habere seu Matrimonia contrahere penitus interdicimus contracta quoque Matrimonia ab hujusmodi personis disjungi Grat. dist 27. â— 8. Pope Innocent III. pronounced such marriages null and the Council of Trent anathematizes those who say they are valid (d) Sess 24. Can. 9. But one would think that God had sufficiently declared his approbation of such Marriages in that the whole World hath by his appointment been twice peopled by two married Priests first by Adam secondly by Noah And we are sure the Holy Scripture tells us That Marriage is honourable in all f Heb. 13. 4. And places it among the Qualifications of a Bishop That he be the Husband of one Wife having faithful Children (g) Tit. 1. 6. which saith S. Chrysostom The Apostle prescribed to this end That he might stop the Mouths of Hereticks who reproached Marriage declaring thereby That Marriage is no unclean thing but so honourable that a married Man may be exalted to the sacred Throne of a Bishop (h) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrysost Hom. 2. in c. 1. ad Tit. And well might he think it not unbecoming a Bishop when our Lord thought it not unbecoming an Apostle no not the Prince of the Apostles as the Romanists will have him for it is without doubt that S. Peter was married in that the Scripture makes mention of his Wife's Mother (i) Matt. 8. 14. And Clemens of Alexandria tells us That it was certainly reported that when he saw his Wife led to death he rejoiced and having exhorted and comforted her he called her by her name and bid her remember the Lord (k) Clemens Alex Stromat l. 7 p. 736. Lut. 1629. and that he was not only married but begat Children the same Clemens in another place affirms (l) Stromat l. 3 p. 448. Yea that S. Philip and S. Jude were also married and had Children Eusebius is witness (m) Euseb Eccles Hist l. 3. c. 20 31. In like manner we find That many of the primitive Bishops were married so were Chaeremon Bishop of Nilus S. Spiridion S. Gregory Nazianzen S. Gregory Nyssen S. Hilary and many more Nor can it be said that they took Wives while they were Laymen and after they took upon them the sacred Ministry were separated from them since the Canons commonly called the Apostles did prohibit either Bishop Priest or Deacon to put away his Wife upon pretence of Religion (u) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Can. 5. and if any such shall abstain from Marriage as in it self abominable command that he be corrected or deposed and cast out of the Church (o) Canon 50. which Canons though not made by them whose name they bear yet they are of greater Antiquity than the first Nicene Council And when in that Council it was moved That Bishops and Priests Deacons and Subdeacons might not cohabit with their Wives which they had taken before Ordination the Motion was presently dashed by the famous Paphnutius who was himself a single person (a) Socrat. Ecclesiast Hist l. 1 c. 11. Yea a long time after this Council we meet with many Popes who were Sons of Bishops and Priests Pope Theodorus Silverius and Gelasius I. were the Sons of Bishops Pope Boniface I. Felix II. and Agapetus I. were the Sons of Priests (b) Grat. dist 56. c. 2. Platina in vitis eorum And that we may not think this strange Gratian himself informs us That the Marriage of Priests was in those days lawful in the Latin Church as it was at that time when he writ in the Eastern Church (c) Dist 56. c. 13. Nor is this Doctrine to be rejected only as contrary to Scripture and to Primitive and Apostolical Practice but because of the abominable Fruits produced in the Church of Rome by it For when their Clergy might not have Wives which God allowed instead of them they took Whores which wickedness so far prevailed in that Church that no less a Man than the Cardinal of Cambray informs us That many Clergymen were not ashamed publickly and in the face of the World to keep Concubines (d) De reform Eccles And the Gloss upon Gratian says That it is commonly said That a Priest may not be deposed for simple Fornication because there are few Priests to be found without that fault (e) Communiter autem dicitur quod pro simplici fornicatione quis deponi non debet cum pauci sine illo vitio inveniantur Dist 81. c. 6. in Gloss And therefore Pope Pius II. had great reason to say That though Priests were by the Western Church forbid to marry for good reason yet there was stronger reason to restore Marriage to them again (f) Father Paâ—â—s History of the Council of Tâ—ent l. 7. p. 680. This many in the Council of Trent were sensible of Who alledged the great Scandal given by incontinent Priests and that there was want of continent persons fit to exercise the Ministry (g) P. 679 680. And therefore the Emperor and the Duke of Bavaria required That the marriage of the Priests might be granted (h) P. 514 526. And the Archbishop of Prague and the Bishop of five Churches desired that married persons might be promoted to holy Orders But this request would not be granted because if the Clergy once come to be married they will no longer depend on the Pope but on their Prince (i) P. 680 747. 6. The Doctrines of the number of the Sacraments of the Character impressed by them and of the necessity of the Priests intention defined by the Roman Church as necessary Points of Faith are such as cannot be derived from Scripture or from the Tradition of the Church as is freely acknowledged by many learned Men of their own Communion As the Word Sacrament is ambiguous so it is sufficiently known That the Fathers as they took it in a more strict or large sense so they either encreased or lessened the number of them And Cassander hath observed That we scarce meet with any Man before Peter Lombard who reduced them to a certain number (k) Consâ—lt Cassand Art 13. And that the number Seven hath no colour either from Scripture or the antient Church we may be assured by those goodly Reasons upon which it was established by the Council of Trent viz. There are seven Vertues seven capital Vices seven Defects which came by original Sin seven Planets and I know not how many sevens more (l) History of the Council of Trent l. 2. p. 234 235. and therefore there are seven Sacraments neither more nor less Risum teneatis As to the Character impressed by three of them viz. Baptism Confirmation and Order 't was so little understood by the Trent Fathers that they could not agree what it meant or where to place it One would have it to be a Quality another to be a Relation and of those who made it a Quality some said
