cruelly handled that he died thereof within three daies Well Valentinian maketh petition to Theodosius That the bishop of Rome may haue place and power to iudge of the faith and of the priests Which request made by Valentinian in the letter which Valentinian confesseth that Leo requested him to write so iumping with that which afterwards Leo in the councill practised may much perswade vs to thinke that he solicited Valentinian the Emperour either plainly or couertly to moue this in his behalfe Well then this being but a request made that it may so be that cannot proue that it was so but contrary And what reason doth Valentinian the Emperour an especiall friend to the bishop of Rome vse to commend his suite Antiquity gaue him principality of priesthood ouer all Wherein I first note that not Christ but ancient custome is pretended to haue priuiledged him And here againe marke howe this agreeth with that which was afterwards in the council of Chalcedon obiected by Paschasnus legate for Leo this bishop of Rome The church of Rome saith Paschasinus alwaies had the supremacy But this his allegation was proued false But the allegations of Valentinian the popes solicitour in this cause and of Poschasimus the popes legate being so like it maketh me the bolder to coniecture that they were both forged in one shop because they haue both one stampe Thus haue I taken a view of all such testimonies as are alleadged by maister Bellarmine out of them that liued within 600. yeares of Christ for to establish the pride of that Romish seat I haue of purpose omitted iii. or iiii by him alleadged because they wrote after the time that Phocas that murthering traitor who killed Mauritius his Lorde and maister for his Empire hauing first killed before his face his wife and fiue of his children had granted vnto Boniface bishop of Rome third of that name to be supreme head ouer the whole church Wherein although I haue endeuoured to be short yet I trust it plainly enough appeareth to them that will not shut their eies against the truth that although the church of Rome had indeede in regard of her constancy in the truth and power which shee grewe vnto by many occasions being in the imperiall citty great authority amongst all other churches and although learned men were by their distressed estates forced many times in their priuat seates to yeelde to that church more interest to meddle in their matters then of right it had yet it cannot appeare by any thing that they bring out of any approued record within the compasse of those yeares that the church of Rome was either by Gods lawe appointed the head ouer others which is indeede the point that they should proue or that by common consent of the godly it was so catholickly receiued And yet if this latter could haue more apparent proofe then euer Rome or Rhemes can afforde in this cause they should gaine nothing but that good men haue either ordained or tolerated such a state Which howsoeuer it might seeme tolerable when many good men possessed that place yet that the church should be subiect to such as nowe for the most part sit in that seat no christian heart can well endure it But now this labour being taken in hand to trie the popes title vnto the supremacy or how he pleadeth or what claime he can make I must needes giue warning to the christian reader to marke how that as maister Bellarmine hath said little or rather nothing at all to prooue this authority of the bishop of to be grounded vpon Gods lawe so be hath not brought one council within the said six hundred yeres or any thing sufficiently materiall out of the fathers of that time to proue that by mans lawe he was decreed so to be but onely somtimes perchance by particular men vsed as if he had authoritie ouer all And shall this be accounted a catholike doctrine that neither God nor man for six hundred yeares after Christ commaunded to be beleeued If there come no better euidence then master Bellarmine can bring without all doubt the pope will be found to be but an intruder into other mens right a vsurper of other mens iurisdiction But master Bellarmine will helpe his former want with a new supply He affirmeth very boldly as hee doth often in other matters that we knowe neither the time wherein neither the author by whom this supremacie had beginning Yet it may be that we shall gesse shrewdly at it But first wee must vnderstand that the roote of this supremacie that is the pride and ambition of heart that was in many of the popes was lying long in the ground before it did sprowt and plainly shew it selfe and when it grew that it might be seene yet was it not perfected in a long time after But it did plainly shew it selfe in the time of Phocas of whome I spake before For he with much adoe ordained that the bishop of Rome should be called and counted the head of all churches as many of the popes frends tell vs and among other Platina A very fitt patron for so proude a prelat And after that the pope had gotten by the emperours decree this glorious title yet he could not presently get quiet possession of the same but the bishop of Constantinople did still striue for that name Vntil at the length they were both content to winke and the one to suffer the other to be be called vniuersall bishop So that both of them had that name and were so called And nowe the bishop of Rome hauing obtaiued thus much in the west church that hee in all councils and meetings was chiefe and that they should submit themselues to him Before it was long hee had taken so good roote aud begane to grow so mighty that he durst alter and chaunge giue to and take from men at his pleasure and to turne all things vpside downe yea and in the end to cheeke the greatest monarchs But of these matters I shall if God will haue better occasion to intreate in the second parte of this treatise Now I will only say that they were comme to such power as Platina writeth of Boniface the eight that they would rather put feare into the hearts of emperours kings princes nations and people then religion And thus when they had bene in increasing and growing in strength for the space of at the least eight hundred yeares at length in the council of Florence we find this their soueraigne and supreme power confirmed in these words We define that the holy apostolike seat and bispp of Rome hath the supremacie in the whole world So that although we cannot perfectly say when this poyson of pride beganne
fathers Thus we see that in as plaine termes as they can deuise this Councill doeth oppose themselues to that which the Bishop of Rome did seeke to obtaine And thus it appeareth how vntruely the church of Rome hath delt very long since to exalt her selfe aboue others and to maintaine her owne pride And how shee hath in the times of those learned fathers beene bridled in their councils Wherein they haue set downe lawes to mitigate and keepe vnder their immoderate affections how soeuer they would sometimes write or speake of them or to them that were bishops of Rome for the peace of the church and the reuerence of the persons being men often times indued with very good gifts and such as by their acquaintance and credit being in the imperiall citie did helpe many that were distressed Now therefore let vs yeld that honour to him onely whome God hath sealed that he be acknowledged the head of his church the lawe maker to his people the sheapheard to his flocke Let vs receaue no other vicar to snpply his roome but that spirit of truth which God our gracious father shall giue and which shall abide with vs for euer But as for them that without any good warrant of Gods word or sufficient calling from God claime to be as kings and loue to liue as lords ouer Gods heritage detest them as the proud off-spring of Corah Dathan and Abiram or rather as the wicked sonnes of Ely that did as themselues would yea as men that are enemies to Gods lawes vsurpers of Christs office despisers of all authoritie abusers of all maiestie and therefore most perillous plagnes to christian princes And thus much to examine how iust a title the pope hath or how iust a claime he may make to be supreame head of the Church The second part of the Suruey of the Popes Supremacie which is a proofe of his Practises NOw that it plainly appeareth in the first part of this Treatise to them that doe not wincke with their eyes against the trueth that this Supremacie that the Bishop of Rome most prowdely abuseth hath not any ground in the worde of God as is seene partely by the weakenesse of their owne arguments and partly because the fathers being assembled together in their generall councils some of them more then foure hundred and fiftie yeares after Christ haue taught vs the contrarie it is necessary for the better vnderstanding of this matter yea for the more detestation of their vniust authoritie that something bee said of the second part of this Treatise which is a proofe or examination of the popes practises But herein I must consider of two pointes First how and by what meanes they got vnto that high estate wherein nowe they are Secondly after what manner they haue vsed themselues in the same In fewe wordes how they haue ruled And because the church of Rome was not sodainely or in one instant aduanced to this place of excessiue pride and insatiable ambition wherein she now challengeth rule and dominion ouer al that professe christianitie it wil not be amisse but a thing very pertinent to this my purpose to see by what steps the pope hath come to such height by what practises he hath attained to such honour Whereas therefore the godly fathers of the primitiue church did many times stand in neede of the help or counsel or comfort of the good Bishops of Rome that were in their times and as occasions fell out were forced somtimes to flee to them for succor who also found reliefe at their hands very often the ages succeeding did interpret this charitable affection and performance of christian duety in these godly Bishops of Rome to be not so much tokens of the loue towards all as of their power ouer all And yet a man may be as good as he will to them ouer whom he hath no power at al. Although therefore we neither can nor will deny that which the Author of the Apologie for the English Seminaries doth so confidently pronounce that the famous fathers called for aide comfort and counsell in their distresses of the bishop of Rome yet iustly we may and for the trueâ—hs sake we must affirme that this seeking for these causes to the bishop of Rome doth not prooue him to haue authoritie ouer all but onely that at such times he had better meanes to helpe the distressed then they that sought vnto him had to releeue themselues But many times the godly are forced to flie for aide as these men did whom the Apology nameth as Cypr. Atha Chrys Aug. Basil Ierom Miletius Theod. to men worse theÌ„ themselues as Iacob to Laban from the wrath of Esau and Dauid to the Philistins to auoide Saâ—â—s rage and Ioseph with Christ to escape the bloudy hands of Herod went into Egypt But if any man desire more particularly to be informed in y e special causes that moued these godly men to make sute to the B. of Rome let him reade that learned answer that Bilson hath made vnto the said apologie he is too wilfull if he be not satisfied for this point Now some B. of Rome though otherwise good men were pufe vp with some prowd conceit of their authoritie when they saw such famous and godly men were driuen to seeke for their help as it may appeare by their owne words if they be their words which go abroad in their name for their Epistles and decrees As Damasus in his fourth epistle writing vnto prosper the B. of the first seat in Numidia and other bishops commendeth theÌ„ that in all matters that may be doubtfull they refer themselues to him as to the head to giue them answere And it is no great maruell though Damasus woulde write or speake much for the dignity of his place for comming to the which he did striue euen to the death of a great number of christians Siricius then commeth next after him who taketh vpon him to threaten to pronounce sentence against such as wil do otherwise then he would haue them And Innocentius writing to the bishops of macedony findeth himselfe grieued and thinketh that that church of Rome to which he telleth them they shoulde haue regard as to their head is wronged because they did not at the first yeelde to his iudgement The like might be said of many other of them Whereby appeareth that they who at the first were intreated by some godly men by such means as God had giuen them to help them in their need at the length tooke vpon them to commaund others to stand to their orders and decrees Insomuch as they also gaue out their decrees which they would binde al to obserue as partly appeareth in Siricius and Innocentius and partly also in others it will be more plaine It sauoureth of too great an arrogaâ—â—y that Zosimus another pope threatneth seuerity if any despise the apostolike authority So did Leo so did pope a afterward
What should I seeke to speak of euery one their own decrees and decrxtals do sufficently beare witnes that within a short time they were become so imperious ouer others that they would not leaue men farre better and more holy then themselues and better able to direct those bishops of Rome then the B. were to aduise them such I say they would not leaue to their own liberty in any thing but for euery thing euen the least matters that were they must follow the direction of that church of Rome must haue a decree for it Which bondage greater then that of Egypt howe miserable a slauery it was let the worlde iudge whē a man might iustly doubt of euery thing that he did haue some scruple of cōscience in al things For by this means it came to passe that the number of their ordinaunces being almost infinite men should alwaies be in danger to breake some of them Which was then a means to get them authority afterwards occasion of great gaine And thus we see two steppes laide to help them vp to this their desired honour The one is a voluntary submitting to them for aide councill and comfort The second a forcible subiecting of others to them by decrees and commandements But yet they could not get so high by far as they did looke or at the least so farre as now they haue climed For as in more then 300. yeares whilest they were in persecution they had no such proud hearts for any thing that we can read in any credible authors so for almost 300. yeares more they did but feede themselues in their own honour and got what credit and authority they coulde by their own deuises and pollicies Howbeit they could not get any vniuersal or general consent of other bishops to giue them that authoritie But contrary wise not onely some councils as that which is called Mileuitanum and that sixt of Carthage and that other of Chalcedon did stiffely withstand him therein but also the bishop or patriarch of Constantinople who in y e council of Chalcedon was made of equal authority with the bishop of Rome did earnestly striue to get the supremacy ouer Rome and all others And by al likelihood he had preuailed if Mauritius the the Emperour who as some stories report tooke part with the patriarch of Constantinople had not beene cut of cruelly by Phocas that did succeede him in the empire So that hereby the pride of the bishops of Rome was somewhat hindered and this authority which nowe he claimeth was almost taken from him And he that soone after did write himselfe vniuersall bishop or rather bishop of the vniuersal church and head of the church had almost beene subiect to the patriarch of Constantinople So that in good time did the popes thinke that that vnnaturall and sauage bloud sheader Phocas did cut his maisters throate seeing that by Phocas his meanes they got that supremacy decreed on their side that the bishops of Rome should be called and counted supreme heads of the church So now this proud decree of this cruel Emperour is the third step vnto their intollerable pride The bishop of Rome hauing thus gotten some sure footing in this proud chaire controlleth bishops calleth councils which before the Emperour had wont to doe and in all othe such things doth shewe his authority in his writings and letters for the most part calling himselfe the head of the vniuersal church stil creeping thus higher and higher yet not openly but couertly and by little and little vntill at the length he got him a fourth step For hauing as much authority as he could yet ouer bishops and that by the Emperours decree he sought to pull his necke out of the coller wherein the Emperour did hold him For he thought it was a burden to bee in such subiection to the Emperour that vnlesse he would confirme the election he could not be pope Therefore whereas Constantine the fourth Emperour of that name being moued as the stories report by the godlinesse of Benedict the second bishop of Rome so called did ordaine that he that was chosen pope by the cleargy people and army of Romans without any confirmation of the emperour or his lieutenant should be accompted pope whereas before it might not be without the emperours leaue who had as also the kings of France especially a chusing voice in the electing of the pope if we wil beleeue a story written by a Frier a fast friend to the church of Rome called Rioche who wrote in our times afterwards the Emperours would haue resumed their own right againe perchance because that after Benedict they found none such but some successours of his that behaued themselues too arrogantly and insolently against their Lorde and maister but they coulde by no meanes get it into their handes to keepe it though Leo the viii and some other yeelded vnto him For the succeeding popes many of them did stil incroche more and more debarring the Emperour of his right in their election vntill about 400. yeares after that the bishops of Rome had gotten this from the Emperour Alexander the 2. pope not willing to striue against his maister did publikely protest in the pulpit that he would not be pope vnlesse the Emperour woulde confirme him whereof he said he would write vnto the Emperour When Hildebrand who was after pope and called Gregory the seuenth heard this hardly being able to hold his hands whilest masse was in doing immediatly masse being ended before the pope could put of his massing garments he taketh him into a secret place and buffeteth him well fauouredly and tooke such order that within a while Alexander the second died and made roome for Hildebrand to sit in his chaire And this reward did pope Gregory the seuenth bestow vpon his predecessour Alexander the second because he would restore to the emperour that which wrongfully they kept from him and performe vnto him some piece of duty And yet they thought they were not high enough neither yet that this their authority was sure enough vnto them And therefore they thought good to deuise some means how this authority which already they had might be confirmed to them minding yet to mount higher as God willing shall after be declared But to make sure that they had done sometimes they would seeme to haue this authority from Christ But their proofe is nothing plaine although they alleadge some words of Christ for proofe yet the apostles did neuer make any mention of anie supremacy the fathers of the first times did neuer commende it vnto vs in the councils they seeme rather to fetch their authority from the ordinance of man then from Gods word For what meaneth it els that the legates to the B. of Rome both in the councill of Carthage and Chalcedon doe so earnestly vrge the decrees of the Nicen councill if that which now they bring out of Gods booke
endangered by this subtile but false perswasion which wholly possesseth the heartes of many that if they will be saued and auoide the danger of damnation they must stedfastly beleeue that the Bishop of Rome is the vniuersall Bishop hauing authoritie ouer all that he is the head of the church and the generall shepheard of Christ his flocke For that man of sinne hauing so bewitched the hearts of his fauorites that they are once persuaded that it is good religion so to beleeue and that to defend this his pride is christian constancie what shamelesse villanies will not they thinke to be lawfull practises what cruell murders will not they account to be commendable attempts what vnnaturall deuises and drifts wil not they esteeme most godly and catholike vertues I neede not stand long in dilating this point Our natiue soile hath too much and too lamentable experience of such vnkindly slips Who when they did and do owe to their countrey wherein they were bred and brought vp the sweete fruit of loue to her and sacred obedience to her lawes bring forth almost nothing else but the sowre grapes of treasons and treacheries Which all spring out of this bad roote that they falsly perswade themselues that they owe their chiefe obedience to the Bishop of Rome whose commaundements if they obey and follow his directions and hearken to his perswasions then must they suffer no princes with qnietnesse to enioy their ancient and vndoubted inheritance and rightfull crownes but such as will be tenants at will to their lawlesse master Which the more I doe thinke of it the more I feare we haue no great hope as yet to be free from such villainous practises as may bring danger vnto her Maiestie and ruine to this realme because I see that stubburne Recusants who if they haue any conscience in religion it is very strange for many of them shew little conscience in any thing else wilfull Papists I say are not in some reasonable maner forced in this point to shew their obedient and dutiful hearts but may freely without controlment professe themselues enemies to the truth that we acknowledge For how can there be any certainety to this estate that is so pestered with a great number of false hearted subiects whose very religion is to be deuoted to him and to the maintainance of his kingdome that is grieued at nothing more than at our happinesse neither seeketh any thing so much as our destruction To plucke away therefore this visard of Religion from this their disobedient and dissolute affection I thinke it to be the duetie of euery good christian according to our calling and talents wholy to indeuour our selues And as this dutifull affection of christian obedience should effectually moue vs vnto this attempt so the very ruine of religion and the decay of all true deuotion which foloweth that perswasion should forâ—e vs to make haste to take this stumbling blocke out of the way of the simple lest at vnwares running thereupon they should make shipwracke of their faith For the Bishop of Rome by this his pretended priuiledge doeth take vpon him to make lawes to binde the conscience to adde to Gods word to dispence against the same to chop and change religion it selfe as seemeth good to him to doe and vndoe at his owne pleasure And do he neuer so much hurt in the church of Christ yet no man must say Sir why do you so And thus hauing gotten by this prowd name his fulnes of power he hath filled all christendome with horrible superstitions I speake not heere of the prophane or rather blasphemous praises which the flatterers of this vniuersall Bishop do giue to him to make the world not so much to reuerence him as a B. as to honour him rather almost as a god Which if it had bin done onely by his Canonists who liued in the dayes of darkenesse and saw not so much as men now do yet the fault and folly had bin very great But that master Bellarmine a man doubtlesse learned in so cleare light of the trueth as now shineth should so farre ouershoote himselfe as he doeth in this point in his Preface to his bookes of the bishop of Rome it maketh me not a little to wonder at his grosse folly and to detest his irreligious flattery But of this more shall be said hereafter if God permit Seeing therefore the truth of this doctrine is so necessary both for the sinceritie of religion and also for the quietnesse of common wealths my desire purpose is if God giue good successe thereunto to shew and proue that the Bishop of Rome maketh herein an vniust claime and hath possessed himselfe of an vntrue Title To come therefore to the point in controuersie The holy catholike church the spiritual house of God the mystical body of Christ comprehendeth two sortes of members Some that are triumphing in heauen others that are here trauelling vpon the earth some profiting as saint Augustine saith in this life others perfited in an other Now the question is whether this part of the catholike church that is here wandering in this vale of misery which is called militant for here is the place of striuing else-where the place of crowning must needes haue the Bishop of Rome to bee the head thereof This is it that they vntruly and without any good warrant do affirme This is it which iustly and vpon good ground as I trust it shall appeare we deny Master Bellarmine laboureth very much to prooue that the gouernement of one ouer all is the best indeuouring thereby to prooue that if it be best in ciuill regiment it should also be the best gouernment in the church as it appeareth in his Bookes of the bishop of Rome Howsoeuer the monarchicall regiment within euery kingdome or country is liked of yet that vniuersal rule of one ouer al hath not bin thought good of at any time as may appeare by those great monarchies so commended vnto vs in histories To whose subiection kingdomes and nations did not subiect themselues willingly but were subdued to them by might Neither is it necessary that that kind of gouernement which is thought best for worldly kingdomes whose Law-makers are men and whose lawes are alwayes new to be made as new inconueniences do arise in the common-wealth and to be short whose glory is here in this world should also be most conuenient for the church of God whose kingdome is not worldly whose beauty is not outward or external But to knit vp this point with one argument thus I reason That kind of gouernement is fittest for the church that bringeth most profit to them that are gouerned but master Bellarmine confesseth that the mixed gouernement is most profitable therefore it is fittest But because it pleaseth master Bellarmine so well that one should beare rule ouer the whole church let him and his fellowes submit hemselfe to Christ that King