a General Council confirm'd by another As the Council of Basil confirm'd by Pope Nicolas V. was esteemed a Schismatical and Seditious Conventicle and reprobated by the last Lateran Council confirm'd by Pope Leo X. (f) Binii notis in Concil Constantiens Bâ—ll de Concil Auâ—t l. 2. c. 17. which at Rome is accounted a General Council So that unless Errors become Truth and Contradictions be reconciled when determin'd by a Pope and Council we may conclude that not only the Pope himself but a General Council confirm'd by him hath err'd It plainly appears by what hath been said that those have actually err'd whom the Church of Rome supposes to be her only infallible Guides From whence it unavoidably follows that the Church of Rome hath err'd First in all those Points which have been erroneously defin'd by them Secondly In supposing them to be Infallible I shall not stay to shew of what use Councils either General or Provincial are how far their Authority extends and what great Benefit may accrue to the Church by them tho they be suppos'd not to be Infallible But shall proceed to the next Proposition viz. II. That the Errors of the Church of Rome were not slight and in matters of small moment but so gross and enormous when the Reformation was set on foot that there was a necessity of reforming them This will be evident First By unquestionable Testimonies Secondly By taking a particular view of the Errors themselves First By Testimonies of unquestionable Authority of Persons who could neither be mistaken through Ignorance nor byass'd by Interest or Affection to represent Matters worse than indeed they were But who were on the contrary as well acquainted with the State of the Roman Church as any Persons in the World who were promoted to the greatest Honours in it whose worldly Interests ingaged them above all other men to maintain its Reputation and Authority and who not only liv'd but died in Communion with it Such were their learned Doctors their Bishops and Cardinals their Princes and Emperors their Popes and General Councils tho the two last are not to be reckon'd for single Witnesses but for the Voice of their Church the one being their Church Representative the other according to their Divinity their Church Virtual Of those many which offer themselves I shall content my self to produce a few and those shall be such as were either cotemporary with or who liv'd within about a hundred years of the Reformation passing over those who were at a greater distance from it John Gerson the renowned Chancellor of Paris in a Sermon to the Council of Constance applies to the modern Church of Rome these words of the Prophet Ezekiel Thou didst trust in thine own beauty and plaiedst the Harlot because of thy renown and pour'dst out thy Fornications on every one that pass'd by And in all thy Abominations thou hast not remember'd the days of thy youth Thou hast built thy brothel house at every head of the way and hast made thy beauty to be abhorr'd Behold therefore I will deliver thee into the hands of those that hate thee And after he had told them what were the sad Symptoms of approaching Ruine he advises them to a great and notable Reformation of Manners as the only means to prevent it (a) John Gerson Serm. de â—ignâ—â— ruinâ— Ecclesiae And because saith he some may say that the Church is founded upon a Rock and therefore in no danger of ruin He declares more particularly what were those Enormities in which the Church-men especially needed to be reform'd and then exhorts the Council either to reform all Estates of the Church in a General Council or command them to be reform'd in Provincial Synods that by their Authority the Church might be repaired and the House of God purg'd from all Vncleanness Vices and Errors (b) Declarat Defect viror Ecclesiast The same Author earnestly press'd Pope Alexander V. to set himself to reform those Corruptions and Abuses which as he says were the Plague of the Church and without the removal of which 't was in vain to expect Peace (c) Serm. coram Alexand in die Ascens Domini Nic. Clemangis another Parisian Doctor writ several Books upon this Subject in which he represents to the World the deplorable State of the Roman Church and the necessity of Reforming it (d) De Corrupto Statu Ecclesia de Reparaâ—â—â—â— Ruinâ— Eccles Add to these single Testimonies the solemn Appeal of the whole University of Paris from Pope Leo X. to a General Council in defence of the Pragmatick Sanction In which they set forth how that the Councils of Constance and Basil made many Decrees especially about the Reformation of the Ecclesiastical State as well in the Head as in the Members which in those days especially seem'd to stand in need of Reformation And how among other things the Sacred Council of Basil consider'd how by the antient Fathers Sacred Canons and wholsome Decrees were made for the happy Government of the Ecclesiastical State which as long as they were observ'd the vigour of Ecclesiastical Discipline continued Religion Piety and Charity flourish'd But after that men through Ambition and Covetousness began to contemn the Decrees of the Holy Fathers there follow'd Deformities in the Church many of which they afterwards enumerate and then appeal from the Pope to a future General Council (e) Fascic rerum expeâ—end ac sugiend Richer Hist Concil General l. 4. part 2. p. 84. And 't is observable that this Appeal was made in the year 1517. the very same year in which Luther began to preach against the horrible Abuses of Indulgences If we pass on to Bishops and Archbishops tho their Interest ingag'd them more strongly to oppose it yet we shall find several even among them who were so sensible of the necessity of Reformation that they earnestly call'd for it and endeavour'd to promote it Frederick Archbishop of Salerno Jerome Archbishop of Brunswick and Joh. Matth. Gibertus Bishop of Verona plainly declar'd that they had a great Sense of the Corruptions of the Church by the Articles of Reformation which together with the rest of the Select Council they deliver'd to Pope Paul III. (f) Richer Hiâ—t Concil General l. 4. part 2. p. 136. In a Book Intitled Onus Ecclesiae written by John Suffragan Bishop of Saltzburgh in the year 1519. that is but two years after Luther began the Reformation we have for many Chapters together a most direful Description of the corrupt State of the Church (g) Onus Ecclesiâ— c 19 20 21 c. In the Council of Trent the Bishop of Conimbria said For these 150 years the World hath demanded a Reformation in the Head and the Members and hitherto hath been deceived that now it was time they should labour in earnest and not by Dissimulation (h) History of the Council of Trent l. 6. p. 558. And Dudithius an
IV. who was deposed by it If therefore a General Council confirmed by the Pope cannot err it is infallibly certain and according to the Principles of the Church of Rome an Article of Faith That the Reformation of the Church was necessary Should we now pass from the Clergy to the Laity from Bishops Cardinals Popes and Councils to Secular States Kings and Emperors we should find That they were also highly sensible of the Corruptions and Abuses Usurpations and Oppressions of the Church of Rome and many of them zealous and active in their endeavours to reform them What great complaints were made by many of our Kings of England against the Encroachments of Rome How often did they petition the Pope for a redress but finding no relief from thence Edward the Third and Richard the Second did in part right themselves and their Subjects by the Statutes of Provisoes and Praemunire * 27 Edw. 3. c. 1. 25 Edw. 3. 16 Rich. 2. c. 5. 13 R. 2. c. 3. See Cook upon these Statutes Institut par 3. c. 56. Charles VII King of France as a Fence to the French Church against the Mischiefs which flowed from the Court of Rome set up the pragmatick Sanction which when Pope Pius II. endeavoured to overthrow he appealed from him to a General Council (b) Richer Hist Concil general l. 4. par 1. c. 1. p. 36 37 c. Lewis XI was indeed decoyed by the Popes fair Promises to revoke that Sanction but soon after seeing his errour he commanded it again to be observed * Richer Hist Concil general l. 4. c. 1. s 13. After the death of Lewis the three Estates of the Kingdom assembled at Tours besought Charles VIII who succeeded him to maintain the Pragmatick in its full strength †Id. s 15. Which he not only consented to but resolved to make a further progress in reforming the Church and to that purpose consulted the College of Divines at Paris (c) Id l. 4. c. 2. Lewis XII who followed next coyned his Money with this Inscription Perdam Babylonis nomen I will destroy the name of Babylon (d) Thâ—ani Hist l. 1 p 11. by which he plainly declared what his Judgment then was of Rome The zeal of Sigismund the Emperour for the Reformation was abundantly manifest by his indefatigable pains in procuring the Council of Constance and assisting in it By protecting the Council of Basil against the attempts of Eugenius and by labouring with other Princes to promote it but especially by that Reformation he made in many things himself Maximilian I. made bitter Complaints of many scandalous Abuses of the Roman Court and commanded the redress of them under pain of his heavy displeasure (g) Fascic rerum expetend aâ— fugiend s 170. The Emperor Ferdinand proposed to the Council of Trent by his Embassadors twenty Points concerning Worship Manners and Discipline which he desired might be reformed (h) History of the Council of Trent l. 6. p. 513. and in a Letter to the Pope and another to his Legates in the Council earnestly pressed for an effectual Reformation (i) l. 7. p. 682. The Princes of Germany at the Diet at Nuremberg in the Year 1523. in their Answer to Cherogat the Popes Nuncio insisted upon the reforming of Abuses and correcting of many Errors and Vices which by long tract of time had taken deep root for the effecting of which they demanded a free and general Council And those intolerable burdens as they called them laid upon them by the Court of Rome they reduced to an hundred Heads (*) Sleid. com l. 4. Fascic rerum expetend ac fugiend History of the Council of Trent l. 1. which they called the Hundred Grievances of the German Nation and presented them to the Pope protesting that they neither would nor could endure them any longer To conclude this Head to so monstrous a deformed state was the Western Church degenerated that the Prince the Priest the Clergy the Laity Men of all Conditions and of all Nations Yea if the infallible Oracle Pope Adrian the Sixth spoke truth the whole World groaned after a Reformation (k) Richer l. 4. par 2. p. 130. Secondly The necessity of which will be further evident by taking a particular view of the Corruptions and Errors themselves which for methods sake and to avoid confusion shall be reduced to four general Heads 1. Corruptions in Doctrine 2. In Worship 3. In Manners 4. In Discipline In treating of which it will plainly appear that their Errors were not small and of light importance but so gross and in matters of such high moment that there was an absolute necessity of reforming them 1. Gross Corruptions in Doctrine Many Doctrines were imposed as Articles of Faith which have not the least Foundation in Scripture Reason or Primitive Antiquity and many others which are not only Strangers to all these but contrary to the common sense and Experience of Mankind I shall instance in some of them 1. The Infallibility of the Bishop or Church of Rome We have before seen that this Doctrine hath no Foundation in Scripture and by consequence can be no Article of Faith Yea that there is no pretence of Reason why the Bishop and Church of Rome should be infallible rather than the Bishop and Church of Constantinople and all those fine flourishes they are wont to make of the expediency of this Doctrine for the ending of Controversies and the safe conducting of Souls to Heaven may be as well accounted for by making the Church of England or any other Church infallible That no such Doctrine was owned by the antient Church we may be assured both because the Fathers in those many Heresies which in their times arose never betook themselves to this easie and compendious remedy for the suppressing of them but chose the more tedious and laborious way of confuting them by Scripture by Reason and Catholick Tradition and because the Asian and African Bishops did in some Points so resolutely dissent from the Roman Bishop and Church that they chose rather to break Communion than to comply with them therein Had any such thing in those dayes been believed would the African Illyrican and Dalmatian Bishops have renounced Communion with Vigilius Bishop of Rome for consenting to the condemnation of the three Chapters (a) Petrus de Marca dissertat de Epist Vigilii s 8. Would the blessed Polycarpus have dissented from Pope Eleutherius Irenaeus from Pope Victor S. Cyprian from Pope Stephen Can any Man who is not forsaken of his Reason imagine That such Men as these would have behaved themselves so towards the Pope as they did had they not thought themselves as infallible Judges as he But what need I contend for this when such great men of the Church of Rome as Nilus Archbishop of Thessalonica Gerson Chancellor of Paris Almain Alphonsus de Castro yea Pope Adrian VI. himself teach us as even