of kings and Lord of lords whom God hath appointed to be the head of the church of whose kingdome there shall be no end whose dominion shall be from sea to sea and from the riuer to the ends of the land so that no continuance of time no distance of place shall hinder his gouernment An inuisible head of an inuisible body Or else in particular churches let him behold a visible pastor ouer a visible flocke which is also a kinde of Monarchy But this one head which is Christ cannot content the church of Rome although notwithstanding his absence from vs in the flesh there is no want either in his will or might but that he is able and readie at all times to direct and defend his flocke But as the children of Israel not contenting themselues with that forme of gouernment whereby God gouerned them would needes haue a king as other nations had euen so will the papists haue a visible monarche one ruler of the whole church as one King is ruler ouer a whole Kingdome And if we tell them that it is a monster in nature that the church which is but one should haue two heades that is to say Christ whome we all acknowledg to be the head thereof and the pope whom they make their visible and ministeriall head then they reply that in that Christ is head of the church it doth no more hinder the supremacie of the bishop of Rome then it taketh away the bishop and ministers out of the church For so master Bellarmine affirmeâ— as if bishops and ministers were vniuersall heads as the pope would be And can master Bellarmine see no difference betweene the calling of pastors and teachers and of the pope Is hee so blinde or bleareied in beholding the brightnesse of their glorious Bishoppe that hee can see no difference betweene these two pastors we are sure are ordained of God euen of him that apointed Christ to be head of the church But that the bishop of Rome is head of the church by Gods word master Belarmine himselfe denieth Secondly the pastor contenteth himselfe with the ministrie of the word and sacraments and such ecclesiasticall censures as the word affordeth him But the bishop of Rome despiseth all power abuseth all magistrates yea almost treadeth vnder foote the maiestie of the mightiest monarches As for the sword of the word either he thinkes it not sharp enough or else he is too proude to drawe it for preaching is too base a thing for so proude a prelate but with his temporall sword he florisheth lustily Againe the pastor hath his flock in a litle compasse so that he may in some measure discharge his dutie amongst them he may feede with the bread of life the hungrie soules he may strengthen the feeble comfort the weake seeke the lost and bring whom the wandring sheep But the bishop of Rome in chalenging authoritie ouer all places and persons and seeking to bee head ouer all churches doth both meddle with other mens charges and laieth vpon his owne shoulders an importable burthen Thus I trust it appeareth that this argument standeth still vnanswered Christ is the head of his church Christ I say whom God the father appointed to that office and who is able to vndergoe this charge because he hath the holy ghost to be his Housband man to dresse his vine his Vicar or leieutenant to looke to his charge the pope therefore who is neither appointed to it nor able to doe it is not Now for that which master Bellarmine affirmeth of the heauenly host that they haue in heauen another head besides Christ and therefore that the church vpon earth ought so to haue his proofe is more vncertaine and hard to be knowen then that he should seeke thereupon to ground any argument But the church in the old Testament had one high priest therefore saith master Bellarmine the church of Christ must haue so For that church was a figure of Christs church If master Bellarmine his argument shall goe for currant wee must also haue but one Temple for they might not haue any moe they might offer but in one place and many such things were commaunded vnto them vnto which it were absurd to tie christians Whereby we may see that in all things that church was not a figure of ours Then also the leuiticall priest was a figure not of any ministeriall head of Christs church but of Christ himselfe as the apostle to the Hebrews doth proue in sondrie chapters And here master Bellarmine sheweth rather a desire to maintain his errors then to yeld to the truth For without all reason hee affirmeth that Aaron was not onely a figure of Christ but of Peter also and his successors sauing that to auouch his vntruth hee setteth downe another namely that the leuiticall sacrifices were figurs not of Christ onely but also of that which they call the sacrifice of the masse which how vntrue it is I haue shewed elsewhere But if it were true that those sacrifices were figures of both must it needs follow that Aaron also must be the figure of Christ and Peter It hath no necessitie And moreouer to answere both this and his fifth argument The church was at that time contained within the bonds of Iewry or at the least hee was but hie priest vnto them that were circumcised As also in Christ his time the church consisted but of a few persons and therefore it cannot be necessarily concluded that if the church then was gouerned by one when it was in a small corner of the world it should now be so likewise when it is scattered in many places vpon the earth But what if I should denie to Bellarmine that this was the gouernment of the church before Christ or that they were not at that time all vnder one hie priest For more then 2500. yeares the church was not gouerned by one hie priest which master Bellarmine himselfe doth not greatly denie in this place especially limiting this hie priest vnto that time when there was some forme of gouernment established amongst them after they were come out of Egypt For vntill that time as himselfe confesseth the heads of their houses were priests And although there were many good men at one time as Seth Enosh and others yet master Bellarmine cannot shew that there was amongst them a hie priest but euery one was chiefe in his owne familie But what if it appeare that then when there was a hie priest yet al Gods people were not bound to be vnder him The widow of Sarepta as appeareth by her story had a sure faith in God so that wee may say shee might well be accounted the child of God Naaman also the syrian did belong to the church of God And no doubt but God had many people among the Niniuites who repented at the preaching of Ionah And yet none of these
were commaunded to be vnder the subiection of the hie priest Which thing being well coosidered of wee may conclude that if the gouernment of one ouer the whole church were not thought necessarie for any people before such time as Moyses had deliuered such laws to the Israelits from God after they were come out of Egypt neither yet afterward for any but only for the Iews as by the examples alleadged may appeare out of this I say wee may gather that neither then was the whole church commaunded to be vnder the gouernment of one and also that it was not a pattern of gouernment for the church nowe but onely a figure of Christ to them to whome all things almost were deliuered in figures and shadowes But master Bellarmines fourth argument hath yet lesse weight then any of the rest The church saith hee is compared to an Armie to Mans body or a beutifull woman to a kingdome a Ssheepfold a house Noahs arke but no armie without a generall no body without a head no wife without a husband no kingdome without a king no shipfold without a sheapheard no house without a steward no ship but hath a master We grant all this and as Saint Augustine saith of the head so we may say of all these similitudes for Christ can not be called a head if there be no body whereof he should be head And these names are bestowed vpon the church and belong vnto her no otherwise then as we haue respect vnto Christ that is our general head husband king sheapheard householder and shipmaster And I cannot but muse at the great ignorance or wilfulnesse that master Bellarmine sheweth in this argument who knowing the nature of relatiues to be such as that the one of them dependeth on the other so that the one cannot be without the other knowing also that the wife is so called in respect of her husband and the husbaÌ„d so called in respect that he hath a wife yet he shames not to affirme that the church here vpon earth may well be compared to a wife not hauing respect to Christ her husband It may be his meaning is to rake again out of the chenel that filthy blasphemous cannon wherein the pope maketh claime to be the husbaud of the church which title the scriptures ascribe to Christ onely To his fifth argument and his third I answered together his sixth argument is this Bishops are well set to haue authoritie ouer Ministers Archbishops ouer Bishops therefore also there must be one ouer all others But this proueth not that which fame hee would proue that by Gods word one must haue rule ouer al. Seuenthly saith master Bellarmine the church must still increase but it can not increase vnlesse one man bee aboue the rest to take this care therefore one must be chiefe aboue all other And cannot the church increase except one be among the rest to commaund all others Who commaunded Saint Paul to preach as he did in many places Not Peter But they will say he was extraordinarily called And they that are extraordinarily called must now by the popes lawes be allowed by the pope But to let this passe Parthia to Thomas Aethiopia to Matthew India to Bartholomew were appointed to preach in not at Peters commandement but by lot Not Peter but Thomas moued thereunto by God sent Thadde vnto Edessa So that we see Maister Bellarmines minor proposition to be very false For the kingdome of Christ may well be increased without the Popes supremacie As then it was so now I say it may be yea and is increased mightely although the Pope doe not onely grieue at it but also striue against it Lastly there must be vnity in faith saieth Maister Bellarmine but that cannot be vnlesse all be vnder one therefore one must haue the rule ouer all In deede it cannot be denied but that one man being of authority in the church of God may manie times doe much good either to confirme the godly or daunt the courage of the contentious But if this authority bee bestowed vppon the vngodly it doeth much hurt and it is then found true that the wiseman saieth When the wicked beare rule the people sigh Neither can we haue a better example of this then in the Bishops of Rome that haue beene these many hundred of yeares who to get the soueraignty aboue all authority omitte no practises shame not of anie treacheries spare not anie shedding of bloud but forget all dutie all nature all humaniâ—ie all christianitie so that they may haue the commaunding of all the world And for their vnitie in faith it is a kinde of vnitie but in hypocrisie not in veritie Against Gods vndoubted word against Christ and his office his merit and satisfaction euen such a vnitie as Dauid speaketh of against the Lord and against his anointed But can there be no vnity in faith but where there is supremacie in authoritie Yes if wee marke the histories wee shall finde that there was neuer so good consent in sound doctrine as when this supremacie was not hatched A question concerning circumcision fell among the christians in the Apostles time The matter was referred vnto the Apostles The Apostles and elders came together to looke to this matter After much disputation Peter gaue his iudgement of gods goodnes towardes the Gentiles To that end also Paul and Barnabas told howe wonderfullie God had wrought among the Gentiles by them And last of all Iames concluded according to whose direction the matter was defined Now what supremacie was in this counsell The Papists tell vs that Peter was chiefe here but this is but a bold assertion vow of all proofe For first the wordes doe not shew that Peter called them together but the contrary rather Which Saint Luke would not haue omitted if Peter by anie superiour authoritie that he had ouer them had called them Neither did Peter speake first For before he spake there was much disputation neither did he giue definitiue sentence in the counsell but Saint Iames as doth easily appeare to them that â—ompare the words that he did speake with the Epistle that they did write concerning the matter in controuersie So that if there were then anie chiefe it was Saint Iames and not Saint Peter The like also I might shew out of some other of the first counsels following Of which because I shall haue better occasion after to intreat I trust this may suffice to shewe that without supremacie vnitie in faith may be maintained and therefore that the minor proposition in this argument is false And thus haue I briefly râ—â—ne ouer the arguments that are alleadged by Maister Bellarmine to proue this soueraigne Monarchy which he saith must be in Gods church rather pointing to them then prosecuting anie of them Against all which I wilt oppose one onelie argument which I would desire Maister Bellarmine or some friend of
keis besides the testimonie of Theophilact we haue most plaine proofe out of Gods word Whatsoeuer is promised Mathew the sixteenth chapter in these words I will giue thee the keis is performed Iohn the twentieth chapter in these words whose sinnes ye remit they are remitted and whose sinnes ye retaine they are retained but in Saint Iohn no chiefe power is giuen but such as is generall and common to all the apostles therefore in Saint Mathew there is not promised any chiefe power but such as is common to them all and so to all pastours in them My minor needeth no proofe for it is confessed by master Bellarmine But master Bellarmine denieth my maior and yet hath no ground of his deniall but this onely that he taketh it not be all one to binde and to retaine sinnes or sinners and to loose or remit Which subtil difference the fathers did not see And therefore Theophilact doth not onely expound this place of Matthew the sixteenth chapter by that place out of Saint Iohn the twentieth chapter making this later to bee a perfourmance of that promise I will giue thee the keies but also hee flattely there opposeth remitting to binding whereas by master Bellarmines doctrine if hee had beene brought vp in his schoole he should haue set remitting against retaining and not against binding For saith hee it is a greater matter to binde then to retaine to loose then to remit Saint Ambrose also maketh to binde and to retaine to remitte and to loose all one For whilest the puritie of doctrine in some measure remayned this subtile Sophistirie was vnknowen in Gods church But nowe for defence of popery such stuffe must serue the turne when they haue no better And heere I cannot but maruell at master Bellarmine his answere vnto this argument out of the centuries For they that wrote those bookes reason thus if in these wordes to thee will I giue the keies c. there were promised any supremacie the Apostlles could not haue doubted which of them should haue beene chiefe but they doubted of this therefore there was not in those wordes any such supremacie promised Maister Bellarmine maketh no question but that they doubted of it for there was among them some contention about that matter but for the maior hee answereth that the apostles did not vnderstande plainelie that there was anie promise made to Peter vntill after that Christ rose againe but then they suspected some such matter and that made them striue Is it not great boldnes in master Bellarmine in so waightie matters to bring no other warrant but his foolish fancie Or to answere such an vnanswerable argument by such silly shiftes They knewe not saith master Bellarmine that Christ made such promise to Peter vntill after Christ was risen againe But if it had beene an article of such importance as now it is made why shoulde they not haue knowne it They heard what Christ said to Peter they heard the promise of the keies and this is asmuch as our Romish Rabbines can nowe bring for their proofe If they vnderstoode it not so as master Bellarmine heere confesseth they did not what newe reuelation haue our newe Romish teachers to assure this to be the meaning of those wordes But they seeme to be whelpes of one haire with those hereticks whome Tertullian reprooueth because they saide the apostles knewe not all thinges that if their doctrine were not agreeable to that which the Apostles taught they might the lesse bee condemned As Bishoppe Fisher not knowing better howe to excuse their additions vnto the auncient doctrine which the church of Rome hath brought in saith that later wits knowe thinges better then before they did Well master Bellarmine you see confesseth that the apostles vnderstoode not then that promise as nowe the papistles doe When did they reforme their iudgement Where in what place doe they shew any signification that they euer vnderstood it otherwise If they neither vnderstood it so before Christs resurrection neither yet gaue anie signification afterwardes by woorde or deede by their writings or examples that their knowledge was in this pointe reformed howe can wee saie that they euer tooke that to bee Christes meaning But the first of these is confessed as before is shewed by Maister Bellarmine the latter they cannot shewe Therefore it maie be gathered that the apostles neuer vnderstood the words of Christ as the papistes doe And howe doeth hee prooue that which hee boldlie affirmeth that then they suspected such a thing Or that after Christes resurrection they did striue It is mentioned in the storie of the gospell that twise they did striue who shoulde be chiefe Of both which times the three Euangelistes doe make report And Saint Iohn also in his gospell seemeth to pointe vnto the latter strife when hauing washed his Apostles feete Christ giueth them good lessons of humilitie But that after Christes resurrection they did consende for this it cannot bee prooued For both these times were before his death And therefore I cannot but maruell that Maister Bellarmine will bring such proofelesse stuffe to open light as though hee imagined that his counterfaite coyne must goe for currant And whereas afterwardes hee alleadgeth out of Origen Chrysostóme and Hierome that the apostles did striue amongst themselues because they suspected this supremacie of Peter himselfe doeth not in this giue credite to these fathers For if it bee true that maister Bellarmine saide before that this suspition was not vntill Christ was risen then howe is this true that they affirme that they suspected thus much when they did striue first of all Which was at the least about a yeare and a halfe before Christ rose againe Neither doe these fathers heerein deserue to bee beleeued For the grounde of this their conceite is that they imagined the paying of the tribute money to haue beene before this contention For they surmise that because Christ said paie for mee and thee therefore the rest of the apostles suspected that Peter shoulde haue some superiority ouer them and grudged at it But this their imagination as it is farre from the thought of the apostles for any thing that may be gathered so is it flatly confuted by the scripture For this contention was before the tribute money was demaunded namely in the way before they came to Capernaum as is most plaine in the euangelist saint Markes gospel the ninth chapter and three and thirtie and foure and thirtie verses And the tribute was not demaunded before they were entred into Capernaum and into a house there Matthew the seuenteenth chapter and xxv verse Therefore that suspition of supremacie was not the cause of their contention which maister Bellarmine woulde prooue out of these fathers But perchance rather that ambitious affection that was in Iames and Iohn the sonnes of Zebedee which afterwardes they shewed more plainely in asking that one might sit at his
fables that deserue no credit or vpon impertiment matters that proue nothing to the purpose as if I be forced hereafter therto I doubt not by Gods grace with ease to proue His third and last reason is of it selfe sufficient to shew that themselues haue no great hope to proue it to be a catholike doctrine that is a doctrine taught and beleeued of all the godly or almost of all at all times in all places for Vincentius Lyrinensis thus defyneth catholike But the first authour that maister Bellarmine alleadgeth is more then two hundreth yeers after Christ So that the doctrine that cannot be proued to haue bene beleeued for two hundreth yeares in the purest times of the church cannot be called catholike or be said to haue the true antiquitie And yet there is nothing that soundeth so much in the mouthes of our aduersaries as Catholike Catholike Antiquitie Antiquitie whereas in trueth nothing can be catholike vnlesse it haue the true antiquitie And the true antiquitie must begin at God himselfe It must spring from him as from the first fountaine As most notably and more than once that ancient and learned father Tertullian hath said That there is nothing true but that onely which the church receiued of the apostles the apostles from Christ Christ from God And this is indeede ancient trueth and true antiquitie Now I must also take a view of the maior proposition which is this whatsoener iurisdiction Christ gaue to Peter and not to the rest of the apostles al that belongeth to the church of Rome And master Bellarmine beginneth to prooue this in his second Booke beginning with Peters being at Rome But whether he were there or not it maketh no great matter For it is laide of Paule and Marke and others that they were there also but that maketh them not supreame heades of the church But whereas he confidently affirmes that many of the fathers teach that Peter first of all preached to the Romanes and founded the church there because perchance he thereupon would inferre that he was then bishop of Rome it is not amisse to examin his proofe herein First that which he alleageth out of Iraeney that the church of Rome was founded by Peter and Paule maketh nothing for proofe of Peters first founding the church there for Iraeny maketh them both alike in that worke Neither by founding the church can be meant the first beginning of the same but rather that they by their testimony and death did confirme the godlie there and perfected and established the church that was already begunne by all likelihoode as after shall be shewed And whereas master Bellarmine addeth to Iraeny his own glose that is to say saith he first of Peter and after of Peter and Paule as it is affirmed without proofe so it may go without answere That which he reciteth out of Eusebius for Peters first preaching at Rome though he write First with great letters is not true In Musculus interpretation there are no like words to thē that are heere alleadged And that out of Arnobius who saith that Rome was conuerted to Christ because it sawe the fierie charets that Simon Magus had caused to bee blowen awaie with the blast of Peters mouth may well bee vnderstoode of the more plentifull conuersion of christians there not because there were none before For I will say nothing of the iust causes that may be alleadged to doubt of this storie alleadged out of Agisippus of Simon Magus his fierie charetes And Epiphanius is wrong delt withall by maister Bellarmine For whereas hee saieth that Peter and Paule were first apostles and bishops in Rome he maketh him saie that Peter and Paule were first in Rome thereupon inferring that first they preached there which Epiphanius saith not That which out of Chrysostome hee alleageth prooueth not Peter first to haue preached there as neither that out of Leo or Theodosius For Chrysostome saieth that hee did occupie the kingly citie Leo that hee was appointed to the chiefe place of the Romaine Empire and Theodosius speaketh of the religion deliuered by Peter But this doeth not proue that it was first deliuered by him Orosins and Gregorie of Turon say that Peter being there Christians beganne which may be vnderstoode of their more bolde profession of Christianitie then before For that there were christians before Peter came there are in my iudgement strong reasons to prooue Indeede Theodoret saith that great Peter first preached to them the doctrine of the gospell Perchance he meant that he not first of all but first of the apostles did preach the gospell there For Sadolet a Cardinall and a Romish catholike in his commentaries vpon Paules epistle to the Romaines doth thinke that the gospell was first preached and the church at Rome first assembled by some of the disciples that fled out of Iury. And he nameth Priscilla Aquila Andronicus and Iunia And in this respect it seemeth that Paule giueth this commendation vnto Andronicus and Iunia that they were notable among the apostles because their ministery was so necessary for the church there for he doeth not in anie other Epistle speake of them But in this epistle Sadolet saith that Saint Paule doth giue vnto them this great commendation that they might haue the better credite among the godly at Rome and the greater reuerence might be shewed towardes them in discussing and ending of these controuersies which were begunne amongst them and for staying of which Saint Paule doth write this Epistle as Sadolet confesseth And of these Primasius an ancient father saith in like sorte that Andronicus and Iunia were accounted notable amongst others that were sent to Rome by whom they might beleeue or by whose example they might haue beene confirmed Now if Peter had beene the first that preached there which master Bellarmine a papist affirmeth but Sadolet a Cardinall very confidentlie denieth Saint Paule who woulde not builde vppon anothers foundation as he writeth vnto the Romanes would not haue taken vpon him to haue decided their controuersies and to haue commended vnto them the ministerie of others also to that ende but would either not at all haue medled with them or haue put them in minde of Peter their Bishop But contrariwise hee challengeth them for his owne flocke and as belonging to his charge which wrong he would neuer haue offered to Saint Peter if he first had planted the church and his seat there Neither would the Iewes who in euery place were Peters especiall charge that were at Rome when Paule came thither bee so desirous to be instructed of Paule as they were if they had beene taught before by Peter and he had beene their Bishop and had beene there at this time for this Epistle was written long after they say that he was bishop of Rome or if they had knowne their owne bishop to be the vniuersall bishop or head of all