it was one kind of Quality others that it was another some placed it in the Essence of the Soul some in the Understanding some in Will c. (m) P. 239. And in case the intention of the Priest be necessary then as the Bishop of Minori unanswerably argued in that Council If a Priest having charge of four or five thousand Souls be an Infidel but a formal Hypocrite and in absolving the Penitent baptizing of Children and consecrating the Eucharist have no intention to do what the Church doth it must be said that the Children are damned the Penitent not absolved and that all remain without the Fruit of the Communion (n) History of the Council of Trent l. 2. p. 241. And what an horrible abuse is it to make such things as these Articles of Faith and impose them upon all Men to be believed under peril of Damnation 7. The Doctrine of Merits That the good Works of justified persons be truly meritorious deserve not only the increase of Grace but eternal Life yea an increase of Glory (a) Concil Trident. Sess 6. Can 32. Whereas the Scripture tells us That our goodness extends not to God (b) Psal 16. 2. That not only all that we do But all that we can suffer is not worthy to be compared with the Glory that shall be revealed (c) Rom. 8. 18. That when we have done all those things which are commanded us we are still unprofitable Servants and have done no more than what was our duty (d) Luk. 17. 10 That we can give nothing to God but what we have first received from him that we are obliged to him for the good we do as well as for that we receive since all our good Works are entirely owing to his Grace are the free Gifts of his Holy Spirit who worketh in us both to will and to do (e) Phil. 2. 13. Yea even Reason it self teaches us That whatsoever we are and whatsoever we have it is all received from him that we can give nothing to him that it should be recompenced to us again that the best Services we can perform are no matter of favour but a Debt we owe him and in case they were wholly our own yet if put in the Ballance with that exceeding and eternal weight of glory would be infinitely too light Though therefore we readily grant That our good Works are not only Conditions but necessary Qualifications by which we are made meet to be partakers of the Inheritance of the Saints in light and without which we are not so much as capable of enjoying it though we do not condemn the Word Merit in that large sense in which it was used by the antient Doctors of the Church as it signifies a Work that is praise-worthy and to which God hath promised a Reward as it denotes a Means appointed by God in order to the bringing us to Heaven Yet we can in no wise grant That any Works of ours are truly and in a proper sense meritorious but whatsoever right is thereby acquired to eternal Life it is founded in the gracious Promise of God who hath declared that he will reward our poor and imperfect services with Glory Honour and Immortality 8. Though every sin be in its own nature deadly yet the distinction of sins into Mortal and Venial is in a sense admitted by Protestants viz. If by Mortal be meant such a grievous sin as actually excludes a Man from the favour of God and puts him into a state of Damnation as all those do mentioned 1 Cor. 6. 9 10. and every other wilful sin By Veniul such a lighter sin for which God in the Gospel Covenant makes allowances and which he will not impute to Condemnation to those who sincerely endeavour to do whatsoever he commands as sins of Ignorance and meer Infirmity But this distinction as it is commonly explained and applyed by the Romish Doctors is plainly destructive of a holy Life and one of the greatest encouragements to Vice For a Venial Sin in their Divinity is a Sin that in its own nature is so light and small that it cannot deprive a Man of the favour of God or render him obnoxious to eternal Death (a) Pâ—â—catum aliquod dicitur Veniale ex natura sua propria ratione est illud quod ex se sua natura est tam leve tam minutum ut non valeat aliquem privare â—ratia divina aut facere illum Dei inimicum aut reddeâ—e illum dignum moâ—te â—terna Alphons de Castro advers Haeres l. 12. fol. 210. And if you ask them What Sins in particular these Venial Sins are scarce any Sin can be named but some or other of their most approved Casuists will tell you It is no more than Venial even lying and slandering false witness and Perjury Theft and Covetousness Gluttony and Drunkenness are placed in the Catalogue of these little harmless Sins Now let these Venial Sins be never so numerous the greatest evils which according to their Doctrine they can expose a Man to are no more than the temporary pains of Purgatory and these they tell us may be bought off at so cheap a rate that there is no Man in such unhappy circumstances but he may purchase his release from them And what then remains to give check to a Mans sinful appetites 9. But for their loosness in Venials some may think they have made amends by the severity of their Doctrine concerning Mortal Sins For no Man as their Church teaches can obtain the pardon of these without confession to a Priest and performing the Penances he imposes for them And this Confession must be compleat not only of the kinds but of the particular Sins together with the circumstances which change the kind that a Penance may be enjoined proportionable to them (b) Conâ—il Trident. Sess 14. c. â— de Pâ—nitent Can. 4. 7. But besides that we find no such sort of Confession required by Christ or his Apostles no nor used in the Church for more than four hundred Years But on the contrary that our blessed Saviour proposes pardon of Sin how Mortal soever upon condition of sincere Repentance and new Obedience besides that the thing it self is unpracticable For how shall an ignorant Mechanick know what those circumstances are that change the kind When perhaps his Confessor is not able to tell him How shall he know which Sins are Mortal and which are Venial when their most learned Casuists are at no agreement among themselves about them but that which one says is Mortal another says is no more than Venial and their seraphical Doctor affirms That many Sins are believed to be Venial that are Mortal and it is a most difficult thing to discern the one from the other (c) Multa enim frequenter ereduntur esse Venialia quae Mortalia sunt difficiâ—limum est in talibus discernere Bonavent l. 2. dist 24. par 2. Dub.
Hungarian Bishop pray'd the Hungarians and Polonians That for God's sake and for the Charity every Christian oweth to the Church they would not abandon so honest just and profitable a Cause but that every one would put down in writing what he thought might be constituted for the Service of God without any respect of man not reforming one part but the whole Body of the Church in the Head and the Members (i) P. 5â—8 If from Bishops we ascend to Cardinals tho to their Pride and Luxury and Pomp and Grandeur nothing could give a greater blow than a due Reformation yet to such a wretched State was the Church reduced that many of them did not only acknowledge the necessity of Reforming it but in some measure contributed their endeavours toward it Gaspar Cardinal Contarene John Peter Cardinal Theatine James Cardinal Sadolete and Reginald Pool Cardinal of England were of the number of the Select Council that presented the Articles of Reformation to Pope Paul III. (k) Richer Hist Concil General l. 4. part 2. p. 156. The College of Cardinals at the death of Alexander VI. before they entred the Conclave for the Election of a new Pope took an Oath that if any of them should be chosen he should immediately before the Publication of his Election bind himself under pain of Perjury and a Curse to call a Council within two years for the Reformation of the Church (l) Richer Hist Concil General l. 4. part 1. c. 2. which Oath was taken by Julius II. (m) Id. l. 4. part 1. c. 3. p. 334. who was chosen Pope and when it appear'd afterward that he made no conscience of keeping it seven years having pass'd without any mention of a Council in the year 1511. nine Cardinals who had withdrawn themselves from Rome by reason of his Insolencies by the assistance of the Emperor Maximilian and Lewis XII King of France call'd the Second Pisan Council to that purpose (n) Id. Petrus de Alliaco Cardinal of Cambray wrote a Book for the Reformation of the Church (o) Fascic rerum expetend aâ— fugiend and Ludovicus Cardinal of Arles who presided in the Council of Basil zealously endeavoured it The Cardinals who call'd the first Pisan Council to extinguish the Schism rais'd by the two Anti-Popes Benedict XIII and Gregory XII vow'd that they would to the utmost of their power procure that he that should be chosen Pope should reform the Church and that till a due and sufficient Reformation of the universal Church was made as well in the Head as in the Members he should not suffer the Council to be dissolv'd (p) Richer Hist Concil General l. 2. p. 102. Tho the Testimonies already produc'd are beyond Exception yet behold greater Witnesses than these I mean Popes themselves who above all men in the World abhor'd all Proposals of Reformation as that which would throw them down from their usurp'd Dominion and put a stop to their lawless Tyrannies To such an Excess were the Romish Corruptions grown and so evident was the necessity of reforming them that they were forc'd to confess it who most desir'd to deny it To this purpose Paul III. appointed a select Council of Prelates to collect those Abuses which were most Notorious and Pernicious and present them to him that he might correct them (q) Id. l. 4. part 2. p. 136. Pope Marcellus II. said that he resolv'd to make a severe and intire Reformation but died before he could let the World know whether he intended to be as good as his word (r) Hist Counc of Trent l. 5. Paul IV. who succeeded him promised to reform not verbally but really the Head Members Clergy Laity Princes and People (Å¿) Hist Counc of Trent l. 5. Alexander V. as soon as he was chosen by the Pisan Council promised to set himself to the Work and to chuse good and learned Men out of every Nation to consult with the Cardinals about it (t) Concil Pisan sess 21. apud Richer Pope Adrian VI. was free and ingenuous in confessing the abominable Corruptions of the Church and especially of the Court of Rome and professed that he took the Papacy upon him to the end that he might reform the Universal Church (u) Sleidan Comment l. 4. Richer Hist Concil general l 4. par 2. p. 129 Fascic reâ—um expetend c. f. 173. What Testimony of greater Authority can be desired than these already mentioned unless it be the concurrent voice of the Church representative in a general Council To which I now proceed The first Pisan Council as it is commonly reckoned though it was indeed the second were resolved to reform the Church which Alexander V. as was said before who was chosen by and presided in that Council promised to assist them in (w) Concil Pisan sess 17. 21. apud Richerium apud Binium sess 16 20. The Council of Constance which followed five Years after decreed That the Pope which was then to be chosen should together with the Council or those which should be deputed by the several Nations reform the Church before the Council should be dissolved and the matters about which it was thought fit the Reformation should be made were reduced to eighteen Heads (x) Concil Constant sess 40. In the Council of Basil the Pope gave his Legate full power of concluding all such things as appertained to the reformation of the Ecclesiastical State (y) Concil Basel sess 1. Bin. And whereas there were six things which that Council resolved mainly to prosecute two of them were these 1. That the Church should be reformed in the Head and Members 2. That the antient Discipline as much as possible should be restored (z) Richer hist Concil general l. 3. c. 2. The second Council at Pisa declared That the reformation of the Church was most necessary and passed this Decree upon it That the Holy Synod would not nor could dissolve it self till the Universal Church should be reformed both in Faith and Manners as well in the Head as in the Members (a) Sess 3. apudi Richerium l. 4. par 1. p. 430. Where it is observable That the Reformation decreed by this Council as so highly necessary did extend to Faith as well as to Manners And so did also that which was required by many other great Men of the Roman Communion as shall be afterward shewed when I descend to particulars It cannot be expected that I should ascend higher in the Ecclesiastical State since a general Council is the highest Authority of the Church on Earth by which we see the necessity of a Reformation is confirmed and that not by one single Council only but by four successively three of which were confirmed by Popes The first Pisan by Alexander V. the Council of Constance by Martin V. the Council of Basil by Nicolas V. and so much of it as concerned the Reformation and much more by Eugenius