others And thus I trust that notwithstanding all that out of some doubtfull sentences of ancient writers maister Bellarmine hath gathered yet this point is not so cleere for the church of Rome as they would perswade the world that it is But rather the contrary appeareth most true that Peter was not the first that preached at Rome As for that which maister Bellarmine doth alleadge concerning Saint Markes gospell that it is written at Rome according to that which Saint Peter preached if wee grant it it doth not proue yet that Peter first of any other preached at Rome It only proueth that hee did preach there which by way of admittance only for the present wee will not much â—and against As for that which hee saieth of the ouercomming of Simon Magus by Peter euen this one thing maie sufficiently shew that it is but fabulous that Saint Luke who tooke vpon him to write the actes and doings of the Apostles doth very carefully write the miracles that were wrought by them as he that marketh may easily perceiue and doeth also recorde things done many yeares after this was supposed to bee done yet doeth not so much as make any mention of this conflice betweene Saint Peter and Simon Magus although in the eight Chapter where he reporteth some talke betweene Simon Magus and Peter very good occasion had beene offered neither yet Saint Marke Saint Peters owne disciple writing at Rome mentioneth it And therefore howsoeuer some of the ancient writers being deceiued by Egisippus haue thought of this fable yet I haue I trust good reason and sufficient warrant not to credit the same Now whether Peter died at Rome or not which is the next point that is handled by maister Bellarmine I will not much gaine say it because I would especially stand vpon the most materiall pointes that belong to the proofe of their maior proposition which is that Peters prerogatiues belong to the bishop of Rome if wee will beleeue the papists by Christs institution And herein I would craue of the indifferent reader without partiasity to iudge whether this their doctrine of Peters beeing Bishop of Rome twenty and fiue yeares be a catholicke doctrine or not For maister Bellarmine maketh a proud but a false brag that it hath the testimony and consent of all the ancient writers As for his first reason whereby he will proue him to bee bishop there because of the dignity or great account that hath beene alwaies made of the church of Rome it is very weake For the Church of Rome was accounted off more then others as before I shewed out of the councel of Chalcedon Ireny because Rome was the imperiall citie And no doubt also but that greater concourse of learned men in that respect was there then els where which must needes cause that place to bee in better estimation So that of this cannot Peters being Bishoppe there bee concluded Secondly whereas hee will prooue that he was Bishoppe of Rome because where he was bishop after that he leste Antioche it cannot be shewed this his proofe is like the former For seeing he was an apostle what necessitie is there that he must be bishop in some peculiar seate or place Where was Paule bishop It appeareth by the story of the Scripture that he was no where bishop And why then should wee of necessity make S. Peter a biâ—hop in some chaire Maister Bellarmines third argument which is the testimony of the fathers hee imagineth will beare all downe before it But first wee must consider that the fathers were content at the first to receiue this thing as a truth without any great examination of it because it was but a matter of story and so not much materiall whether hee were bishop of Rome or not But if they had beene in our daies and seene what necessary doctrine the church of Rome inferreth thereupon that it is a doctrine that we must beleeue or els wee cannot be saued that Peter was bishop of Rome and of the whole Church and then for that the bishop of Rome is Peters successour in that vniuersall bishopricke and that by Christes institution and that this must be beleeued vpon paine of damnation No doubt but euen those godly fathers who seeme most to speake of that chaire of Peter woulde haue saide as Chrysostome writeth of Moses chaire wee must not now saith he speake of the Priestes sitting in Moses chaire but in Christes chaire hee I say and the rest would haue proclaimed it lowde inough that they are the true Bishops not that sit in Peters chaire but in Christs chaire But I haue sundry strong argumentes to induce not my selfe onlie but I trust euen others also to be assuredly perswaded I will not saie that Peter was not Bishoppe of Rome but that it is not a Catholicke Religion so to be leeue And first I will constantly affirme that master Bellarmine and all the Iesuites that take his part shal not be able to prooue that the fathers of the first two hundreth yeares that are of good account or credite for in this case I except what their Popes and counterfet fathers haue written or taught that Peter was Bishop of Rome Which beeing prooued it is as cleare as the noone day that is this not catholicke doctrine Themselues must needes confesse it Now for proofe of it first that in the Scriptures we haue no such things taught it is most plaine And Maister Bellarmine himselfe who would faine haue it beleeued yet dareth not affirme of this anie thing els then that it maie be that the Lord did openly command that Peter should so place his chaire at Rome that absolutely the bishoppe of Rome should succeede him And there hee addeth that howsoeuer the matter is it is not so by the first institution And as in the scriptures this thing hath no ground so the fathers that liued in the daies of the apostles and next after them doe not acknowledge any such matter Ignatius who was Saint Iohns scholler maie be a good witnes in this behalfe All whose Epistles if we search and sift we shall not finde any thing in them that teacheth vs this point of popery but rather the contrary And yet he writing vnto sundry and informing them in the most principall points of religion and such things as were most necessary for christians to know yea and among other to the Romanes themselues must needes haue informed them of this vniuersall bishop and of Peters chaire if he had knowen of anie such matter in his seconde Epistle which is ad Tiallianos I commaund not saith he as an apostle and to the Romanes I commaund not these thinges as Peter and Paule In both places hee had good occasion to haue vrged them with Peters supremacie but especially he should haue put the Romanes in minde of Peter if hee had beene their bishop And should
haue said I doe not inioyne you these thinges as Peter who was your bishop But the greatest matter that he espieth in Peter and Paule is that they are apostles And writing vnto the Ephesians he moueth them to depende vpon their bishop as the Church hangeth vpon the Lord and the Lord vpon his father How happeneth that in this reckoning of these goodly couples the Ephesians and their bishoppe the church and Christ Christ and God there is not any mention of Peter or his successour Doubtlesse as yet this conceit was not hatched which yet more plainely maie be seene in that exhortation that he maketh to the Saintes in Smirna to honour God as the maker and Lorde of all but their bishoppe for that he speaketh of their owne bishop the whole epistle sheweth as the high priest the Image of God and the most excellent thing in the Church Nowe I pray yon what account is here of Peters chaire or of his succession Not one word This also in his epistle is to be obserued that hee seemeth to make more especiall account of Paul then of Peter As writing to the Philadelphians he saith Be ye folowers of Paul and the other Apostles as they folowed Christ which it is to be thought he would not haue don if Peter had beene in such account then as since he is said to be Nowe for Iustinus Martir who wrote about the yeare 147. doth neuer so much as make mention of Peter being bishop of Rome although in his second Apologie he maketh mention of Simon Magus how hee was honoured at Rome but not of his fierie chariots destroied by Peter as some doe whereof I spake before Seeing therefore Iustinus hauing so good an occaston and writing and dwelling in Rome as by Hierom it appeareth speaketh not one worde of it there neither yet afterwards in the end of the apologie wherein he sheweth the sinne of christianitie it is likely that Rome was not then knowen to be either Peters chaire or the bishop thereof to bee vniuersall bishop Eusebius writeth of Denis of Corinth who florished about the yeare one hundred seuentie and foure howe hee did write vnto the Romans and yet nothing is there of Peter that he was bishop there but onely that Peter and Paul did plant the church there And in the same place Eusebius reporteth of Caius who as he saith was made bishop of Rome after Zephirinus which Zephirinus died the yeare of the Lord two hundred and twentie that he writing vnto Proclus an hereticke put him in minde of the monuments of the Apostles that he could shew Whereas hee might haue made a better bragge to hane serued for his purpose if hee could haue told them of Peters chaire But as yet there was no such matter knowen As for that which master Bellarmine himselfe aleageth out of Irenie it proueth nothing for him For in saying that Peter and Paul together did found a church there he ascribeth nothing to Peter alone And Tertulian that was about 200. yeares after Christ doth seeme rather to make Clement the first bishop of Rome so litle doth he dreame of Peters chaire or bishoprick there Neither yet doth Cyprian plainly affirme that Peter was bishop of Rome He doth somtime indeede call that church Peters chaire in respect of the doctrine that Peter taught and published which at that time was beleeued at Rome which also perchance he in Rome confirmed by his death As also our Sauiour Christ speaketh of Moses chaire and saith that the priests did sit in Moses his chaire so long as they taught the lawe that Moses from God deliuered to them But as for Moses hee neuer came neere the place where Ierusalem was built to establish any chaire there And thus we see that in all these ancient fathers who liued more then two hundred yeares after Christ for Ciprian florished about two hundred and fiftie yeares after Christ there is no plaine proofe of Peters being bishop of Rome And excepting Ciprians words who if he allude vnto the words of our sauiour Christ as he seemeth to do can make no more for the opinion of the church of Rome then any of the rest there is nothing in them all that hath any likelyhood of proofe of the thing in controuersie But if any man answere that it is no good argument thus to reason Such men haue not written that Peter was bishop of Rome therefore hee was not bishop there I reply that if this that out of them hath beene said doe not substantially prooue that Peter was not bishop of Rome as if the allegations be wel considered of they are strong presumptions yet doe they inuincibly prooue that for this space of more then two hundred yeares they cannot shew of any authentike author that hath acknowledged Peter to be bishop of Rome Yea the first that is aleaged by master Bellarmine is Ireny who liued after Christ not much lesse then two hundred yeares And therefore this doctrine doth easily appeare not to be catholike and the godly fathers which slace haue affirmed that he was bishop of Rome either do so call him in respect of the worke of a bishop which if he were there by his care of Gods flocke and constancie in his truth he did shew or else they teach that which had not bin taught in the dayes next vnto the apostles times A second argument that vnanswerably prooueth this to be no catholike doctrine is the dissenting of y ◠most anciēt authors that they alleage from themselues in this point wherin they affirme that Peter was bishop of Rome For Ireny who is first alleaged of master Bellarnine Tertulian whome in the second place he produceth then also Epiphanius and Dionysius bishop of Corinth out of Eusebius do al with one consent ioyne Peter and Paul together I say not Peter onely so that vnto the one as well as vnto the other belongeth that dignitie by their records And Damasus himselfe a pope I maruel if he would erre in this point saith that Peter came to Rome Nero being emperour which must be at the least twelue yeares after the reckoning that is nowe holden for good in the church of Rome And Eusebius doth aleage out of Origen how Peter in the latter end of his life came to Rome and therefore he is not like to be Bishoppe there xxv yeares This doubtfulnesse and vnconstancie of their deliuering this doctrine is an infalible argument that there was not in those times any catholike doctrine taught of this matter but that men might thinke thereof as they saw cause But now it is no lesse then heresie to denie that Peter was Bishoppe of Rome Now if vnto this that hath bin said we adde the vocation or office of Saint Peter recorded in the holy Scripture that he should be the Apostle of the circumcision whereof that euer he was discharged all the Iesuites in Rome and Rheimes
will neuer be able out of Gods register booke to shew And one the other side that the singular care that the Apostle Saint Paul who willingly woulde not build vpon another mans foundation sheweth himselfe to haue ouer the Romans more then ouer any other euen as if they were his peculiar charge as iu the first and fifteenth chapters of that epistle appeareth I trust there is no man of indifferent iudgement but will thinke that we haue great reason to stay our selues and not rashly vpon euerie shew of the newnesse of fathers to runne and consent vnto such opinions as haue no shew of the ancient antiquitie no agreement among themselues no colour of probabilitie in the worde of God but the contrarie rather Neither is that any answere to my second argument which master Bellarmine doth saie that the disagreement about the time of Peters comming vnto Rome doeth not prooue that he came not at Rome at all For my intent is not directly to proue that Peter came not to Rome as bishop of Rome but that this was not a catholike doctrine for two hundred or almost three hundred yeeres after Christ and this disagreement doth proue that substantiallie So that it must bee another answere that must take awaie the strength of this argument or else it standeth vnaswered Neither is that example that he bringeth of the vncertaintie of the time of Christes death fit to proue the matter in question For all are agreed that Christ died but that Peter was bishop of Rome is not certaine And therefore the thing it selfe beeing doubted of the vncertaine setting downe of the circumstances will make it lesse credited I am not ignorant that godly learned men haue set downe manie moe arguments to prooue that Peter was not bishop of Rome and that maister Bellarmine bestoweth sixe or seuen chapters to answere the same as well as he can But my purpose being to trie as well as I can how catholike their doctrine is I content my selfe at this time with these fewe For to striue what might bee spoken of this matter were an infinite labour But whilest I indeuour to goe forward I am forced a while to stay and muse at the immoderate boldnesse of maister Bellarmine who vpon so weake proofe will make so certaine a conclusion For purposing to shewe the bishoppe of Rome is a vniuersall bishop hee thus beginneth Hitherto we haue plainly shewed that the Bishoppe of Rome is Peters successour in the Bishopricke of Rome Nowe considering with my selfe the weakenesse of the two postes that must vpholde this building I though he might haue something at the least mistrusted his owne cause For if Peter were at Rome and first preached there doth that proue that therefore the Bishop of Rome is his successour But by that meanes all they that came afterward in the places where he preached shall bee all his successours and not onely the pope The second ground of this considerate conclusion is that he imagineth that Peter was Bishop of Rome and so died But the vanitie of his arguments I haue discouered before I trust sufficiently Therefore this bolde assertion I will requite with this Sillogisme and so proceed If it be not certaine that Peter was Bishop of Rome then must this succession of the Bishop of Rome to Peter needes be vncertaine But it is vncertaine as I haue shewed by better reason then master Bellarmine hath shewed that Peter was bishop there Therefore I conclude this succession also must needs be vncertaine But before I begin to examine Bellarmines euidence wherby he will proue the pope to haue supremacie ouer all the church the Reader must bee put in minde of that which before I haue said whereby the very ground of this supremacie is shaken if I be not deceiued namely it is with good reasons I trust denied that Peter had that supremacie ouer the whole church And if he had it not how can the bishop of Rome haue it from him Againe we must consider how this hangeth togither If Peter had that vniuersall charge and was bishop of Rome also that therefore they that doe succeede him in the bishopricke of Rome must in like manner that vniuersall charge But let vs heare M. Bellarmines reasons But the foure first I of purpose omit bicause they are either directed against Nilus his opinion who graunted as master Bellarmine saieth of him that Peter had this vniuersall charge ouer the whole church but denieth it to the bishop of Rome and therefore those arguments touch vs little or else they are answered before in this treatise But he hauing proued after his maner against Nilus that seeing Peter had this supremacie hee must needes haue a successour in the same At the length he commeth to proue that the B. of Rome is this his successor reasoning thus either the bishop of Antioch or of Rome must be Peters successor in the supremacie ouer the whole church But the bishop of Antioch can not chalenge it therefore Rome must succeed in this vniuersall bishopricke That Antioch cannot haue it he shews because Peter resigned that bishopricke before he died I will not here examin or cal forth your witnesses in what place ye find that Peter gaue ouer to the bishop of Antioch which you say hee had But I will aske a question of you by what right he could resigne it ouer and leaue the charge that God committed vnto him and so forsake the flocke whereof you are made ouerseer You must either holde your peace or else tell vs some tale of a bastarde Epistle of pope Marcellus which commaunded him so to doe And is it inough that Marcellus who liued about three hundred yeares after this thing was done should say that Christ commaunded him to doe it and produce no witnesse alleadge no proofe set downe no circumstances Thus we see that this supremacie doeth stande but vpon a tottering foundation It may also be doubted whether if he had a vniuersall charge ouer the whole church he might take vpon him a particular charge either at Rome or Antioch For our Sauiour Christ giueth direction to his Apostles whose charge was vniuersall Goe into the whole worlde preach the Gospell vnto euerie creature For although it is written of some of the Apostles that they were bishops in certaine places yet that is no answere to this obiection because they were not vniuersall bishops and therefore must needes haue their seate somewhere I say in some particular charge For hee that is an vniuersall Bishop and hath allotted vnto him a seate or chaire is vnproperly called vniuersall It were more expedient for him in respect thereof to bee running yea or rather flying then to bee sitting But to answere master Bellarmines argument His Maior proposition is gathered of a false supposition For if it bee not graunted that Peter must needes haue one to succeede him in this vniuersall charge then you see that
borow master Bellarmines spectacles by which hee can spie that one pope is contained in these words one bodie and one spirit as he doth also find out the supremacie plainely set downe in these words hee gaue some to be apostles and yet more plainly if we may beleeue him in the epistle to the Corinthians he hath ordained in the church first apostles then prophets Now let them that can picke that soueraigne Supremacie out of those wordes say so But for my part I confesse my sight is so dimme that I can not see so farre into that mill stone These and such like reasons beeing compared with their proofs out of scripture which make nothing for them vnlesse they be sore wrested from their naturall and true meaning doe euen proclame it to the world that this doctrine of the popes supremacie is nothing else but a deuise of mans braine a fruit of his pride And thus to thinke I am the ealelier perswaded when I see how master Bellarmine toileth himselfe to set downe the state of the question For although in the beginning almost of this twelfth chapter he promised to prooue that the bishop of Rome is by the lawe of God successor vnto Peter in the supremacie of the vniuersall church yet afterwards he confesseth that the church of Rome hath not this succession by Christs first institution of this succession and that perchaunce for so he speaketh to testifie how loth hee is to confesse the truth plainly though he cannot denie it perchance he saith it cannot be proued by the lawe of God that the bishop of Rome as he is bishop of Rome is Peters successor And yet although it cannot be proued to be decreed by Gods lawe it is saith hee a thing that belongeth to the catholike faith For saith hee to be of the fayth and to be by Gods lawe is not all one for it is not by Gods lawe that Paul should haue a cloke hee might haue said as much also for Tobias dog yet this must be beleeued I would not haue thought that Pauls cloke had beene such a necessarie relique but I remember that Balthasar Cossa who was pope Iohn the three and twentieth of that name gained well by Peters cloke when time was for by casting it vpon his owne shoulders he made himselfe pope But can master Bellarmine find no better stuffe to perswade vs to beleeue the popes supremacie They make it a matter of damnation not to beleeue the supremacie of the pope And is it of as great necessitie to beleeue that Paul had a cloke If master Bellarmine be so perswaded I lament his follie If hee thinke otherwise why doth hee bring it to prooue that to beleeue the supremacie of the bishop of Rome is a pointe of the catholike faith although by Gods lawe this supremacie cannot be prooued And as they stagger in setting downe by what authoritie right or lawe they claime this soueraigntie so they haue no great proofe for their manner of this their dignite whether it be personall or not By Christs first institution master Bellarmine telleth vs it was personal If Christ made it personall who could change that estate and make it successionall master Bellmine answereth that it was personall generall or publike so that it belonged to him and his successors Whether that can be called personall that is to say belonging to the person onely which belongeth also to his successours let the indifferent Reader iudge But how is this prooued that Christ gaue this prerogatiue to him and his Master Bellarmine saith so often times especially in the twelfth chapter of his first booke but his proofe is litle else then his affirmation Againe hee saieth that this succession is made both personall and locall by Peters dying bishop of Rome But as alreadie I haue proued that doctrine of Peters beeing at Rome bishop is not so certaine that christians may build their faith thereupon So that we see there building is altogether vpon the sand their proofe weake their reasons obscure and their places nothing pregnant for that they are brought And I maruell that nowe it should be counted heresie not to beleeue the Romish bishop to be by Gods lawe supreame head of the whole church seeing that in the yeare of our Lord God one thousand fiue hundred and twentie Albert by the goodnesse of God cardinall priest of the holy church of Rome of the title of Saint Chrysogon Arbhbishop of the holy churches of Magdeburge and Mentz primat of Germany and prince elector gouernour of Halberstade and marques of Brandenburge for these litles hee giueth himselfe in an epistle writen to Luther sheweth himselfe griued and displeased that some diuines of good accoumpt did so earnestly contend for their friuolous opinions and trifling questions namely of the power of the bishop of Rome whether it be by Gods lawe or by mans lawe And of free will and many other such toyes not much concerning a christian man This cardinall you see thinketh it not worth contending for And I am verely perswaded many moe will bee of his mind vnlesse they see better matter then master Bellarmine canne bring to prooue it to be by Gods lawe But although hee haue no store of Scripture for him yet hath hee great hope in councilles and fathers And I assured my selfe that the councilles if hee will trust them will most plainly decide this question whether that superiority that the church of Rome challengeth ouer all other churches be by Gods law or mans law as hereafter it shall if God will appeare Nowe therefore to examine maister Bellarmines next proofe which is out of the counsels And the first counsel that he alleageth is the Nicen counsel not that which themselues haue deliuered to vs as authenticall and true in the tomes of counsels set foorth by themselues but to serue this turne we must haue a new addition and a strange interpretation not that which agreeth best with the words and is thought most true of them that liued neare vnto the daies of that counsell First therefore we must adde saith maister Bellarmine to the beginning of the sixt canon the church of Rome alwaies had the supremacy And why must those wordes be added Paschasinus forsooth a bishop in the counsell of Chalcedon did so cite that canon He did so but he was legate for Leo then bishop of Rome that did alleadge it by Aetius Archdeacon of Constantinople he was disproued who read not onely the coppy of the canon by a also the approbation of the same counsell and canon by a counsell holden at Constantinople of 150. bishops Nectarius being bishop there But one found out a greeke coppy of that counsellong since and in that saith maister Bellarmine those wordes are If the coppies that we haue haue thus long beene thought true and good I see no reason why for some one greeke coppy which might very well be falsified by some fauorite of the