Bellarmine himself acknowledges (b) Bâ—ll de Rom. Pontif. l. 4. c. 2. that the Pope may not only err but be a Heretick yea and teach Heresie too if he define without a General Council And when a General Council says 't is certain the Pope may err (c) Concilii Basil Respons Synodal de Authorit Concil general supra Pap. Richer l. 3. c. 2. S. 6. And what that Council says of the Pope is experimentally verified of a Council confirm'd by the Pope as hath been before prov'd Nor is this Doctrine to be rejected meerly because it is notoriously False but more especially because of its horrid Consequences as it opens the door to and gives protection to any other the most palpable Error both in Doctrine and Practice For if this be once granted there is no remedy but we must believe Darkness to be Light if the Church of Rome says it is so Yea a Thomas Becket a Garnet or any other the most execrable Traitor must be worshipt for a Saint when the Pope is pleas'd to canonize him 2. Their Doctrine of the Popes sovereign Power over the universal Church That every Christian under pain of Damnation is bound to be subject to him that no Appeals may be made from him that he alone is the supream Judge over all Persons in all Causes Ecclesiastical but that he himself can be judged by no man This Doctrine hath not only been defin'd by Popes themselves as well as their Flatterers and many hundreds of years together put in execution by them but hath moreover been establish'd by such Councils as are by the Romanists accounted General (d) Concil Florent p. 85â— tom 8. apud Binium Concil Lateranens V. Sess 11. And yet is not only destitute of all Authority from Scripture but much may be found in Scripture against it And not only in Scripture but 't is plain from Church History that the Bishops of Rome in the early Ages of Christianity had no Jurisdiction beyond their own Province that for the first 300 years there were but two only viz. Victor and Stephen that took upon them to censure Persons that were of another Diocess and that they themselves were severely censured for it by other Bishops That the eight first General Councils were all both call'd and confirm'd not by Popes but by the Emperors (e) Richer Hist Concil general l. 1. c. 13. p. 753. Review of the Council of Trent l. 3. c. 1. 2. That the Pope hath been oppos'd in many Councils and many Synodical Decrees have been pass'd full sore against his will (f) As in the Council of Chalcedon the second at Constantinople the Council of Constance of Basil c. That he himself was subject to the Laws of the Church and upon his transgression of them obnoxious to censure no less than other Bishops That no Appeals were allow'd to him by the African Bishops That by the ancient Canons every Bishop did order the Affairs of his own Diocess without dependence upon or Subordination to the Bishop of Rome and that all Causes were finally to be determin'd by Provincial Councils (g) Concil Constantinopol 1 Can. 2. Concil Nicaen 1 Can. 5. That many Popes have been anathematiz'd by other Bishops and many judg'd condemn'd and depos'd by Synods All which and many more things which might be mention'd are plainly inconsistent with this pretended universal Empire of the Pope But if nothing could be alleg'd from Scripture or the Doctrine or Practice of the antient Church to the contrary yet the intolerable Evils which unavoidably flow from it cannot but render this Doctrine detestable to all those who have any sincere Love either to Truth or Goodness For whereever this Doctrine is receiv'd a man must think himself in duty bound to entertain Error and to reject the Truth to put Virtue for Vice and Vice for Virtue in case the Pope require him so to do And that the Pope not only may but for many Ages hath commanded men so to do the sad experience of the Christian World is a proof too unanswerable 3. The Doctrine of the Popes Dominion over temporal Princes That if Kings and Emperors oppose themselves to him or turn Hereticks he may depose them absolve their Subjects from their Oaths of Allegiance and give away their Kingdoms to whomsoever he pleases This exorbitant Power hath been challenged by the Pope for many successive Ages (h) Dictates of Greg. VII Dictate 9. That all Princes should kiss the Popes Feet Dictate 12. That the Pope may depose the Emperor Dictate 27. That he may absolve the Subjects of wicked Princes from their Allegiance Binius tom 7. part 1. p. 362. Richer l. 1. c. 13. And when opportunity hath serv'd hath been frequently put in practice by them So Gregory VII excommunicated the Emperor Henry IV. and gave away his Kingdoms to Rudolphus Duke of Sweden (i) Baron an 1080. n. 8. 12. Gregory IX excommunicated the Emperor Frederick II. and absolv'd his Subjects from their Oaths of Allegiance (k) Bullarium Rom. Tom. 1. p. 89 90. Pope Paul III. excommunicated and deposed Henry VIII King of England and commanded all his Subjects under pain of a Curse to withdraw their Obedience from him (l) Bullar Rom. Tom. 1. p. 514. Pope Pius V. and Gregory XIII damn'd and depos'd Q. Elizabeth and absolv'd her Subjects from their Allegiance (m) Camdens Elizabeth This Doctrine and Practice has been defended by their learned Cardinals Baronius and Perron by their School-men Canonists and by the whole Order of Jesuits Yea 't is no more than what was decreed by divers such Councils as are generally own'd for lawful Representatives of their Church As by the third Lateran Council under Pope Alexander III. (n) Cap. 27. Relaxatos autem se noverint à debito Fidelitatis c. And by the fourth Lateran Council under Pope Innocent III. (o) Si vero Dominus temporalis requisitus monitus ab Ecclesia terram suam purgare neglexerit c. Eadem nihilominus lege servata circa eos qui non habent Dominos principales c. 3. And tho some Romanists are now asham'd to own it yet no less a man than Lessius tells us that if Kings may not be deposed by the Pope then of necessity must the General Council of Lateran have err'd But what can be more manifest than that this Doctrine is contradictory to the Holy Scripture Which tells us in express terms that the King is supream (q) 1 Epist Pet. 2. 13. and commands every Soul to be subject to the highest civil Powers (r) Rom. 13. 1. Nothing can be more repugnant to the Doctrine of the Primitive Fathers who taught that the Emperor was the supream Power on Earth that he was subject to God only and that all other Persons were put in subjection under him (Å¿) Tertull. Apolog c. 30. ad Scapuâ—â—m c. 2. that neither Prophet