ancient writers of their time and that maketh me thinke that they did speake for themselues and were somewhat pricked forward with a purpose to aduance their seat Therefore letting them passe as partiall in this cause let vs come to this next proofe which is out of the greeke fathers And first commeth in Ignatius who writeth to the church that ruleth for I will admit the worst that Maister Bellarmine or any other can alleadge ont of this place in the Romane region But will Maister Bellarmines logicke conclude that therefore the church of Rome hath supremacy ouer the whole church He must first bring the vniuersall church within the place of the Roman region before that can be Out of Ireny he hath these words For vnto this church for the more mighty principality speaking of the church of Rome it is necessary that the whole church doe come that is the faithful from al places in which alwaies of them that are from all places is kept that tradition which is from the Apostles The wordes as you may see are somewhat hard by reason that he who translated Ireny out of greeke did here as in many other places translate him very darkely But I haue englished them word for word His meaning is that they that come from other places of the world be it neuer so farre off yet doe not alter the tradition that the apostles left vnto them and yet many must needes come thither because that in respect that Rome is the Imperiall citty the church also hath the more mighty principality and so in deciding of causes hath the more reuerence and authority And thus doth he proue that to be true that in the beginning of that chapter he said that it is an easie matter for him that will to see the tradition of the apostles manifested through the whole world because that from whence soeuer they do come yet still they keepe one tradition By this argument doth Ireny confute the heretikes because the tradition of the apostles being kept in all places not only in the church of Rome although because it was best known or most famous he bringeth that for example yet no such doctrine as the heretikes speake of is taught among them But nowe maister Bellarmines vnseasonable collection out of this place is very farre from Irenies meaning That it is necessary saith he that all churches should hang of the church of Rome He proueth first by that which goeth before because principality is giuen to this church secondly of that which followeth because hitherto al in that church haue kept the faith that is in being vnited and cleaning to that church as the head and mother These are maister Bellarmines words But first he saith wrong of Ireny that he should indeuour to proue such necessity in comming to the church of Rome especiall taking as here he doth for a bounden duty For it is maister Bellarmines meaning to make the church of Rome the onely church that must heare all great matters decide all doubtfull questions and commande all other churches But Ireny his meaning is that all other men had occasion to seeke rather of that church then of any other for helpe and direction because that in respect of the greatnes of the citty the church there was in some greater accompt as before I haue shewed but he neuer saide that all were bound to submit themselues to that church as maister Bellarmine and his partakers would haue him be thought to speake Secondly he must speake more plainely what he meaneth by this that principality is giuen to the church of Rome For if he meane that men yeeld great reuerence to the church of Rome we yeelde that in the primitiue church they did so that iustly because the true faith was there sincerely kept but this principality will not please maister Bellarmine or proue his intent And if Ireny had meant that this principality had beene giuen by Christ a man of meane vnderstanding will easily thinke that he would haue spoken it in more plaine tearmes But what neede I to vse many words the place it selfe is plaine For the more mighty principality saith Ireny if he had thought of the supremacy of the bishop of Rome he would haue said most mighty principality For more mighty principality doth but make him better then others in some respect not aboue all others which he claimeth to be So that to proue his intent he must haue better proofe For this will not warrant that soueraigne authority of the bishop of Rome Thirdly that which maister Bellarmine would tell vs out of this place that all churches must be vnited and cleaue to this church of Rome as their head mother hath at all no ground of Irenies words And thus we see howe he doth racke and rent the wordes out of their plaine sence to serue for his purpose which being wel weied of make rather against them and their supremacy Epiphanius is his third witnes who reporteth that Vrsarius and Valens two Arrian bishops being conuerted did go to Iulius bishop of Rome to giue an accompt of their errour and fault But if that proue the supremacy of the bishop of Rome then must Athanasius also haue that supremacy as well as he for it followeth immediatly after that they vsed the selfe same proofes that they repented of their errour vnto Athanasius So that the intent and cause of their going to pope Iulius or pope Athanasius for he is there so called was not to acknowledge his supremacy but as it was known that they had erred so woulde they haue it well knowen that they reuoked their heresie Neither did they craue pardon of their offence of Iulius bishop of Rome which out of Athanasius he endeuoured to proue because he had authority ouer all persons but because they knew their offence to haue beene against the whole church they were desirous that the bishop of Rome for his parte as a principall member of the church but not a head aboue all should not impute that fault vnto them And this is the part of euery christian man or woman hauing made a generall fault whereby many godly are offeuded to make also a publike satisfaction for the same And cannot this be done to pope Iulius but we must make him head of the church Athanasius also his letter to pope Felix is alleadged wherein Athanasius being much distressed of the Arrians and wrongfully dealt withall and not hauing any hope that the greeke Church coulde helpe him the Emperour himselfe being an Arrian the rather to mooue the bishoppe of Rome to pity his case saith thus For this cause God hath placed you and your predecessours Apostolicke prelates in the towre of height and hath charged you to haue care of all churches that you should helpe vs. That God by meanes of Constantine and other good Emperours aduanced high the Bishop of Rome we deny not And we also knowe
new logicke before he can prooue such bad conclusions But then to mend the matter he bringeth in an authoritie that is not to be found in the Author that he doth aleage for it But wee must take it vpon the credit of Thomas of Aquine They shew that they want proofe when they would faine call againe the things that are not to helpe their cause As for Thomas we know welenough his good will to the church of Rome For he would not onely raâ—e out of the earth these sentences of Ciril but also as Canus reporteth of him hee speaketh of one Maximius that saieth much for the authoritie of the bishop of Rome Yea and he findeth much out of the council of Chalcedon In which councill the Bishop of Rome had his authoritie that he sought for much abridged Yet I say Thomas hath found out euen in that council good stuffe to confirme the authoritie of the bishop of Rome that ueuer came to our hands And no meruel for Melchior Canus telleth vs that Gregorie complaineth that in his dayes they were blotted out by heretiks And I pray you howe then did Thomas of Aquine come by them who was after Gregorie almost seuen hundred yeares Thus you may see howe they seeke by forged writings that which by authorities of credit they can not maintaine Well then let fained Ciril goe and let vs see what Theodoret saith He as others before him had done craueth the Popes helpe against Dioscorus And Leo the pope did for him what he could we deny not But yet before the councell of Chalcedon would restore Theodoret to his place againe he was forced by the whole councell to shew his detestation of Nestorius Eutiches and all heretickes although the pope had receiued him to communion before And heere before I goe any further this one note I thinke necessary to be added concerning many of the former testimonies That because they are drawen from the priuate Epistles of men distressed seeking for helpe and therefore they might wel be forced to write with as great humility as they could deuise to write for to obtaine succour it is no reason that these their forced petitions and priuate requests should be accounted as rules for catholicke religion Then commeth in Sozomen in which he mistaketh both the place alleadging the seuenth chapter for the eighth an errour easily committed and the matter For although Iulius bishop of Rome did thinke well of the dignity of his seat yea and in respect of his mightinesse that hee was now growen vnto partly by the goodnesse of former Emperours but chiefly through the dissentions of the east or greeke churches hee was in duty also bound more then others to haue a great care ouer all churches yet that his supremacy was not then acknowledged that very Chapter shall sufficiently testifie For there it is reported how that the bishops of the east churches to whom Iulius had written somewhat sharpely in the behalfe of Athanasius and others that fled to him did make answere to Iulius with a letter ful of tauntes and threatnings and shewed that their churches were as great and as many as his finding fault also with Iulius for receiuing such to his communion and such other things So that wee see that they did not account the Bishop of Rome as supreame head of the church neither doth Sozomen say that Iulius his seat came to that dignity by Christes institution or by Gods law which Bellarmine tooke in hand to proue but hath not brought one testimony of the fathers that can performe that promise They plead as the Lawyers say in possessorio they say they haue it by possession so many haue come to the church of Rome for helpe when they were distressed In thus many cases popes haue intermedled in other bishops charges So they tell vs what they haue done But the question is how iustly by what right law or authority they haue done many of the things that they haue done We would haue them plead de petitorio Let them proue their right For it is true that long since the pride of this seat did beginne abusing Gods good liberality and the fauour of godly princes towarde them still increasing in that ambitious humour vntill they had set themselues aboue all Which authority when they had once gotten they did shew themselues vnsatiable and cruell despising all authority and making their wil to be in steede of law as shal God willing in the proofe of their practise which is the seconde part of this treatise be declared But it doth not followe they haue done this therefore they haue done well in so doing That which is alleadged out of Acutius that Simplician the pope had care ouer all churches is much to the commendation of Simplician that he had so due regard of his dutie but this prooueth him not to haue authority ouer all because he had or at the least should haue care ouer all But I muse what maister Bellarmine meaneth to tell vs a tale out of Liberatus of a namelesse bishop of Patara What matter is it to vs or what strength can it bring to his cause to know what he or other men not knowen in the church of God for their learning iudgement zeale or such other vertues as are necessary for them that shoulde be witnesses in matters of religion doe thinke or say Much such proofe might be had out of the legend of lies But that will neuer proue their doctrince to be catholicke Lastly the woordes of Iustitian in that hee calleth the pope Iohn the seconde head of all holy churches may well bee admitted as in former times that name head was often vsed yea and is still of vs. A man of good dexterity or countenance is called a head man among others although hee hath not authority ouer them But such a head as now the pope is become that will controll all bishops yea depose emperours dispence with Gods word make new laws in the church haue his saying in all matters Iustinian himself could not haue liked And it must be marked that we deny not but a bishop of Rome as also another maÌ„ may welbe called head of the church if they be indewed with such gifts as are to the benefit of the whole church But we deny both that the name is or ought to be peculiar to the church of Rome or the bishop thereof only and also that the authority which by that and such like names he challengeth vnto him is tolerable in him or in any other For indeede our contention is whether the bishoppe of Rome haue supremacy ouer the whole church or not Now excellent names were giuen vnto men in times past as the name of pope Baronius a great papist of our time confesseth was common to all bishops The like he also writeth of the name of vniuersall bishop And Athanasius was called Pontifex maximus
The greatest bishop and yet not he but Liberius was then bishop of Rome And for this name head as I haue shewed it is nothing strange in all societies to haue a heade man and yet he not to haue iurisdiction ouer them By all which it appeareth howe weake an argument may be drawen from these names which may be common to so many to proue the supremacy which the bishop of Rome challengeth to himselfe onely Nowe maister Bellarmine hauing wrung what he can which is not much out of the fathers of the greeke church commeth to the latin writers to try what gleanings he can get among them Whom I doubt not but we shall finde speaking very reuerently of the church of Rome as in truth it well deserued because that the bishop of Rome although he began very soone to encroche somewhat vpon other mens right and to enlarge his power yet he vsed his greatnesse and authority for a long time to the maintenance of true religion the comfort of the distressed and to withstande by himselfe and other the bishops of the West church the heresies that troubled especially the East churches In al which things we know that by their place for that they were bishops of the Imperiall city and the authority that they were come vnto by fauour of the Emperours they were as it were ringleaders vnto others so that although they were moued sometimes to these good things by a desire that they had to be medling in all matters which was one of the waies whereby they came to their greatnes yet in that they did good vnto the church the godly did both commend them and also beare with them although sometime they were too forward and stept too farre before others But when they would haue had this authority confirmed to them in councils and established as a law of the church then did the ancient fathers wisely withstand their vnlawfull desires as the vi councils of Carthage and the councill of Chalcedon doe plainly proue So that the godly learned fathers of those times partly to incourage them in their well doing did giue them due commendation when they deserued it and partly for quietnesse sake and the peace of the church did wincke at many of their inordinate proceedings and vnorderly attempts so long as they were but their priuate actions yet would not the iurisdiction of the vniuersall church And these things being well remembred I may I trust be shorter in answering to the particular places And first for the place out of Cyprian which maister Bellarmine prosecuteth in many words as he is forced to doe that he may get out of him but a shew of an argument It is answered in few words For indeede maister Bellarmine groundeth vpon a false principle which I dare not say that he could not but see his errour but it is maruell if he can be ignorant of it The wordes wherein he especially trusteth are these This commeth to passe that heresies growe in the church whilst there is no returning to the beginning of the truth neither is the head sought for neither is the doctrine of our heauenly maister kept Nowe by this word head he vnderstandeth the head of the church whom he maketh Peter Whereas it is most certaine that Cyprian doth meane nothing els here then in another place where he endeuoureth to perswade after the same maner and by that very argument where by the head he meaneth that which the apostles taught For saith he if we returne to the head and beginning of the tradition of the apostles mans errour ceaseth And there he teacheth vs by a similitude howe we should come to the heade by the similitude I say of a conduct wherein if the water faile we goe to the head of it that is to the fountaine and so from thence examine the want of the water so saith he must Gods priestes goe to the beginning when there is any question of Religion And that he meaneth that head in this place the very wordes by him alleadged do prooue because the former wordes put vs in minde of returning to the originall or beginning of the trueth and the wordes that follow leade vs to the heauenly doctrine Well then the head in this place doth signifie the spring and fountain from which our doctrine must beginne and so master Bellarmines argument is quite ouerthrowen And hauing proued that he buildeth his reason vpon a false ground I trust I neede not bestow any more labour to prosecute him in his wandering wordes Optatus is the second who speaketh nothing to helpe this desperate cause For although he commend vnto vs that one chaire in respect of the vnitie of doctrine for all the priests nowe saith Chrysostome must sit not vpon Moses chaire but vpon Christs chaire yet in the wordes alleadged by master Bellarmine he addeth and we haue proued that that is ours by Peter Optatus a bishop in Affrike not of Rome sitteth in Peters chaire Therefore Peters chaire and the popes chaire are not all one vnlesse their doctrine be one It is not tied to Rome or to that church But alluding to that place of Moses his chaire which our Sauiour Christ speaketh of because the Scribes and Pharises taught that which Moses did teach Optatus also saith that he doth sit in Peters chaire because hee taught that which Peter did confesse and teach Yea and he prooueth by this argument against the Donatists who taught that they onely were the church that the church is also where he taught because euen there is Peters chaire so that if Optatus your owne witnesse speake truly then you haue maruellously abused the world for many yeares in making them beleeue that S. Peters chaire is at Rome onely But Saint Ambrose seemeth somewhat plainer then the rest in that first place alleadged by maister Bellarmine The church is called Gods house whereof Damasus is a ruler this day But yet the words do not import any such thing as may prooue the Supremacie of the Bishop of Rome For wee will not deny that the Bishop of Rome is a ruler in the church but that he is the only ruler we can not graunt But Saint Ambrose expounding those wordes of Paule wherein he teacheth Timothie how to behaue himself in Gods house takes occasion to shew both what is Gods house namely the church and who they are that are rulers in Gods house namely the bishops or pastours to whom the ministery is committed And to make this plaine by an example he setteth before vs the house of God at Rome which is the church there and the ruler of Gods house there who is Damasus their bishop If any man aske how it commeth to passe that he rather nameth Damasus then any other bishop Sundry reasons of it may be yeelded First Ambrose himselfe was a bishop in Italy for Milaine is in Italy vnder the popes wings and therefore the bishop of Rome was the most
famous bishop and better knowne to his people then any of the other patriarches and therefore fittest for an example Secondly there had beene a very great schisme or strife about the popedome one Vrsicinus standing for it against Damasus so that many of both sides were slaine in the very church in striuing for it But Damasus in the end obtaining the popedome Saint Ambrose to testifie his owne perswation and to assure others that Damasus and not Vrsicmus was bishop of Rome although he stood for it doth take occasion heere to name him Thirdly Damasus beeing pope was accused of whoredome whereof hauing cleared himselfe it is not vnlikely but that S. Ambrose did the rather take this occasion to pull al suspition out of other mens minds by giuing this testimony of him Another cause also may be added that as it seemeth he was as learned as any bishop of Rome before him For which S. Ambrose himself a being a learned man might then rather delight in naming him The rest of the places out of S. Ambrose haue no waight at all Satyrus did aske the bishop whether he agreed with the Catholicke bishops that is with the Church of Rome He meaneth by catholicke bishops such as held the catholicke faith that then was maintained at Rome If it be a good argument to say Rome is a catholicke church therefore it must gouerne all the churches in the world then will this also be a good argument Hippo was a catholicke church so was Millaine so are also the churches that we haue allowed in England by authority therefore they were and ours are heads ouer all others And that master Bellarmine will not allow But he asketh why the bishops are not catholickes that agree not with the church of Rome if it be not because Rome is the head of the catholike church I maruell much that maister Bellarmine whose wordes go for oracles with many will shew himselfe so ignorant of that he alleadgeth For if hee had read but the wordes that immediatly doe follow the reason is there rendered why he asked that question namely because the church there was in a schisme For one Lucifer had seperated himself from their communion Lo here M. Bellarm. he dreameth not of any headship of that church but asketh this question whether he helde the faith that then was preached at Rome And Athanasius in his creede speaketh in this sence of a catholike faith Yea the name of catholike was also as it were a note of their profession That whereas the Donatists gloried that they onely had the true church the catholikes on the contrary would be known by their name that in any place of the world they might be of the true church Yea there were Emperours that made a lawe that whosoeuer beleeued the one godhead in trinity and equal maiesty of the father the sonne and the holy ghost should be called Christians and Catholikes as their law doth testifie Yea Sozomen reporteth of a lawe made by the Emperour that all should beleeue the lawe deliuered by Peter the head of the apostles but howe he may be called head of the apostles I haue shewed before and that nowe Damasus bishop of Rome and Peter of Alexandria doe holde and that they onely that worship the trinitie with like honoure should be called the catholike church And doeth maister Bellarmine to make his bad proofe seeme better aske howe they may be called catholikes that agree with the church of Rome vnlesse it be in this respect that they take it to be the head of the catholike church heere are catholikes we see and yet not bound to beleeue that head After he alleadgeth two other places of like force The effect of them is that he woulde followe the paterne of the church of Rome So woulde I also if I had liued in those daies when they sincerely held the faith committed to them by Gods worde And he doubtlesse if he sawe the superstition and Idolatry and treasons that vnder coulour of religion are hatched there in our daies he would thinke euen the cotten ruines of Rome to bee ouer good to bee a cage for so badde birdes But to follow their example is not to yeelde vnto them power ouer vs. To go forward out of saint Ierome hee reasoneth thus Saint Ierome for pope Damasus answered the Synodicall consultations of the East and West therefore they that sought for answere from the seate of Rome in their matters acknowledged the superioritie thereof If I should tell Maister Bellarmine againe that Maister Caluine in his time and Maister Beza in his time haue answered more matters and questions that came from sundry of the reformed Churches and some particular men then many of the popes of that time yet I am sure he wil neuer confesse them to be vniuersall Bishoppes for that No more neede wee graunt to him that the Pope is a vniuersall Bishop because many questions were mooued to him Againe Saint Hierome confesseth himselfe to be Damasus his sheepe and that hee is of communion with him Alas what childish proofes are these May not Hierome confesse himselfe to depend vpon Damasus but that hee must thereby tie all others likewise to be subiect vnto him It is a shame for men so to deceiue the world aud to hasten euen their owne damnation by abusing the simple in such sort They crie it out in euery corner that there is no saluation to be hoped for vnlesse they doe acknowledge the Bishoppe of Rome to bee head of their Church and yet are they not able to yeelde so much as one good reason out of the Scriptures or ancient writers of the purer age for proofe of their doctrine It must bee beleeued as an article of faith and yet they coulde shewe no ground no warrant for it Out of saint Augustine is alleadged that in the Church of Rome the principalitie of Peters chaire hath alwayes flourished Augustine and Optatus as they were in one time so were they of one minde And as before out of Optatus I shewed and that by Christes testimony that the Apostles chaire is his doctrine so here doeth it signifie And saint Augustine his meaning is that Rome hath especially kept the Apostles doctrine or faith the which in Saint Augustines dayes might truely bee verified Againe out of Saint Augustine epist 92. he desireth pope Innocent to helpe them against the Pelagians which maruellously troubled Palestine and Affrike Now out of this will he conclude the popes Supremacie But saint Augustine himselfe denyeth that hee had any such meaning in that he was one of that sixt councill of Carthage that so stiffely denied supremacie vnto the pope seeking it so earnestly and by very false practises And the Bishop of Rome was then of great abilitie to doe good as also any other may be and yet not haue iurisdiction ouer them that seeke for that good at his hands I would haue them
in the church of Rome yet you see we can perfectly enough tel when it beganne to shew it selfe and when it was made an ecclesiasticall drecrees Neither is that of any waight which master Bellarmine alleageth out of Gregorie to the contrarie that the church of Constantinople is vnder the church of Rome For he cannot meane thereby the church of Rome should haue supreame authoritie ouer it and all other churches seeing that no man more then Gregorie inueieth against the name of vniuersall bishop but his meaning is onely this that the church of Constantinople is not of so good account or authoritie in meetings or assemblies as that of Rome Which beeing applied to our question proueth nothing For to prooue that the church of Rome may sit or go or write his name before the bishop of Constantinople is not to prooue him to haue iurisdiction ouer him That which out of Iustinian he alleageth is answered before as that also that hee bringeth out of the epistle of Valentinian to Theodosius sauing that master Bellarmine incrocheth somewhat and taketh more then is giuen him For where Valentinian saith that Antiquitie hath giuen that to Rome master Bellarmine seeth that will not serue his turne to prooue it to haue beene from Christ from whom onely they can claime it if by the lawe of God they will haue it and therefore hee saith not as Valentinian doth that it hath beene of old time but alwayes And so wresteth his words quite out of tune And it is but a foolish shift whereby they seeke to pervert the truth and by these forced gloses to corrupt the words of almost all stories when they denied Phocas first to haue giuen supremacie to the pope he did if you will trust master Bellarmine but declare it and did not giue it Platina saith that the pope obtained this of Phocas to be called and counted head and so doth Sigebert and Eusebius saith that by the consent of Phocas it was so instituted And Beneuenutus Imolensis a storie cōmended by pope Pius the second by his adding to the same the liues of foure emperors saith that Phocas first obtained that Rome should be head of all churches If he First obtained this title to Rome if he did institute it if the pope obtained this of Phocas then let the indifferent reader iudge how vntrewly master Bellarmine saith that Phocas did but declare this thing and that it was before Yea what needed this any declaration of of the emperour if the church had receiued it as a catholike doctrine Or if it be not a catholike doctrine what meaneth master Bellarmine to make so false braggs as he sometimes doth of the consent of fathers in this doctrine And thus I trust I haue layed open the vanitie of the proofe and the weakenesse of the argument whereby they indeuoure to strengthen and establish the tyranous soueraigntie of the church of Rome For if Peter had no such iurisdiction ouer others hee could not giue it to any other If his beeing bishop of Rome haue not any such ground but that it may iustly be doubted of and strong presumptions to the contrarie then is not the popes succession of Peter so certaine as they would haue it thought Yea and if Peter were bishop of Rome and if hee had such soueraigntie howe do they proue that it is bequeathed to them to what person howe in what words at what time in what place befor what witnesses Al which things how weakely they prooue hitherto I haue declared And yet to goe further admitte that Peter had such iurisdiction which cannot bee prooued but I admit I say that hee had it admit also that hee could and did leaue the same to the bishop of Rome which we also iustly denie must it therefore cleaue so fast to that chaire in Rome that it can not for any cause bee altered Must it be so hereditarie to his successours if they had beene his successours that are bishops of Rome that they could not forfet it for any terspasse that it may not be taken from them for any offence God forbid that wee should be so foolish as to tie God to anie place or people to any sect or succession in such sort as that howsoeuer men doe abuse his graces or their owne callings yet still they must haue the place that once they haue gotten and they must serue him in that place whether he will or not as though they had it by euerlasting patent Did not God chuse to be his hie priest Aaron and his sonnes by name Nadab Abihu Eleazar and Ithamar to serue in the priestes office No man can deny it And yet Nadab and Abihu for offering onely with strange fire many greater offences then that are committed in the church of Rome were burnt with fire from heauen to shew that God is not so in bondage to them whome hee hath placed in such roomes that hee must haue their seruice whether hee will or not Yea and didde the priesthoode continue alwayes in Aarons line vntill the very time that the Leuiticall priesthoode was vtterly abolished No verily For Herod set vp priests at his pleasure when he came to be made king of Iewry so that then the line of Aaron was vtterly extinct concerning the priesthoode and they that afterwards were priests were not of the same Where then is the choice that God made of Aarons posteritie to serue him And what greater promise can the church of Rome finde made vnto Peter I say not to them for they had none made then was made vnto Phinehas euen a couenant of the priests office for euer And yet we see this was not onely altered now when the priesthoode was quite gone from Aarons posteritie but also euen long before when the priesthoode was giuen vnto Eli that was the son of Ithamar and taken from the posteritie of Phinehas so that not so much as his sonne succeeded him And concerning Eli the priest the priest the Lord had said that he and his house should haue walked before God for euer meaning in the priestes office But when God saw how Eli did wincke at the great disorders of his sonnes whereby Gods seruice was hindered then hee let Eli to vnderstand that hee would cutte off his authoritie and stirre himselfe vp a faithfull Priest that shoulde doe according to his heart and according to his minde And this was performed when Abiathar was put out of the priesthoode by Salomon and Zadoc was made Priest in his steede And of this Zadoc it is said by God himselfe by that messenger or man of God that was sent to Eli. I will builde him meaning Zadoc a sure house and he shall walke before mine annointed for euer And yet as is before declared the priesthoode was taken from his line also so that there were diuers hie priests that were not of his house If nowe God in his iust iudgement
cannot erre or be remoued but to admonish euen vs also that professe the gospell that vnlesse we repent wee shall all perish likewise We are the figtree for which the dresser of the vineyard intreateth that yet this fourth yeare we may be spared for we haue beene three long yeares yea three times twelue yeares vnfruitfull Our owner looked for figes but we yeld none for grapes but we beare none but sower ones Now is the time wherein much digging and dunging is bestowed vpon vs. If we continue still fruitfesse as we haue beene there is no hope of mercie but without sparing we must be cut downe and so shall be cast into the vuquenchable fire And this is in trueth a more christian and necessarie collection and more agreeable to Gods iustice and to the whole course of scripture which promiseth good things to them that walke in the feare of God and threatneth Gods wrath to them that are disobedient and delight in sinne then that which master Bellarmine gathereth out of the sinnes and schisms of the popes For hereby will he proue that the church of Rome is the true church because they haue had very many most grieuous schismes euen among the popes themselues now where is the vnitie that so much they bragge of And because there haue beene many wicked popes amongst whome himselfe nameth Steuen the sixt Leo the fifth Christopher the first Sergius the third Iohn the twelfth with others not a few as his owne words are And yet notwithstanding that they haue had many vices as hee saith the glorie of that seate is increased and amplified thereby greatly Indeede such pearles doe best become such swines snowts But what maketh master Bellarmine to like the better of the Romish church and the rather to be induced to imagin that it is a true church because euen the heades thereof haue beene so bad companions and so abounding in all wickednesse Forsooth because if the bishop of Rome had not beene of Gods appointment saith he and that church the true church it coulde not haue stood and continued so long being so full fraught with so many sinnes But that is it that is in question whether the church of Rome be the true church or not We deny it wee finde not in it the ancient faith the doctrine of the apostles the sincere word Wee see not there the pure administration of Gods holy Sacraments They teach vs outward hypocrisie for true holines foolish toyes for spirituall worshipping These and such like things doe strongly perswade vs that God hath done to Rome as he hath done to Silo and to Ierusalem long since and will he prooue it to be the true church because the bishops are euill Now if the name and outward shew of a church haue so blinded the eies of maister Bellarmine that hee will that it must needs be as it is called that is to say the catholicke church I would haue him looke to Ierusalem how in the time of Christ when the church was in them that followed Christ yet the name and outward glory of the church remained with the priests and that company which were the greatest enemies to Christ and his church As therefore we see not in the church of Rome when we try their doctrines any probability that they are the true church of Christ so we set this downe as the infallible course of his iudgments with whom it is counted a righteous thing to set himselfe against such as delight in sinne that he that spared not the angels that left their first estate neither delighted in his owne people whom he had brought out of Aegypt when they sinned against him will haue no pleasure in the church of Rome any longer then shee hath pleasure in his law but will remooue their candlesticke fight against them with the sword of his mouth and spew them out when they reiect his truth Thus then we see that God left the priests whom he had appointed the people whom he had brought out of Aegypt and taken to be his peculiar inheritance the place that hee had chosen the temple that hee commaunded to be made because of their sinnes Let these things make vs with indifferent iudgement and without partialitie to trie whether God be also departed from that church of Rome or not For there is no doubt but if any people whatsoeuer sinnes as they did they may also be punished as they were But that church of Rome hath sinned in as abundant measure as euer did Ierusalem as themselues and their owne stories doe shew therefore why should they flatter themselues imagining that God will not deale with her as he hath dealt with others And here wee may consider howe vntrue that popish position is that the church of Rome or the Bishoppe of Rome can not erre Can hee sinne They confesse that hee can not Yea and their owne sinnes doe record such sinnes of theirs as ascend vp before the Lord and cry vnto God for vengeance No doubt then but such may erre and fall into heresies also For it is truely said of Saint Augustine that men by their sinnes doe fall into heresies and heresies are the very punishment for sinne For he that is the iust iudge must needes poure foorth his wrath vpon such as detaine the truth in vnrighteousnesse and vpon such as knowe God by his workes but will not glorifie him as God and therefore in their excesse of folly doe turne the glorie of the incorruptible God into the similitude of corruptible man yea and of things most base and vile for man to worship Thus then wee see howe sinne deserueth that God in his wrath shoulde strike with blindnesse such as do delight therein For when the loue of the trueth is not receiued God sendeth vnto such as refuse the trueth strong illusions that they should beleeue lies Thessalo 2. 10. 11. And if you would haue example thereof none is better then Salamon who was for wisedome the wonder of the world and yet when he gaue himselfe to sinne with women he was by that meanes drawen to idolatrie In somuch as Nehemiah fearing lest for the like offence the like iudgement of God should fall vpon the people of his time warneth them by the example of Salomon to take heede Did not saith he Salomon king of Israel sinne by those things And Sathan knew well enough that this was the readiest way to drawe men to idolatrie which is deede detestable heresie by moouing them to carnall and filthie adulterie Therfore also he preuaileth against Gods people by that wicked practise Shall wee then thinke that the church of Rome whose sinnes are greater then were the sinnes of Sodome and Gomorah cannot be left vnto it selfe and plunged in errour Or that the pope cannot erre whose wicked doings are as excessiue as his power is great Master Bellarmine in his booke of the bishop of Rome taketh great paine
in iudgement Liberius a pope did not only consent to the condemnation of Athanasius that great learned and catholike father as many ancient histories doe report and our aduersaries deny not but also did communicate with two notable Atrian heretikes which was a great offence to the godly and an incouraging of those heretikes But maister Bellarmine answereth that neither he taught any heresy or was an heretike The question is whether the pope may er or not Now our aduersaries draw vs from the questiō not answering whether Liberius did erre or not but they tell vs that he was no heretike and that he taught no heresie And admit he did neither of these two I meane that he neither became an heretike neither yet taught heresie yet he may erre Yea Liberius did fouly erre in that externall action whereby our aduersaries confesse that he consented to the banishment of Athanasius and in communicating with those two Arrians Valence Visacius and by help of Arrians get again to be bishop of Rome deposing Felix For to er is to wander or go out of the right way whether it be for ignorance or feare or through any other affection he that steppeth aside doth erre And because this giueth great light to al that is to be said of this question it shal not be amisse somewhat more throughly to consider of the same First you see that whereas their doctrine is briefly deliuered that the pope cannot erre they wil haue it thus to be vnderstooed the pope cannot be an heretike that is he cannot continue obstinatly in heresie nor he cannot teach heresie when he giueth generall precepts that should belong to the whole church For that is the meaning both of Melchior Canus in his Theological places and of maister Bellarmine in this place before alleadged The intent also of their doctrine is to commend vnto vs that their Italian head as a fit head for to guide the vniuersal church and able to be ahead to the whole body Nowe therefore let vs see how well their doctrine and their meaning agree together For the head of the church should be such as should in nothing no not for a time leade the body of the church awry But the church may be led into many foolish opinions strange conceites and dangerous doctrines euen by such as cannot be called heretikes For an heretike is he as Saint Augustine telleth vs that being of any euill and corrupt opinion in the church and being reproued or monished to amend resisteth stubbornly and will not reforme his contagious and perilous doctrines but defendeth the same and is drawen to deuise or follow such opinions for his own profit especially for his own glory and to aduance himselfe Now who seeth not that a man in place of credite and authoritie as the bishop of Rome hath beene by such bad means as he hath vsed these many yeares may wonderfully indamage and indanger the church of God before any body wil or dare reprooue him for any opinions that he will holde And when he is found fault withall as he must be before they can count him an heretike how many subtile shifts can euil men haue to continue a long time in their wicked opinions without reuoking the same or reforming themselues and yet to auoide the danger of being accounted stubborne or obstinate The Pelagians against whom saint Augustine writeth many bookes did turne many waies their lewd opinions changed often in some shewe of words their positions and did adde as by reason they were forced and by arguments compelled some such wordes vnto their errours as that thereby they might auoide the note of contumacy and deceiue the more vnder a shew of truth as may appeare by saint Augustine who confesseth plainly that if their meaning were not knowen to be euill their wordes could well enough haue beene borne withall Admit then that a bishop of Rome being of such absolute authority as now they are could as cunningly as did the Pelagians couer and cloake an heresie Might not he be an heretike many yeares before he would be driuen to recant And might not he then by such meanes bring irreparable hurt to the church of God Thus we see that as by this doctrine that the pope cannot erre they goe about to assure vs that the head which they haue set ouer the church cānot deceiue vs if we wil be lead by him so their interpretation of that their position argueth in them great doubtfulnes y t they dare not defend their own fayings vnlesse they may expound their words after this manner that the pope cannot erre that is he cannot obstinately or stubbornly teach as a doctrine to be receiued of the whole church any heresie And I pray you what safety can the godly finde in following such a head as when he hath guided them into many errours yet he will not stubbornly stand in defence of them Such may wel be compared to souldiers that by the rash leading of an vnskilfull captaine are brought into the hands of their enemies and when the captaine seeth his folly he would faine mend it if he coulde and is sory for that he hath done But what helpeth this his late repentance the distressed souldiers nothing at all Euen so that the bishop of Rome cannot continue in his errour if it were true that he had some such priuiledge it might be good for himselfe But such a head is for others very dangerous because y ◠not all they who are seduced by such mens instruction or example are also reduced by their recantation or amendment as appeareth by multitudes of examples And so we see that this their interpretation standeth not with either their common receiued doctrine or with their intent and meaning which is to promise safety from errour vnto them that receiue that head Whereas in truth their meaning is to tell vs that the pope may be of a wrong iudgement but if he be much vrged he cannot be obstinate he wil not stand to it And whereas they defend that the pope cannot teach heresie as a doctrine publikely to be receiued in some respect I thinke it to be most true For seldome or neuer are there any popes that can teach either truth or heresie They cannot preach they cannot with wholesome doctrine feede their flocke they cannot deuide the foode of life and breake the bread of the word vnto Gods houshold seruants For want of knowledge they cannot of themselues doe much either in defence of truth or to maintaine errour But this exposition will not please them They haue another meaning For when they tell vs that the pope cannot be an heretike when he teacheth the whole church their meaning is plaine enough that in particular iudgements they may erre but not in their generall decrees or preachings or instructions Which they are forced to say for the auoiding of such inconueniences as might growe by defending the doing of many
had beene knowen to be sufficient proofe of the supremacy What needed they so notoriously to falsifie the council What needed the fathers to take such paines and to be at such cost as to send for true copies of that council to Constantinople Alexandria and Antioche to trie whether the fathers in that council of Nice had giuen such power to the bishop of Rome if in these words To thee will I giue the keies of the kingdome of heauen Christ had promised or in these feed my sheepe Christ had giuen such fulnes of power ouer all others to the bishop of Rome Seeing therefore that proofe seemed not strong enough in those times the graunt which they had from Phocas did them no great good to shewe what right they had to that supremacy although thereby they got possession thereof For if by his gift they claimed then they confessed this their authority to be from man and that from too wickes and bloudy a murdering man to doe any great good in Christ his church or for setting downe of any order whereby all should be ruled Then also it might haue beene called in question whether he by his authoritie could subiect all men for euer to that church of Rome or not To make their title therefore as good as they could they deuised another helpe They fained this gift to be from Constantine the first emperour that publickly allowed of christian profession And they make him to giue not onely his palace of Lateran and many other temporallties to the bishop of Rome as master Bellarmine would haue it thought but they bring him in speaking these words We decreeing doe ordaine that he the bishop of Rome shall haue the supremacie as well ouer the foure principall seates of Antioch Alexandria Constantinople and Ierusalem as also ouer all churches in the whole earth And that the pope for the time being of that holy church of Rome shall be hier and Prince of all princes in the world Is this onely to giue temporalties But the falshood of the donation of Constantine doth shine more bright then the noone day although the papists make great account of the same Yea Melchior Canus altogether a papist yet he did either see more or dealt plaiulier in this matter then did master Bellarmine For although he be loth to denie it or to diminish the credit of it yet he bringeth moe reasons against it then hee with all his felowes can be able to answere So that we neede not seeke for arguments out of Laurentius Valla or others to confute it For euen hee hath giuen it a more deadly wound then can be healed againe He confesseth that the lawyers take it to be but a fained matter and therfore cal it chaffe for it is indeed so called in their owne distinctions He acknowledgeth that Eusebius Ruffinus Theodoret Socrates Sozomenus Eutropius Victor and other authors of credit who most diligently wrote all that Constantine did haue not onely made no mention of that donation but also doe affirme that he so deuided his empire among his three sonnes as that the one of them had Italie And that Ammianus Marcellinus in his fifteenth booke writeth that Constantius Constantines sonne had the rule of the citie of Rome and made Leontius his liuetenant there And lastly that all Histories record that many Emperours after that time ruled in Italie yea and in Rome What can be more plaine Their owne Lawyeares confesse it to be fained no good story recordeth it but y e contrary Rome after this gift was the imperial citty and seat Therefore either Constantine gaue no such thing from him and his heires or his gift was nothing worth Melchâ— or Canus also doubteth of the very foundation of this fable which is the leprosie whereof they faine that Constantine was healed plainly affirming that in any good author he readeth no such thing But not he only doubteth hereof but long before him it hath beene spied by Anthonius B. of Florence in his history by Volateran writing of Constantine by the cardinal Nicolas Cusam a fast friend and faithful to that Romish church that this donation was not in the old coppies of Grecians decrees And therfore when it was added themselues accompted it but chaffe and no good corne And these and such reasons made Pius the second pope of that name to maruell in a certaine dialogue written by him being a Cardinall that the Lawyers were so mad as to make any question of that matter which neuer was And that wee may see how all things in this donation of Constantine are but fained whereas the donation maketh Siluester the Pope to whome this gift was giuen yet in another place the same thing is said to be giuen vnto Melchiades that was bishop before Siluester And he is made to speake as though it had beene done before his time also And yet this Melchiades was pope about two or three yeares before Constantine was Emperour and died long before he gaue peace and quietnes to Christians as in the Cronicle of Eusebius who lined in those daies it may appeare What needeth this point of their doctrine any aduersary Themselues doe fully confute one another And the prouerb is in this found true when theeues fal out true men come by their goods For these decrees if they be well considered it is not hard to spie falshood in them both And therefore we may take heede how we trust them seeing that in these two we see plainly how the one is contrarie to the other and both contrary to the truth There are also some impossibilities in the said donation which doe sufficiently prooue it to be but a fraudulent deede For the occasion of this gift is there set downe Namely that Constantine beeing baptised is healed of his leprosie and thereupon giueth these things to Siluester of whome he was baptised And yet besids many other ancient histories of good credit Saint Hierom doth plainly write that he was baptised at the latter end of his life and that not of Siluester bishop of Rome for hee was dead and also Marke that succeded him but of Eusebius bishop of Nicomedia some six or seauen yeares after Siluester was dead How then could these things be giuen to Siluester at the baptisme of Constantine Siluester being dead so long before Or howe at his baptisme in Rome when he was baptised in Nicomedia the chiefe citie of Bithinia many hundred miles distant from Rome But it is strange that they are so impudent as to name Constantinople at this time for one of the principall seats of bishops as in this donation they do which was called not by that name before Constantine in the tenth yeare of his raigne did build it but while Siluester and Marke his successor liued it was called Bizance And about twentie or thirty yeares after the death of Constantine was there a councill at Constantinople wherein y t sea of