1. Besides I say these and many other insuperable prejudices that lye against it as the matter is managed in the Church of Rome it wholly defeats its own design For what Man will be ashamed to do that which is done upon course by the best Men in their Church the Priest the Bishop yea the Pope himself not excepted And who will be afraid of the most formidable Sin when the Penance imposed for it is usually trifling and next to nothing so far from giving check that it is one of the strongest provocations to sin For what greater encouragement can a Man desire than to purchase a pardon upon such easie terms 10. I need not shew that the Doctrine of Purgatory as taught by the Church of Rome cannot derive its Pedigree either from the Scripture or the primitive Fathers because it is freely confessed by many of her own Members that it hath no foundation in either of them Yea a late learned Writer of that Church hath proved by great variety of Arguments that it is plainly repugnant to Scripture to Reason and to the judgment of the antient Church and exposed the vanity of those pretended Proofs which are commonly brought for it (d) Tho. Aug. ex Alâ—iâ—◠〈◊〉 Saxon. de media Animaâ—um statu And yet it is no wonder that the Romish Clergy so zealously contend for it that the Council of Trent hath established it and that Pope Pius IV. hath put it into the Roman Creed (e) Bull. super formam Jurament Confess Fidei because this is that by which they make spoil of the people and enrich themselves This alone hath erected and richly endowed many fair Abbies and Monasteries this hath founded many Colleges Chappels and Chantryes this hath set up and maintained the gainful Trade of Indulgences and Masses Let the people be once disabused and rightly informed in this Point Masses for the Dead will grow out of fashion and Indulgences will be despised as nothing worth For 11. The Doctrine of Indulgences is another new Article of the Roman Creed This is generally owned by the learned Romanists themselves In particular Durandus one of their famous Schoolmen acknowledges That little that is certain can be said concerning them because the Scripture speaks not expresly of them and the holy Fathers S. Ambrose S. Hilary S. Augustine and S. Jerom make no mention of them (f) De Indulgentiis pauca dici possunt per certitudinem quia nec Scriptura expresse de eis loqultur sancti etiam ut Ambrosius Hil. Aug. Hierom. minime loquuntur de Indulgentiis Durand l. 4. dist 20. q. 3. And Cardinal Cajetan grants That no sacred Scripture no Authority of the antient Doctors Greek or Latin hath brought the Original of them to our knowledge (g) De ortu Indulgentiarum si certitudo haberi posset veritati indagandae opem ferret verum quia nulla sacrae Scripturae nulla priscorum Doctorum Graecorum aut Latinorum authoritas scripta hanc ad nostram deduxit notitiam Opusc Tom. 1. Tract 15. c. 1. And no wonder because their Original bears a much later date than either the Sacred Scripture or the Authority of the antient Doctors for the learned Romanist before mentioned tells us That for ought he could find Indulgences were not thought on before the Age of the Schoolmen (h) De his Indulgentiis ante Scholasticorum aetatem quod sciam â—nspicio nulla De mâ—dio Animarum statu Demens 27. That is till twelve hundred Years after Christ and therefore no mention is made of them by Gratian or the Master of the Sentences It is true That in the Primitive Church severe and long Penances were imposed upon scandalous Offenders the rigour of which upon weighty Considerations was sometimes moderated by the Bishop and this Relaxation was called by the name of Indulgence But the Popish Indulgences are quite of another nature for they suppose a Treasure in the Church made up of the Merits of Christ and the Saints the Saints must be added to supply the defect of Christ's Merits which is wholly at the Popes disposal which therefore he dispenses to others as he thinks fit to discharge them from those Temporal Punishments to which they are obnoxious for their Venial Sins in Purgatory Nor are these Indulgences as the Practice of their Church is limited to the Souls in Purgatory and to those Punishments which are due to venial Sins only but granted to all Persons indifferently who will pay for them and for all Sins be they never so enormous To such an excess of Abomination were the Doctrine and Practice of Indulgences grown about the time of the Reformation such an intolerable Reproach were they to our Holy Religion that the more sober Romanists themselves cry'd shame on them (i) Espencaeus in cap. 1. Ep. ad Tit. Onus Ecclesiae c. 15. Eras l 30. Ep. 57. 12. Another Error and that which is indeed the main Foundation of many of those already mention'd and of many more which follow under the next Head is this That unwritten Traditions ought to be added to the Holy Scriptures to supply their defect and ought to be receiv'd as of equal Authority with them Whereas the Scriptures themselves which the Romanists acknowledge to be an infallible tho but an imperfect Rule do frequently bear witness of their own Sufficiency as to all Matters necessary to Salvation (a) Psal 19. 7. John 20. 31. 2 Tim. 3. 