Constantinople obtained to be next in account to Rome which before y t time was no patriarchal church And it is plaine by stories that at Constantinople ther was either no church at all or else very secret vntill about the latter end of Constantines time For that very yeare that he was baptised many of Constantinople were baptised in somuch as Nicephorus maketh mention of aboue twelue thousand men besides women and children that were baptised there at once And Constantine himselfe doth much reioyce in a letter that he writeth to Eusebius that in that citie which himselfe did build and did beare his name a very great mumber were become christians and for that cause hee taketh care that they might haue churches built for them So that as yet wee see they had not their churches much lesse can wee imagine that then they had any Bishops that would looke for so high a place among others And therefore euen hereby appeareth the falshood and folly of this forged donation There are also in the same donation some things that sauor of the pride that afterwardes appeareth in the bishop of Rome but was not then in them For that donation falsely attributed to Constantine doth giue vnto the bishop of Rome greater principality of power then this kingly or roial maiesty had and an Imperiall authority Nowe howe manifestly false this is wee may very easily marke if we doe consider either the stile that the Bishoppes of Rome that then were did vse when they wrote vnto their bretheren or their maner of behauionr when they came amongst them or the authoritie which the Nicen council that was in the time of Constantine gaue vnto them but equall with the patriarches of Alexandria and Antioch and euery one of them to looke to their owne charge among whome if there were any inequalitie the priuiledges of the bishop of Rome had not so large a compasse by far as the other patriarches or the soueraignty which Constantine the emperour did still keepe and exerccise in and ouer not Rome onely but the whole church not in ciuil matters onely but in calling of councils commanding the bishops comforting the godly reprouing the hereticks and in directing how and after what maner they would debate and determine matters in the council To be short if we remember how some of the councils of which I haue often spoken alreadie did stifly denie to the bishop of Rome for lesse superioritie then by this graunt they might challenge it will easily appeare that they knewe not then of any such priuiledges that Constantine had graunted vnto that seat For if then any such superioritie or supremacie had beene due vnto them the fatheres of those times who often stoode in neede of their helpe would neuer so flatly haue withstoode their indeuours And themselues also would haue beene as readie by themselues or their legats to haue pleaded the donation of Constantine if then it had beene thought vpon as they were to coine new canons of the Nicen council They pride therefore that in this grant appeareth doth proclaime to the world that it sauoureth not of that christian modestie that was for the most part in the bishops of those times but it is some bastard of a later breede And of that spirit of ambition doth that also sauour that is said that the pope should be prince of al priests and aboue al churches in the world But this is confuted in that which before hath vin spoken For long after this the bishop of Rome yea and that by vnlawful meanes sometime did seeke for that preheminence but it would not be graunted vnto them how beit one thing in this donation I cannot but remember you of because it sheweth in my iudgement that this forgery was committed but of late yeares in comparison euen after that they had brought the emperours vnder their subiection and did beare all the sway in the citie of Rome And that is this that they bring in the emperour yelding the imperiall citie into the popes hands and that as though it were not fitt or seemely that the earthly emperour should dwell there where the heauenly emperour saith he hath placed the head of christian religion Can there be any greater disgrace to worldly princes then to make them vnworthie to be neighbours to that proud priest of Rome Can they lift vp themselues by any meanes hier in pride against man then so to aduaunce and esteeme of themselues aboue the greatest monarches in the world Did Constantine vse to speake or write so Did he thinke himselfe vnworthie to be neere them They that are but indifferently acquainted with the stories of Constantine doe know that he loued ful wel to be not only neere to bishops but euen among them also But they that forged this fable would haue the world to thinke that either they are more holy then euer were the leuiticall priests or else that that good emperour his scepter sworde and crowne were more vnholy and prophane then those ensignes of gouernment that belonged to the kings ouer the Iewes And what else doe all those imperiall ornaments crownes scepters miter coller clocke cote banners and such like signifie which there they say are giuen to them but that this forgerie was committed after that the proud popes did so ouercrow the emperours that they became but as it were their seruants For it was far from Constantines minde to make him selfe their seruant as afterwards the emperours were And the popes that then were had other matters to doe and other thoughts possessed their hearts then that they could be caried away to such vaine deuises They were scarsly out of one persecution being freed from it by Constantine but that they fell into another that troubled the church maruelously namely the Arrian heresie against which the good bishops did then oppose themselues with might and maine And as these things doe sauour of the pride of latter times so some things also sauour of superstition more then as yet was crept into the church For Constantine in this his donation which they impudently ascribe vnto him doth giue for the maintenance of lights in the church of saint Peter and Paul his possessions in the east west north and south and by name he reckoneth vp many countries where he had giuen his possessions for the maintenaunce of those lights But in deed it appeareth that he did bestow his reuenues vpon more necessary things as in the building of churches whereunto christians might resorte to serue God and in calling the Nicen council for the determining of some questions in religion As for lights if then they vsed any yet such large deuotion in such toies and trifles is a plaine fruit of latter daies of ignorance Thus there is almost no kinde of thing granted vnto them in that dotation but is a good argument to conuince their falshoode The apish imitation of the emperours court for officers and attendants that is there graunted
doth also shew that it was not deuised in the daies of the humble popes the proud cardinalles who are these their stately officers were not yet found Many other exceptions might be made to that pretended donation and many moe reasons might haue beene brought against it but this that is said had beene more then enough in so plaine a matter had it not beene that many of the popish writers haue pleased themselues so well in their forged follie Hetherto we haue seene howe the popes haue made of the voluntarie suites that the godly made to the bishops of Rome beeing forced thereto by some extremities necessarie subiection and out of their requests they gather a profession of obedience Then also how they gote the decree of Phocas one their side And lastly howe they got the right of confirming the bishops of Rome out of the emperours hands pretending for these and all other their fulnesse of power sometimes the words of our Sauiour Christ But to supply the want of helpe which there they find for in trueth they make not for that excessiue pride of the Bishop of Rome they pretend although without any colour of truth a gift of these and other their priuiledges from Constantine the great But nowe let vs looke further into their practises Did they now content themselues when they had the commaunding of all bishops and had gotten this name that is vnfitte for any man to be called Head of the vniuersall Churches Could they content themselues with this excessiue honour No. They must yet goe one steppe higher For hitherto the Bishoppes of Rome were subiect to the Emperours as may very well bee prooued by their owne epistles Gregory who did so bitterly inueigh against the proude name of vniuersall bishop that Iohn patriarch of Constantinople tooke vpon him him selfe being a bishop of Rome giueth many euident testimonies of this subiection which the popes did acknowledge to the emperors As most notably in an Epistle to Mauritius the emperour hee calleth the emperour his lord very often yea he abaseth himselfe as vnworthie to speake to his lord he being but dust and a very worme He acknowledgeth himselfe subiect to the emperours commanndement that he oweth him duetie and obedience his vnworthie suppliant and seruant I omit many other that were afore him And out of an infinite number of testimonies that hee doth afforde I haue taken but one and yet that such a one as doeth sufficiently prooue what reckoning the bishops of Rome at that time made of the emperours And yet now we see some pride beganne to shew it selfe in the church For euen now was that a great strife for the name of vniuersall Bishop And that yet euen then did this learned father and Bishoppe of Rome acknowledge himselfe to bee an vnderling to the Emperours yea and after that Phocas had giuen the Bishop of Rome that priuiledge to bee head of the Church almost a hundreth yeeres Agatho a Bishop of Rome doeth write two godly Letters vnto Constantine the fourth Heraclius and Tyberius Emperours wherein very often hee calleth them his Lordes professeth his obedience excuseth their not sending some from the Councill to them as they had commaunded yea and themselues to bee vnto the Emperours seely or simple seruants But in the end this seemed a grieuous yoke and a heavy burden They said within themselues we will not haue this Emperour to rule ouer vs we are they that ought to speake who is Lord ouer vs. But this because it was a very hard attempt it must needes be long in working As in deede it was many hundred yeares The first that I remember that did disgrace in any respect the Emperour was pope Constantine who was not ashamed to suffer Iustinian the Emperour to kisse his feete which after grewe to be the greatest office of curtesie that the pope woulde shew to the greatest monarchs to admit them to that base intertainment which also continueth to this day Of him writeth Onuphrius in his annotations vpon Platina Constantine first of any bishop of Rome durst withstand Philippicus the greeke Emperour to his face openly Perchance because Iustinian that was Emperour next before Philippicus had kissed his feete it made him the bolder with his successour The pretence that Constantine tooke holde vpon to withstand the emperour was this Philippicus vpon good warrant out of Gods word did forbid images and commande them to be abolished in which the idolatrous bishop Constantine did withstand him Afterward Leo the third being Emperour and maintaining that good cause against images Gregory the second that was successour vnto Constantine tooke greater matters in hand against the emperour For he tooke from Leo whatsoeuer belonging to the empire the Longobards had left in all Italy An. 729. I report these stories out of Onuphrius a great friend to the pope and Romish church He also in the same place speaking of another pope Gregory the third who was next after the second telleth how he sought for aide of the French against those Longobards For indeede he reiecting his natural prince to whom in duty he was bound the Emperour did seeke as already he had gotten to be aboue al bishops so in the end to be aboue al princes and potentates in the earth Whereof Gregory the third in this place layeth a good foundation in reiecting an old maister for a new friend Yea he doth excommunicat Leo the Emperour and depriue him to his empire as Platina reporteth Thus we see how the pope hath by little and little gotten to master the Emperour himselfe For as in these popes the beginning hereof was laid so afterwards it grewe more and more vntil at the length the emperours were but their vassals and at their commandement But how they vsed this their immoderat power must be afterwards declared if God wil. Now as this vnsatiable ambition must needs be odious vnto and hated of that mightiest monarch King of Kings and Lorde of Lordes to whom al power in heauen and earth is giuen for if he could not abide that his apostles should so much as reason among thēselues who should be chiefe howe much lesse can he abide that they should despise his lieutenants to aduance themselus so did they assure themselues that it would be enuied at and spited of men And here therefore they want not their practises to keepe them in this highest estate to controll and command euen whom they wil at their pleasures First because none should be so bold as to speake any thing against their pride it was made by pope Pius the second periury or against the oath of a bishop to speake and thing against the pope be it neuer so true It may be also that his meaning was to make the pope to be esteemed as neere of kinne to God himselfe as might be For the expounder of the creede in Ciprians works saith the like of God
might attaine to these benefites who would not sell the whole earth to winne heauen Who would not loose his life to saue his soule But the sunne-shine of knowledge would easily driue away all such mists And they who in their blindenesse do esteeme that man of sinne that sitteth at Rome to be more then halfe a god and see nothing but greatnesse in him as the blinde man of Bethsaida who before he saw perfectly saw men walking like trees so great they seemed in his eies yet when God shall take away that veile of blindnesse and heale that infirmitie in them they shall then see the bishop of Rome as he is indeede to be an enemy to God and man a subuerter of estates a foe to princes a snare to subiects and a very corrupter of true christianitie and godlines And thus much of the shifts and sleights that the Bishop of Rome vsed to come to his greatnesse by little and little growing to that that now we see Sometime vsing flattery falshood and forgery yea and afterwards bringing the emperour vnder by plaine force and feare alwaies taking aduantages and oportunities when emperors were either otherwise imployed in affaires or hated for their life or some way so distressed that they could not withstand him and his partakers then would hee most earnestly pursue and persecute them vntill he had his wil which I trust will appeare plainely in the discourse that now I am to enter into which is as it were a trial and search of the doings of the bishop of Rome and of his behauiour after that he beganne to be so mightie Now to take a good and sufficient suruey of the popes Supremacie it is not inough to trie his Title to see his euidence and consider of his proof neither yet to acquaint our selues with his shifts and practises wherby he hath gotten himself into that very high seate and fulnes of power as Sixtus Quintus speaketh which they would seeeme to claime by right and wherein now they play more than rex of which two points I haue spoken before but it is also in my iudgement very necessary that we looke somewhat into his doings and examine how hee hath ruled and raigned what good he hath done to the church what profit he hath brought to the christian common-wealth When God did see the continuall rebellion of his people that they would by no meanes be reclaimed from sinne and howe little good it had wrought in them that they had beene very lately in a grieuous captiuitie he then by his prophet Zachary chapter 11. verse 16. threatneth vnto them this great and grieuous plague that he will raise vp a sheepeheard in the land which shall not looke for the thing that is lost nor seeke the tender lambes nor heale that that is hurt nor feede that that standeth vp but he shall eate the flesh of the fat and teare their clawes in peeces And that there were such sheepeheardes amongst the people of Israel and that wo and destruction belonges to them God by his prophet Ezechiel chapter 34. verses 2 3 4. doeth testifie pronouncing wo to the shepheards that feed themselues eate the fat cloth thēselues with the wooll kil them that are fed but feed them not they strengthen not the weake they heale not the sicke binde not vp the broken bring not againe that which was driuen away seeke not the lost but rule them with crueltie and rigor I neuer reade or thinke of this description of an euill shepheard but I see me thinkes therein a right paterne of popish gouernment Neither doe I at any time earnestly enter into scanning of that regiment that is vnder that most holy father but I remember how the holy ghost painteth out these proude cruel and idoll shepeheards The one seemeth to bee so right a paterne of the other as if they were all one thing and no difference at all betweene them or as if the Spirite of God did both foresee and foreshew the most holy father in that glasse of the most vnholy shepheard But that it may the better appeare that he that would be accounted the herd of Christs flocke doth but seek for to satisfie his own pride profit and pleasure not hauing any due regard either to Gods glorie or the good of them whom he calleth his sheepe let vs consider how violently and impotently his immoderat affection doth carry him to say do as himself liketh best both against God and man and how insolently he beareth sway in Christ his church And first to beginne with his names and titles out of the which M. Bellarmine wil prooue that the Bishop of Rome is Peters successour in the whole or vniuersall church For that he tooke in hand to proue But I on the contrary by those names shall by Gods grace plainely prooue that he robbeth Christ of his ornaments and taketh from him his titles that belong to him onely And first he calleth himselfe head of the vniuersall church which name so properly belongeth vnto Christ that we cannot giue it to any other without great wrong both to the head and the body of the church To the head in that the office which God the father laid vpon Christ in appointing him ouer all things the head to the church shuld be bestowed vpon a sinful man to the body which is Christs church because by that meanes it should haue but an idle head euery way vnable to performe the dueties of a head I deny not but the church of Rome for 4 or 5 hundred yeres after Christ might iustly be called the head of the church that is a ring leader to other churches in respect of religion which remained more sincere there then elsewhere for many yeares neither was that church so troubled with heresies as were others I confes also that som of the bishops of Rome for their forwardnesse learning and paines imployed to the benefit of the church might worthely be called in some sence heads of the church as in the first parte of this treatise I haue shewed Then will some man say what is then the fault which you charge the bishop of Rome withall in calling himselfe the head of the vniuersall church First that he maketh that name proper to him and his seate which many times more iustly belonged vnto others who for their learning and trauel for the church of God deserued much better of Gods church then any pope of them al. Further also that it is not that signification of the name head that will satisfie the popes ambitious humour thereby to be counted a man onely able or fit to guide and direct others but he will so be a head that hee must commaund forbid bind loose retaine remit dispence denie doe and vndoe as his vnbridled affection should carie him Which soueraigne power ouer the church or any parte of the church we cannot find that God gaue vnto any man either Peter or Paul yea or to
Christ himselfe as man onely for he was taught of his father what to doe and what to say much lesse then would his vicar of Rome if he had but one sparke of christian humilitie claime such absolute power ouer the whole earth Seeing therefore by this name head hee chalengeth greater power then either any good man would haue in Gods church for the godly can be content to speake of God as God teacheth them and to doe as hee woulde haue them or is fit for any man to haue as his vnruly doings do sufficiently declare we iustly denie that euer any bishop of Rome was of the godly called the head of the church in that sence that it is now vsed as their doings doe plainly teach vs. As for the name Papa or pope it was a common name to all bishops as is confessed by Baronius yea and graunted also in this place by master Bellarmine himselfe And it signifieth as much as father or grandfather so that it seemeth that it was first giuen vnto bishops by godly christians who did honour and reuerence them for their calling And why may not this name be aptly giuen to any diligent bishoppe or pastour in the church of god No master Bellarmine wil haue this name after a more particular maner to be giuen to the bishop of Rome then to any other Then we must learne of Christ not to call any man our father vpon earth For there is but one our father which is in heauen And therefore if he wil otherwise be our father then man may be our father let him seeke for other children for to such a father we owe no obedience The name of vniuersal bishop was giuen in the councill of Chalcedon to the bishop of Rome maister Bellarmine telleth vs. We deny it not But without a fauourable and good vnderstanding that title may be very odious For euen Gregory himselfe a bishop of Rome and no man more vehemently inueieth against that proud title in many plaids His places are so commonly alleadged that I neede not come to any particular But Bellarmine going about to deliuer this title from all suspition of antichristian ambition telleth vs that this name vniuersall bishop may be taken in two sorts One way that a vniuersall bishop should signifie an only bishop that is such a one as woulde haue none to be bishop but himfelfe onely And such a vniuersall bishop saith master Bellarmine Saint Gregory condemneth And doth he not otherwise condemne Iohn of Constantinople his pride but because he would haue no bishop but himselfe No master Bellarmine the stories are more plaine then that such shifts may go for currant The controuersie was whether the bishop of Constantinople should be as now the bishop of Rome is in his owne account a bishop aboue al bishops Read all the histories and it wil easily appeare his indeuour was only to haue the commanding of other bishops Neither could he be called vniuersal if he were the only bishop but rather the singular bishop But master Bellarmine bringeth two or three testimonies out of Gregory wherein he complaineth that Iohn patriarch of Constantinople would be bishop alone Gregories meaning is plaine enough that he saith he would only be bishop because he only would haue the commanding of all that others should indeede be his suffraganes and at his commandement which reason of Gregory against that title of vniuersall bishop if it be wel marked giueth I thinke a wound vncurable to the church of Rome A soueraigne authoritie in one to commaund all saith he is to take away all bishops but that one onely but such soueraigne authoritie ouer bishops the pope doth chalenge in this name of vniuersall bishop as experience teacheth therefore he maketh him selfe the onely bishop And this is the thing that Gregorie so mislyketh in Iohn bishop of Constantinople therefore I cannot see how it can be tolerable in him of Rome But one may be called a vniuersall bishop saith he in another sence as he hath a care of the whole church and so the Pope may be called a vniuersall Bishop But herein master Bellarmine giueth very litle authoritie to the bishop of Rome For this generall care belongeth not onely to euery Bishop but also to euery Christian as Caesar Paronius doeth plainly confesse of whom master Bellarmine doth write that he is a singular good man and without all doubt most learned And therefore I trust hee will by him be perswaded to let this name of vniuersall bishop be a name that may belong to mo then to him of Rome and so not to make it his peculiar title A fourth name of his is that hee is called most holy And here master Bellarmine doth maruelously insult ouer master Luther for insinuating that the names of most high and most holy had not beene hard of in the dayes of Gregorie Master Luther said not so master Bellarmine onely feared that he ment some such matter and therefore quareleth with him and telleth him that he lieth Well Leo the pope is called most holy in three seuerall titles that three Graecians wrote to him It is true master Bellarmine and in the same action in a great number of places besids the bishops yelding their consent do call him most holy He is there also called holy and why would not that name holy which is there also giuen to him as well content the bishop of Rome now as to be called most holy Or why should that be a peculiare name to him alone that was giuen in that place as well to others as to him For Anatolius the patriarch of Constantinople is often called most holy Yea and the council writeth vnto Dioscorus patriarch of Alexandria whome they depriued of his dignitie because he was a manitainer of Futiches that notable heretick yet I say the conncill writing vnto him doe call him also most holy And whosoeuer marketh that councill shall see no titles more common then most holy most blessed or happie mow beloued of God and such like Neither were these things giuen vnto them as names to continue to them and their seate but onely such titles as they thought well bestowed vpon such persons as they vsed them to As Leo bishop of Rome who although he were not without his infirmiries yet sure he was a man of great gifts And they in aboundance of affection towardes him called him most holy Must it therefore be a name hereditary to that sinfull and shamelesse broode that since hath sprong vp in that place It were absurd to thinke that coniurers inchaunters poyseners adulterers and such ruffians and rakehelles should be called by right of their seat most holy And yet now nothing more common then this title His fauourites must not speake of him but with this tearme of most holy Looke all his bulles and writings and you shall see that hee that is most vnholy before God and men yet by a lying
and yet there may be an other vnder him Donatus might as well haue claimed to be that husband then that the pope doth claime now to be But it was not then known that one honest woman might haue two husbands Chrysostome asso and Theophilact and all the ancient fathers make Christ the onely husband yea and Chrysostome thinketh that he needeth fauourably to interpret that that Iohn calleth himselfe the friend of the bridegroome shewing that he meant not thereby to make himselfe equall to Christ but only to expresse the greatnes of his ioy For a friend reioiceth more then a seruant What would he haue said then to these sawcy mates who thinke too base a thing for them to be but friends to the bridegroome but the bridegroome and they must haue all one wife I cannot therfore maruel much at their flattering lawyers that wil make the pope and Christ to haue but one consistory or seat of iudgement Marke I pray you the vicar before his parson the pope before Christ The pope and Christ make but one consistory But this I take to be somewhat tolerable If they both haue but one wife they may sit in one seat But I muse that master Bellarmine with great silence doth passe ouer one of the names that y e pope is now best known by and is more ancient then many of the names that he speaketh of the seruant of Gods seruants Which name they learned of Gregory the first to giue themselues It may be that master Bellarmine was ashamed his master should come so neere in name to wicked Ham first called seruant of seruants or that he seeth all their doings so directly contrary to y t name that he thinketh it not a name due to them or fit for them For what mockery is it to write themselues seruants of Gods seruants perchance sometime in the selfe same letters wherein they will command controll correct condemne the mightiest monarches vnder heauen Gregory would thereby haue taught them modestie humility meeknes and such other christian vertues yea and also a painefull diligence for the good of the church as if in all things they should carefully seek not their own profit or preferment but Gods glory and the benefit of Gods people for seruants worke not for themselues but for their master They keeping still the name by that outward profession of lowlinesse and industry seeke to cast a mist before the eies of the ignorant that they shall not see them when they shew themselues in truth so proude and presumptuous againe all men so lither and loytering in their pastorall functiō as if they were enimies to mankind and had no care at al of their owne duty But now let vs see to what end M. Bellarmine doth intitle the B. of Rome to those names of Head Pope vniuersall Bishop Christs vicar Father and Bridegroome euen to this end that he may prooue him to haue the charge of the whole church I on the other side shew that these are not his titles they are not his ornaments they belong to Christ most of them and only to him if the be vnderstoode in peculiar sorte as master Bellarmine would haue them They may be giuen after some sort to all pastors But the B. of Rome cannot abide to be but like others he must be sigular and fellowlesse or else nothing can content him Therefore I out of these names which hee so chalengeth to himselfe do prooue his pride and presumption aboue men thus to extoll himselfe so excessiuely aboue others yea and blasphenues against Christ thus to wring from him his office and priuileges and to make the world to beleeue they are his owne And this is one of the effects that followed of this fulnesse of power which by little and little as before I shewed the Pope aspired and attained vnto And euer as he grew in power so did he in pride also vntil he could not tell how to call himselfe or what name he should giue himselfe that his greatnesse thereby might sufficiently be expressed yet all these proude titles coulde not satisfie or content the proude humour of many of these Popes but that they grew to farther impiety and greater if greater may be For as in these names they made the whole church to be not Christs but as it were their owne inheritance and their owne house with which and wherein they thought they might do as themselues would and they incroched also exceedingly vpon Christ his right so at the length they came to that contempt of God and godlines that their parasites would giue vnto them and they could be content to take the honour that was due to God only They wil not so much as leaue to God his name but euen that is bestowed vpon the pope To beleeue saith one that our lord god the pope could not do this thing is to be counted heresie And another saith When the pope dissolueth a marriage it must be thought to be Gods doing onely because the pope being chosen according to the cannons is god vpon earth And another Innocentius the third The Pope heere vpon earth supplieth the roome not of pure man but of a true God And lest it should be thought that the Canonists did giue more honour vnto the pope herein then hee was content to take upon him pope Nicholas himselfe doeth claime for him and his seate great immunitie and freedome because the good emperour Constantine saieth he did call the pope god And yet this holy father playeth but the crafty mate for that Constantine did speake of al bishops alluding to that I haue said ye are gods And God standeth in the assemblie of gods and iudgeth among gods the prophet speaking there of Princes and Iudges that doeth hee applie to himselfe alone Whosoeuer readeth that which is alleadged out of an Epistle of Gregorie vnto Mauritius the Emperour shall find this false dealing of Pope Nicholas to make himselfe a god after som other sort then Constantine there calleth al bishops gods The Iewes were superstitious so as they durst not name that name of God Iehouah for feare of offending that great god The popes are sawcie that make no scruple at all to take to themselues that name of the which we ought not to speake or thinke but with great reuerence Whether nowe are the honester the Iewes or the Pope The Iewes were too scrupulous But the Popes yet that haue cast off all reuerence of the maiestie of God are farre more blame worthy And this very name as I suppose that they called themselues gods did so imbolden some of them to set so little by God As for example Pope Iulius not the second that was the lustie warriour but the third that filthie beast if Stories doe speaketh truely of him He loueth porke very well and when by the commandement of his phisition porke was not serued at his table being angrie for it one
hath established in making that sin which he calleth honourable and forbidding that which he hath commanded as appeareth in their forbidding certaine persons to marry And on the contrary wheras Christ reproued Peter for drawing his sword euen in defence of his master yet Peters successor and Christs vicar as he tearmeth himselfe commendeth it as a most acceptable sacrifice to God and meritorius of the remission of sinnes if in the defence of the pope or reuenge of his enemies and they are all his enemies that will not be his slaues they fight againgst christian princes yea and rebell against their naturall and soueraigne magistrates Of the which because I shall God willing haue better occasion to speake after I only would haue you nowe to remember that furious fellow Iulius the second of whom it is written that he gaue forgiuenes of sinnes to any that would kill a Frenchman And it seemeth that some cause of his deadly hatred against the French was this Iulius this iolly pope was sworne when he was chosen pope as many stories testifie that he should call a generall council within two yeares But he not regarding either oath or duety was so farre from calling of a councill that as much as he could he hindered the same And thereupon nine Cardinals leauing him came to Millan and appointed a councill to be kept at Pysa whither the Emperour and French king did send their Ambassadours Now when otherwise hee could not hinder the council hee purposed as a friend of his telleth vs to rule it by warres so that he made the councill to goe to Millaine for feare A great fight beeing vpon Easter day betweene the French and this woorthy warriour the French men gaue his a great ouerthrowe Whereupon he stirred vp against them all that he could the Venetians Heluetians Italians Spaniards So wel did he seeke for peace and insue it as Saint Peter commandeth him whose successour he calleth himselfe So much did he regarde that promise that our Sauiour Christ himselfe whose Vicar he would seeme to be did make Blessed are the peace makers for they shalbe called Gods children And so lightly did he set by that commaundement that Christ hath giuen against our affectionat and vnlawfull reuenges Resist not euill but whosoeuer shall smite thee on the right cheeke turne to him the other also So that this pope doth promise the reward of remission of sinnes for dooing that which Gods law doth flattely forbid and the law of nature doth vtterly condemne Is not this to take vppon him against God himselfe Is not this to commaund when he forbiddeth and to forbid when he commaundeth Againe God hath giuen vs a plaine and flat commandement that we should doe nothing but that which he biddeth Wee must not so much as turne to the left hand of our corrupt affections or superstitious seruices which our selues condemne or to the right hand of our good intentions and deuotions wherein we please our naturall man very well His word only must be our rule and square Doth not then the bishop of Rome controll this and such like commandements of God when he saith in expresse wordes ye shall haue other rules of religion other articles of faith otherwayes to worship God by traditions of the apostles and of the church vnwritten verities decrees decretalles briefes and buls councils and precepts of the church Is not this to transgresse Gods commandement by our owne traditions and to make it of none authoritie Is not this to teach as doctrines mens precepts Yea is not this to say with those lawlesse lordes wee are they that ought to speake who is Lord ouer vs Thirdly in that the pope may as hee and his fauourites falsely affirme allowe of the scriptures whether they shall be authenticall or not Doth he not thereby take vpon him to be aboue God whose word is not authentical vnlesse the pope allow of it If you doubt whether the Bishop of Rome be so shamelesse or not as so to say consider first what Siluester Prierias a frier and maister of the popes pallace writeth in his articles or foundations that he setteth downe against Luther Whosoeuer saith he resteth not vpon the doctrine of the church and bishop of Rome as vpon an iufallible rule of faith from whence euen the holy scripture doeth drawe strength and authoritie is an heretike like vnto which is that also of Eckius without the authority of the church the very scriptures are not authenticall And let not their doctrine only be examined wherein they teach that the pope is virtually the church as doth that frier Prierias in the place before alleadged in his second foundation but also yea and that especially the practise of that church so to refer al things to the pope in such things that he according to that fulnesse of knowledge which is in that sacred casket of his holy brest which pope Paule the second did first boast of must iudge of all things so that as he saith so it must be and there must no reason be asked of his doing Whereby it appeareth that the Pope being the church and as we see hauing the ful authoritie to do what he will in the church of Rome they tell vs that the scripture hath no authoritie or strength but from him And I pray you then who is greater hee that maketh the word authenticall or hee that hath his word approoued Is not he that doth approoue it so God must be vnder the pope that holy God vnder a vile sinfull man Fourthly the pope will take vpon him to dispence with or rather against the word of God and to allow that which God manifestly condemneth and is expresly against gods holy law For proofe whereof I neede not alleadge the false testimony of his flattering lawyers that giue him that power to dispense against the apostle and so against gods word but we may see his practise which doth sufficiently testifie that he thinketh he may dispense with the wicked and vnnaturall vncouering of the shame of them that are neare of kinne And he hath done contrary to this flat commaundement giuen by God against marying with vncle or aunt In which case he did dispense in the marriage of his catholike sonne Philip King of Spaine who as in his vnrighteous ambition hee hath no measure so in his vnnaturall iust he hath as it seemeth no shame but to his Lord he shall stand or fall before whome it shall be tried one day whether the popes bull can stand betweene God and him for breach of Gods lawe Yea pope Martine the fifth as is alleaged in a booke called Brutum fulmen out of Anthony of Florence and others did dispense with one to marry his owne sister whereas God saieth thou shalt not vncouer the shame of thy sister But what can not the pope do He can make wrong right say they And wee knowe that hee can
supremacie ouer bishops although this heaâ— was too too feruent that the patriarch for this popes pride should haue his eies burnt out then he was to hold fast aud to increase daily that authoritie which by most impdent and vngodly meanes hee had gotten not onely ouer all princes and kings but euen ouer the Emperour himselfe the greatest monarch that is in all christendome The emperour had wont in the primitiue churches to haue a great saying in the chosing of bishops especially such as were bishops of Rome as all histories make mention and is more euident then that it needeth proofe and more plaine then that it may be doubted of But when the popes came to their ouer great authoritie they began somewhat more boldly to take vpon them to occupie that roome without leaue of the Emperour Adrian the first therefore being B. of Rome and hee thinking himselfe much beholding to Charles the great for defending him and his church from the violence of enemies did in a council holden at Rome by the emperor and the pope make this vniuersall decree that the emperour should haue right to chuse the pope and to order the apostolike seat and to haue the dignitie or preheminence of principalitie I would all our English papists and specially the fugitiue traitours that would for this cause make the happy and quiet gouernment which England hath vnder our most gratious princesse a long time comfortably inioyed because we giue vnto her maiestie the title of sumacie seeme odiuos to others and vnlawfull to our selues I would I say they would marke what pope Adrian and the vniuersall council for so doth Sigebert there call it doe yeeld to Charles the great then emperour that he should haue the principality and supremacie And further it is there decreed that the archbishop and bishop through euery prouince shall be inuested by him and that no man shall be once so bold as to consecrate him whome the king doth not commend and institute and that vpon paine of excommunication And if hee reforme not himselfe his goods to be forfeited and himselfe to be banished A necessary Lawe doubtlesse for our dayes both in respect of the lawe it selfe and also in regard of the punishment which is to be layed vpon offendours And the more to be accounted of because it is deâ—ised by such as I hope they will not saie can erre or cannot say they seeke their bloud Wel notwithstanding this decree set downe by councill as you haue hard Steuen the fourth bishop of Rome and next but one to this Adrian the first who by a conucil coÌ„firmed to the emperour this authoritie doth not onely debar the emperour for medling in election of the pope but also accurseth all them that by the emperours consent do obtaine any church And for the lowder proclaming of his pride most lewdly hee compareth his vniust and rash desanulling of that iust decree made by Adrian and the council with Ezechias his godly abolishing of the high places the serpent and such other things as were idolatrously abused by the Israelltes He alone I say without a council reuoketh that which the council had commaunded Pope Paschalis the first succeeding this Steuen had not the consent of the emperour and therefore sent his embassadours vnto the emperour Lodouike to excuse the matter and to make him beleeue that he was forced by the clergie and people to take the popedome on him The emperorbeing of a very mild nature yet willing to retaine that priuiledge willed them not afterward to informe the emperours authoritie but to keepe in their election the decrees of their elders Now the emperour being forced for the repression of some that rebelled against him to send Lotharius his sonne into Italy there to remaine Paschalis the pope inuested the said Lotharius in the empire But hee being gone to his father into Fraunce for greater aid some of his most trusty frends were in the meane time killed euen in the palace of Lateran their eies first put out onely because they were fast and faithfull to Lotharius The pope was commonly supposed to be guiltie or at the least to be acquainted with this outragious dealing of the Romans And although by other he denied the fact yet did he acquite them that had done that deede and pronounced them that were slaine to haue beene guiltie of treason But howsoeuer it was the emperour seeing belike the popes wholy bent to depriue him vtterly of any consent in the election of the pope doth himselfe yeeld it into their hands making it lawfull for the popes to take that place vpon them being chosen by the clargie and people of Rome without the emperours consent not long after him commeth Nicholas the first who seing the emperour so easily to be chrust from his right which was euen by the bishop of Rome in a council giuen to him in electing of the pope thought hee would incroach somewhat further and doth wholy debar him of hauing any thing to doe or being at or in their council vnlesse it be when matters of faith be in handling And further he did decree to cut his power yet shorter that no lay man whatsoeuer should somuch as iudge of Priests or enquire how they liue And although Nicholas the first durst not as yet goe plainlie to worke but rather by craftie meanes sought to diminish the Emperours power yet within lesse than thirtie yeares after it was decreed by Adrian the third that the Emperours consent should not he regarded in electing the Bishop of Rome but the voices or election of the Cleargie and people therein should be free Now by this exemption which the Romans had from the Emperour that hee had nothing to doe in their elections as they were without feare of his displeasure so were they without care of doing in their elections as they ought and by that means preferred many vnworthie of that place Wherefore pope Leo the eight in a Synod holden at Rome did decree that Otho then Emperour and his successours after him should elect not the pope onely but also the chiefe officers of Rome or bishops and that onelie with his consent these must be counted lawfull And if any shall goe about to infringe this decree he is excommunicate If he continue therein he shall be perpetually banished or haue extreame punishment How long this decree was kept which was nowe by two Councils at Rome and by two popes Adrian the first decreed this Leo the eight confirmed it is not certaine But I am sure that not long after it was accounted simonie for anie man to take anie bishopricke or benefice being instituted thereto by anie lay man And this was especially laboured by Hildebrand as soone as euer hee came to haue any thing to doe for the popes that the Emperour or lay men should haue nothing to doe in the election of the pope And because alreadie two
sedition against pope Leo the fifth that made great account of him and tooke the said Leo when he had beene pope but fortie dayes and so gote into the place as Rioche affirmeth by contention and euill meanes But nowe these Romish rabbies I would haue to open me one riddle Platina hauing set downe this historie learneth by this experience that it is most true that dignities are rather dignified or commended by men then men by them As the Censorship saith hee of Rome at the first as a meane office was nothing set by but when the chiefe men of the citie tooke that office vpon them then the greatest citizens thought themselues almost vnhappie if in their life they inioied not that office What Platina meaneth by this I cannot tell vnlesse he thinketh the bishop of Rome at the first was not in such estimation or account as afterwads hee grew to But that so it was I haue before declared For from mean beginning he is now growen to be a captions controler of the greatest princes And this as it seemeth Platina thinketh to be the reason why the bishopricke of Rome which was perchance in the beginning not worth suing for was afterwards by so great contention and fighting sought for And so men haue dignified that seat and not that seat the men And the place hath gotten authoritie by the bishops not the bishops by the place Which in my iudgement doth somewhat ouerthwart that fulnesse of power and that continuall spring of spirituall graces which they would make vs beleeue floweth from that chaire and that power which they say it hath from Christ himselfe Next after Christopher commeth Sergius the third He displaced Christopher by the helpe of Lotharuis the king and sate in his place and cast him into prison Now how himselfe was made pope Platina can tell you who saith that he persecuted Formosus his faction by whome he was before hindred from being pope for hee thought he waited to long for so good a place And thereupon Platina comparing the popes then with the first that were findeth them nothing like For in times past they refused that place being offered vnto them But now saith he they seeke it by briberie and ambition and euill meanes They gaue themselues to prayer and to teach These not regarding Gods seruice giue themselues to tyranous crueltie that after they may the more freely fulfill their lusts wheÌ„ no man dare control theÌ„ Thus saith Platina of them Not long after commeth Iohn the eleuenth a worthie prelate for such a place He was bastard sonne to pope Laudo howe holy his ellection was howe canonically hee was chosen is worth the hearing Theodora a shamelesse harlot that ruled all Rome was greatly in loue with this Iohn as soone as shee saw him And shee hauing for a time inioyed his companie and liking well of the same first made him bishop of Bondnia after archbishop of Raueâ—â—a and lastly bishop of Rome and was not this thinke you a canonicall election But whether this harlot Theodore did violently place this pope which especially belongeth to my matter in hand or that she by fauour obtained consent of the electours it is not certain But by lawfull meanes it is certaine he came not to it There was also another pope Iohn after him thrust into that rowme who although he be not numbred among the popes yet because he was bastard sonne to pope Sergius the third hee is woorth speaking of in respect of the good stocke he came of Therefore Theodora that famous harlot had a daughter maried to Guy Marques of Thuscia her name was Marozia Who following the good conditions of her mother by pope Sergius had a bastard whom she and her husband hauing dispatched pope Iohn the eleuenth by stopping his mouth with a pillow made pope and hee was called Iohn the twelfth Thus did Marozia kill her mothers paramour that shee might make her husbands bastard sonne by pope Sergius pope in his roume And thus we see howe this seat wherein they will make vs beleeue that none can sit but most holy fathers is become a denne for most prophane and godlesse ruffians and rakehels Iohn the twelfth by the their owne account was also intruded into that place by meanes of his father who was thought to bee Albert or Albericke king of Italie But howsoeuer he came to it he when he was in it was such a ruffianly companion and so vicious as that it is written that euen from his youth he was starke naught and was not ashamed openly to keepe harlots So youthfull he was that in him began that by-worde As merrie as pope Iohn He came of a good race For Marozia of whom before I spake was his grandmother And as his entrance was not good so yet his going out was too bad for some say the diuell killed him euen in his adulterie being in bed with an other mans wife some affirme it was the womans husband but that hee was killed euen in his filthinesse all agree And was not this a holy Father Neither did Boniface the seuenth get into this seate the right way but malis artibus by euill meanes as all stories almost speake And of the popes that were about this time doeth the storie called Fasciculus temporum giue this note That in these daies the bishops of Rome were slaine as well as in the primitiue Church but yet they are not Martyrs as were the other Their deathes were like but the cause vnlike And of this pope Boniface the seuenth manie stories report that hee committed theft and sacriledge stealing from Saint Peters Church all the Treasure and Iewels and sold them at Constantinople to make money thereof wherewith hee procured some friendship at his returne with more safetie to sit in that proude seate Among these also may Gregorie the fifth be reckoned who for fauour of the Emperour was made pope or as Platina saieth by the othoritie of Otho the Emperour and as Fasciculus temporum saieth at his request Bergomates saieth the Emperour did will and commaund him to take it vpon him Benedict the ninth entred vniustly and fearing that hee could not keepe the papacie hee solde it to Iohn the Archdeacon But of him I must speake after Siluester the third was intruded either by Symonie or ambition or for hatred of Benedict the ninth Benedict the tenth entered by force and briberie As for Gregorie the tenth how canonicallie he was chosen it may be seene by the olde verses that were made of his election whereby it appeareth that the discorde of the brethren made him who was an Archdeacon before father of fathers For the place I meana the popedome was nowe so much desired and so ambitiouslie sought for that the Cardinals manie times would for a long time bee diuided and could not agree about the chusing of the holie father As immediatelie after the death of
and litle of his dominions and so lessening his power and at the last despising his authoritie and wringing it out of his hands as hath beene shewed And as hee could not abide any to be his better or superior so far of so likewise he could not suffer any to haue any gouernment exempt from him neere him in the citie of Rome and therefore were they also sundrie times repining and striuing against those magistrats which in Rome had the gouernment of the citie For hauing brought the emperour to hold of him for the emperour say the Canonists now holdeth his empier of the pope and therefore he is bound to swere homage and fealty to the pope as the vassal is vouÌ„d to his lord hauing I say so subiected the greatest he taketh scorne that any should sit vnder his nose and not be vnder him And therefore pope Leo the third sending certaine presents vnto Charles the great made vnto him suite and obtained it that the people of Rome should be sworne to be subiect vnto him And so from that time which was about the yeare 796. vntil the time of Innocent the second about the yeare 1139 they continued in subiection to the bishop of Rome being gouerned at his appointment 343 yeares But being warie belike of his Tyranicall gouernment they made vnto themselues a pretor senators to rule them concerning their ciuile gouernment as in times past they had wont to haue For indeed this Innocent was a wonderful proud pope of whom it is writen in a booke called Burtum Fulmen and alleaged out of two histories that in the Lateran church at Rome he painted Lotharius the emperour prostrate at his feete and his vassal or seruant receauing of him the imperiall crowne And by this picture were verses written wherein the emperour is made his seruant and it is said that the pope giueth him the crowne as though he could not haue it but by his gift His pride being so immoderate against the emperour it is not like he could keepe any measure with such as were inferiors and so did they shake of his intolerable yoke Nowe the pope not knowing presently how for to amend himselfe or to hinder their purpose yet thought he would so bridle them as that his clergie should be free from their rule He gathereth therefore a council in Lateran where he caused it to be decreed that whosoeuer should lay violent hands vpon a clergieman though he be but a psalmist saith glosse there whom the Dist 23 calleth a singer cap. Psalmista and the Dist 21. cap. Cleros maketh next the dog driuer and doorekeeper should so be accursed that vnlesse it were in time of death he might not be absolued of any but the pope onely For this cause also Onuphrius writeth that the people of Rome were excommunicated and put for euer from chusing the popes and by that meanes that the election of the pope came to the cardinals But Platina as I haue before noted saith that Gelasius the second was chosen by the cardinalles who was before this Inocent Well Lucius the second pope of that name although he had great cause to haue though of other matters for at that time there was a maruelous great plague whereof of his predecessor Celestine the second died as also himselfe was taken away by it yet his proude stomacke not being able to beare the gouernment that then was in Rome by a pretor and senators sought to alter it The pretor or Alderman maior whose name was Iordan told the pope that al the â—egalities belonging to the citie as well without as within the walles belonged to him being pretor by reson of his office that y e pope had hitherto occupied the same by meanes of Charles the great But he demaunded his owne right willing the pope to content himselfe as his ancetours had done with first â—ruites tithes and offerings But his holinesse being as vnwilling to learne a good lesson of Iorden the pretor or Alderman of Rome as were the Pharises to be taught of him whom Christ made to see Thou arte say they altogether borne in sinne and teachest thou vs Deuised more mischiefe against the Romans then did the Pharises against that man that durst teach them for they did but cast him out of their synagogue that is they did perchance excommunicate him But this holy pope who should be to others an example of patience and forgiuing our enemies had this deuise that watching a time when they were all gathered together in council the Pretor Senators and all the chiefe of the citie the pope gathered his soldiers and set vpon the capitoll the place where they were assembled thinking either to haue destroyed them all or else to haue driuen them out of the citie But the Romanes hearing of this pope-like enterprise armed themselues vpon a sodaine and running to the capitoll did so pelt with stones the pope himselfe that within a few dayes after he died Whether of the plague as before out of Stella I aleaged or of these bates it maketh no great matter For they were rid as it seemeth of a furious foole and saued the liues of their chiefe men and for a time retained their libertie This doth Robert Barnes reporte out of Naucler Sum. Anton. and Iacob Colum. Now this question betweene the Romans and the bishop of Rome continued in doubtfull case as appeareth by frier Rioch and others for a season namely whilest Eugenius the third Anaslasius the fourth and Adrian the fourth liued the Romans seeking to haue their liberties of choosing their magistrates confirmed vnto them by the popes the popes on the other side repining against that which the Romans did Yet in the time of Alexander the third they came to this agreement that the magistrates chosen by the Romans should not meddle with their office vntill they had beene sworne to be faithfull to the church of Rome and the pope And thus this controuersie that was betweene the citie of Rome and the pope for fiftie yeares was agreed But Lucius the third being perchance proude then Alexander his predecessor whose pride yet was intollerable not content to suffer so much as the name of Consuls in Rome went aboue to abolish the same and had gotten to him some of the Romans But the citizens rose against him expelled him out of the citie and put out the eies of certaine that fauoured his attempt Thus we see how the bishops of Rome to the end that their authoritie might the more smoothly proceede without controlment did seeke to take these rubs out of their waie Hitherto we haue in part seene in what sort the bishops of Rome being come to their hieght haue deale with their betters and how roughly they haue handled them But perchance their friends wil excuse them because that by doing as they haue done they haue defended will they say the rights and priuileges of the church
of Rome But howe will they excuse the slauish seruitude wherunto they brought the greatest princes Saint Iohn offered to fall downe before the Angell but the angell would not suffer him to worship him I am saith he thy fellow seruant worship God But these vile wretches will suffer kings and emperours to kisse their feete Constantine the pope was the first that euer accepted of this honour done to him by Iustinian the emperour And then Stephan the second whose feete Pipin the french king did kisse But afterwards this grew to be so ordinarie a matter that the kissing of an old fooles foule feete is the greatest honour that can be done to the greatest prince at Rome And Pope Steuen hauing gotten into his handes the exarchie of Rauenna whereby he became great in Italy and al by the meanes of the said Pipin whom he also rewarded by making him king of Fraunce thrusting Childrick the true lawfull king into a monastery and intruding Pipin in his roome he now in triumphing manner is carried vpon mens shoulders And he is the first that I knew of any of the popes that thought the earth too good to beare so wicked a lumpe as himselfe was For I trust hee thought it not too base to touch his sacred feet Well the reason of his doings is not for vs to search but he was first carried of mens shoulders Neither will I here inquire of the cause of deposing the right king of Fraunce whether it were iust or not although no cause could make it a iust fact in him that had nothing to doe with it Onely this will I say that where master Bellar. would make the insufficiencie of the French kings to be the cause why either Zachary or Steuen that was next after him did depose the French king from his rightfull crowne yet Platina whose words I rather beleeue then master Bellarmine confesseth that Pipin being greedie of a kingdome sent his embassadours to the pope that he would by his authoritie confirme vnto him the kingdome of Fraunce Whereunto the pope agreed in respect of such former good turnes as hee had receiued of that house And so by the popes authoritie the kingdome of Fraunce is adiudged to Pipin the yeare of our Lord seuen hundred fiftie and three Thus much Platina Whereby it appeareth that the ambition of Pipin and wrong dealing of the bishop of Rome was a cause that Childerick was deposed But to returne to my matter againe we see what pope it was that was first so proude that he could not let his owne legs carrie him But it was set downe afterwards for a lawe vnto which the emperour must be also obedient if he will not be rebellious to the decrees of the church And it is decreed that the emperour himselfe if he be by must helpe to carry that loytring lubber For thus I reade it cited out of their owne booke of ceremonies Although the emperour or any other be he neuer so great a personage be by hee shall carry vpon his shoulders a litle while the chaire and the pope And againe it is decreed in the same place that the most noble lay man shall carry the end or traine of the pluuiall that the pope weareth be it the emperour or any king What a slauerie is this that he by his vngodly and wicked ordinances doth tie princes vnto as though they were his very staues Why should he looke that emperours should be his hacknie horses to cadge him vp and downe Or what reason hath he what warrant out of the scripture What example in Gods booke or of any good man so to disgâ—ace and deface the anointed of the Lord whom he as well as others should seeke by all meanes to honour and reuerence Yet let vs see what more reuerence these proud prelats can suffer to be done vnto them Pipin the new made Frence king did teach the pope a very euill vse For he slattering the pope that hee might make him more frendly to him in assuring him of his kingdome meeting him three miles from his lodging alighteth from his horse and leadeth the popes horse all the way not leauing him vntill he had brought the pope to his lodging It is also recorded that another time the king of England on the one side and the French king on the other performed him that seruice But what neede I seeke for the particular examples This is also a booke case It is alreadie ordered That the emperour shall leade his horse and kings shall goe before him as performing their seruice to this earthly God or God on earth But yet we haue not seene his fullnesse in pride For the emperour if he be by when the pope alighteth must hold his stirop So did Frederick Barbarossa the emperour vnto the pope Adrian the fourth although he had no great thankes for his labour For hee chanced to hold the the wrong stirop the pope was so offended thereat that when the bishop of Bamberg in the name of the emperour had by a pithy oration signified his ioy for the popes presence the pope replied that he heard indeede words of gladnesse but he could not by deedes perceaue any such thing And his reason was because the emperour held not his right stirrop The emperour although angry yet smiling answered that he vsed not to hold any bodies stirrop and that made him the lesse skilfull For he was the first whose stirrop he held And for that time they parted neither of them being well pleased But the next day the emperour made amends for his former offence holding the right stirrop And the same emperour Frederick did afterwards also hold the stirrop to pope Alexander the third a cruel and shamelesse enemie to the said emperour as appeareth by a letter which master Fox in his Actes and Monuments aleadgeth out of Roger Houeden and William of Gisborough In which Letter it doeth most plainely appeare not onely that the Emperour did holde his stirrop for the pope confesseth so much in writing vnto the Archebishoppe of Yorke and to the Bishop of Durham and would haue them to reioyce for the good successe of the church for the church is much increased when the popes stirrop is holden by such but also he cause they said to Moses and Aaron that they tooke too much on them seeing all the people were holy howe great then shall their iudgement be that abuse all euen the mightiest Monarchees at their pleasure Doest thou see O Peter thy successour and thou O sauing Christ behold thy vicar Marke well howe farr the pride of the seruant of thy seruants is gone vp saith an Abbat long since and therefore I trust no Lutheran no Caluenist no Hugonot but a flat papist and yet speaketh this in detestation of the pride of popes and namely of pope Boniface the eight who the second day of his Iubilie apparelled like an
these summes which they got by ecclesiasticall liuings they had many other wayes to picke mens purses Purgatorie was a gainfull deuise the fire therof did much good to the popes kitchin Pardons were good to no vse but to make them rich that gaue them or carried them Especially those pardons which Leo the the tenth sent abroad They which caried them made the world beleeue that whosoeuer would giue tenne shillings for a pardon should for the same deliuer what soule soeuer he would out of purgatorie Vnder pretence also of fighting against the Turke and recouering the holy land they gathered great summes What should I speake of licenses qualifications dispensations and such like meanes to get money If I should but out of our English histories paint out the greedie worme of that church of Rome you would thinke it were a gulf vnsatiable both the horsleaches daughters in one that alwayes crieth giue giue and can neuer haue enough It is a bitter and grieuous complaint that Frederick the second emperour of that name maketh against the church of Rome shewing how the fire of her auarice is so kindled that the goods of the clargie not being able to suffice they feare not to disinherit and make to pay tribute to them emperours kings and princes Whose words hee saith are sweete as hony and as soft as oyle but they are insatiable bloudsuckers He doth put our countrimen in rememberance of that which Innocent the third a pope had done swalowing after the Romish fashion with an vntoward gaping whatsoeuer was fattest And with many such words hee setteth forth the miserable estate of England which was saith he the prince of all prouinces He speaketh of the time of king Iohn as himselfe sheweth of the which dayes also did the nobles of England complaine bitterly because he did subiect himselfe to the pope and so brought their land into a miserable slauerie And as it were speaking vnto the pope they charge him that he beareth with king Iohn to the ende that all things might be swallowed vp of the gulfe of the Romish auarice Neither is the pope Honorius the third ashamed to confesse this fault by his Otho For in his letters hee confesseth that there can be no dispatch in the court of Rome without great expences and gifts and acknowledgeth that this is an old staine to that church And for to take away this slaunder he his cardinals had deuised a good way as he thought which is that he might haue in euery cathedrall church two prebends and such like of abbeis And this is an other way that the pope hath to inrich himselfe by And very often did the bishoppes of Rome seeke by such means to prouide for their friends or such as would buy their letters So did Innocent the fourth write to the abbat of S. Albans for a kinsman of his for a benefice in Lincolne diocesse belonging to the gift of that church of saint Albans called Wengraue and for the next besides it that shuld fall Yea he did sometime write for children Whereupon there grew a great contention betweene the bishop of Lincolne Robert Grosted and the pope Innocent the fourth whome Alexander the fourth his next successour called the seller of benefices Pope Innocent was so offended with this Bishop of Lincolne for withstanding his lewd and wicked couetousnesse that when he heard that the Bishop of Lincolne was dead hee purposed presently to write to the king of England not to suffer him to be buried in the church but to be cast out thereby to disgrace him as much as he possibly could Besides these they haue yet other wayes to get money They send in their ambassadours or legates which when they are once well setled within the land they send to bishops abbates or such as they knew to be of wealth for so much money as they thought good to get But the least gaine came not to the church of Rome by that vniust decree of Innocent the fourth whereby it was prouided that the goods of clarkes that died intestate should go to the bishop of Rome But it were too tedious a matter to come particularly to euery point of the popes greedines It was a thing generally misliked and spoken against yea this their miserable greedinesse as Mat. of Paris witnesseth was the chiefe cause why the Greeke church departed from the Latine church For an archbishop of the Greeke church comming to pope Gregory the ninth to be confirmed in his archbishopricke by him coulde not obtaine his desire vnlesse he would promise much money He seeing that detesting their greedinesse departed and tolde this to sundry of the nobilitie There were other also that reported as euill or worse of that they had seene and knowen at Rome and so they would haue no more to do with the west church In like manner did the same pope behaue himselfe in hearing the matter betweene Walter elect archbishop of Canterbury on the one side and the king and sundry bishops on the other side And although it were obiected against the archbishop by the king and the bishops that in sundry respectes hee was vnfit namely that hee had defloured a Nunne and gotten children by her and the king was very earnestly bent against him the pope also confessed that he was vnlearned yet coulde not the king and the bishops get the pope to be fauorable in that good cause vntill such time as the kings embassadors fearing lest the pope would make him archbishop of Canterbury that was altogether vnworthy of such a place promised to the pope the tenth of all moueables through England Whereupon the pope being so well hired was content not to place a wicked man in the sea of Canterbury And the pope to shew that it was the reward that made him and that he looked for perfourmance thereof he sent into England to demaund the same and it was graunted according to the promise that was made vnto him These and such other corruptions and extortions of the Bishops of Rome made them so odious to the king of England and his nobles that they thought be defiled and polluted the place where he dwelt And therefore when pope Innocentius the fourth requested the king that hee woulde permit him to lie at Burdeaur in Gascoigne which then belonged to the king of England he and his Nobles thought that it was too neere to England and that corruptions would come thence into England And Robert Grosted B. of Lincolne durst boldly say to the pope and in his hearing O money money how much canst thou doe especially in the court of Rome which as it is said in another place is alwaies gaping alwaies greedie But indeed great sums haue him gathered out of this realme which haue gone to the pope insomuch that king Iohn did affirme to the pope Innocent the third almost threatning him for
these priuileges Which being so many in number as they were the common welth did not onely find a want of such as should help to beare the burthens that were to be laied vpon the same but also they by their multitude were able to make a great party to attempt any thing that they would take in hand And by the large possessions which many of these had they could draw many folowers to be on their side And this I take to be the reason that Boniface the eight as Marcilius Patiuinus writeth was so desirousto inlarge and increase the number of his clergy that he would haue all such as had married a maide and contented themselues but with one wife should be of his clergie Now their exemptions streching to all the clergie I pray you what subiects should be left vnto the king for him to commaund and rule for his owne safetie and the gard of his common wealth It was therefore a great post and piller of poperie to bring these immunities to the clergie and a meane to maintaine it the better Both because it imboldned themselues to doe much mischiefe and also it drew many to be of their societies And so as it was a double dammage to the ciuil estate So was it a double prop to vphold the kingdome of the pope and therefore dangerous moe wayes then one Well thus far we are nowe come in this proofe of popish practises that wee see their subâ—â— shiftes to bring themselues to this high estate It is not vnknowen to vs how wickedly they haue abused their authoritiÌ„e in pride intollerable couecousnesse insaâ—iable and malice vnmeasurable And lastly their gouernment being so very deuilish and detested almost of al yet how and by what means they haue maintained the same That is to say I haue opened their subtil shifts wherby they became so great and secondly their practises and proceedings in this their greatnesse thirdly their cunning and compasses to keepe themselues great the meanes which for the most part they haue vsed to get into this nest which they haue built so high and to â—eepe themselues in the same My meaning is not so lay open their wickednesse of life so long as it is but their priuate fault let them stand or â—all to their owne Lord he against whom they offend shall call them to account But that onely that belongeth to the question of the popes supremacie which now I haue taken in hand to suruey and to the abuse either in getting or in vsing of it that onelie did I purpose to intreate of And hereunto am I forced by double necessitie First because it is one part of the popiâ—h practises But especially to stoppe the mouthes of them whose sight is so quicke towards others as that they can espie a small mote in their eie In our church they can find no ministerie no succession no sacraments all is wrong they see nothing but faults The great beame that troubleth their owne eye they cannot see But as men sightlesse and sencelesse they imagine all is well with them all is catholike Catholike church catholike faith catholike religion catholike doctrine And yet if the matter be well examined neither their church neither yet their faith haue any shew of catholike in them As I trust it is euident to see in this Suruey of the Popes Supremacie that their doctrine is not catholike their doings are not christian like Let vs examine whether that which they teach vs concerning this point haue bene taught likewise of al the godly learned or at the least of the most of them at all times in all places constantly and of set purpose not by the way as we terme it in handling some other matter often and plainely For these are the properties that Viucentius Lyrinensis an old father requireth in that doctrine that is catholike and true That Peter was otherwise a foundation in the building of the church of Christ then were other of the Apostles it is not a catholike doctrine That Christ gaue to Peter onely the keies of the kingdome of heauen it is not by these rules a catholike faith That the feeding of Christs sheep in the whole world or the gouernment of the whole church was commited to Peter onely or especially is most catholikely taught so that not one of all these points of their religion which are indeede the ground-worke whereupon they raise this their stately building of the popes supremacie can be called catholike as is before shewed But if they could prooue these things to be catholike as they will neuer be able to doe yet haue they not obtained their purpose For how is this conueyed to the bishop of Rome if it were in Peter It is not catholikely beleeued that he was bishop of Rome neither yet that he conueyed his estate or interest ouer the whole church if any such had beene in him to the bishop of Rome Or if all this could be proued yet remaineth one point that were able to ouerthrow all For it is not receiued as a catholike doctrine that the Bishop of Rome cannot erre or that for sinne and errour the priuileges which the church of Rome claimes if they had any such could not be forfeited as well in them as in other churches In all which pointes if I haue nor sufficiently prooued that the church of Rome teacheth false doctrine and repugnant to the Scriptures wherein I submit my selfe to the iudgement of the indifferent Reader yet I trust that the aduersaries them selues must needes confesse that these cannot be prooued to be catholike doctrines But on the contrary a man may easily see if hee marke the storie of times that these things which are the only pillers to vphold this popish kingdom were neuer thought vpon in the Apostles times or the ages next to them that is to say in the purer times of the primitiue church But when heresies began to trouble the church and men began to separat them selues from the vnity of faith more boldly and more openly then at the first they did And it pleased God to continue in some reasonable sort sinceritie and trueth of religion in the church of Rome then beganne that seate to be called Peters chaire not because Peter sate there but because that notable confession that Peter made and the faith that he preached was there established and soundly kept and maintained as before I haue shewed out of Optaâ—us and others that Peters chaire signifieth his doctrine And as after the sunne is once set darkenesse groweth still more and more so that the furder from sunne set vntill it be readie to rise againe the greater is the darknesse euen so the farder men were from those purer times the furder did they wander from the wayes of truth and the grosser was the ignorance that they were in So as that which at the first was not once thought vpon yet was it at the last affirmed of some very constantly and boldly But