16. I say all Matters necessary to Salvation because we do not assert that all things belonging to Rites and Ceremonies and to the external Polity of the Church are contain'd in them except only in general Rules by which the particular Determination of them is committed to the Discretion of our Governors but we affirm that there is no Article of Faith or Rule of Life that is necessary to be believ'd or practis'd that is not either in express words contain'd in them or by evident consequence may be deduced from them so that supposing them to be the Word of God we need no other Rule in such Matters And 't is certain that the ancient Fathers were of the same Judgment I shall produce the words of S. Austin only In those Matters saith he which are plainly placed in Scripture all those things are found which contain Faith and the Manners of Holy Living viz. Hope and Charity (b) In iis quae aperte in Scriptura posita sunt inveniuntur illa omnia quae continent fidem moresque vivendi spem sc atque Charitatem De doct Christiana l. 2. c. 9. In which words he affirms not only that all things belonging to Faith and Manners are contained but that they are plainly contain'd in the Scripture And in another place the same Father says If an Angel from Heaven shall preach to you any thing concerning Christ or his Church or concerning any thing which belongs to Faith or Life besides what you have received in the Writings
Elements such an incredible Change were wrought yet no man can be sure that it is indeed wrought and by consequence that he is not guilty of foul Idolatry The reason is evident because upon the Principles of the Church of Rome the Consecration depends upon such a number of Uncertainties that no man can ever be certain that it is duly made For if he be not a true Priest that Consecrates if he do not pronounce the words of Consecration and pronounce them aright if he do not intend to consecrate but to abuse the People then no Consecration follows and consequently no substantial change is effected And if the Roman Doctrine be true is it possible for the People or for the Priest himself to know that he is a true Priest For no man can be so who is not baptiz'd by a Priest whose intention was right in baptizing him and ordained by a Bishop who intended to do what the Church does And who can tell whether the Priest that baptiz'd him or the Bishop that ordain'd him had a right Intention And can any man tell besides the Priest himself that consecrates whether he pronounces the words of Consecration or pronounces them as he ought when the words are utter'd with so low a voice that none can hear what he says And none certainly but himself and the Searcher of Hearts can tell whether the Priest when he pretends to consecrate may not intend to mock the People Now in these cases no Consecration follows but the Bread remains Bread still and a Wafer only is worship'd instead of Christ And if any say these cases are rare Let a Bishop of the Church of Rome answer (i) Bishop of Minori History of the Council of Trent l. 2. p. 241. Would to God says he they were so and that in this corrupt Age we had not cause to doubt they were many But suppose they are very few or but only one Let there be a knave Priest who faineth and hath not an intention to administer the true Baptism to a Child who after being a grown man is created Bishop of a great City and liveth many years in that charge so that he hath ordained a great part of the Priests it must be said that he being not baptiz'd is not ordain'd nor they ordained who are promoted by him So that in that great City there will be neither Eucharist nor Confession because they cannot be without the Sacrament of order nor order without a true Bishop neither can he receive order who is not baptized Behold millions of Nullities of Sacraments by the malice of one Minister in one Act only So many uncertainties does Consecration depend upon in the Church of Rome that it may seem highly probable that not one Sacrament in an hundred is duly consecrated and by consequence not one Person in an hundred that worships the Host but in so doing according to their own Doctrine he gives that worship to Bread that is due to God only It will not save them harmless nor so much as excuse them to say that they verily believe it not to be Bread but the very Son of God since if they do so their mistake must be grosly wilful there being no such exact likeness between Christ and a bit of Bread that any Man can mistake the one for the other who is not resolved so to do 6. To make a Picture of God is forbidden by God himself in the Holy Scripture Take ye therefore good heed to your selves saith God to the Jews for ye saw no manner of similitude in the day the Lord spake to you in Horeb out of the midst of the Fire lest ye corrupt your selves and make you a graven Image c. (a) Dâ—ut 4. 15 16. 'T is repugnant to the very nature of God who is a Spirit and can no more be represented by a bodily shape than a Thought can It is an intolerable reproach to and infinitely derogates from his peerless perfections It was judged an absurd and a wicked thing by the antient Christians as Cassander confesses and quotes S. Augustin for the proof of it (b) Cassand Consuâ—t Art 2â— We believe saith that Father speaking of Christ that he sits at the right Hand of God the Father and yet it is not to be thought that God the Father is circumscribed by a humane shape that those that think of him should conceive that he hath either a right-side or a left or for that the Father is said to sit is it to be supposed that it is done with bended Knees lest we fall into that Sacrilege for which the Apostle abhorrs those who changed the Glory of the incorruptible God into the likeness of corruptible Man For such an Image of God it is unlawful for a Christian to place in the Temple much more detestable to place it in his Heart (c) Aug. de Fide Symbolo c. 7. Which Words plainly shew what the Judgment of Christians in this matter was four hundred Years after Christ It was condemned by the wiser sort of Heathens as a thing altogether unsuitable to the Divine Nature Yea that very Council which decreed that the Image of Christ and the Saints should be worshipped thought it not only unlawful but absurd and impossible to make an Image of that Being which is Spiritual Invisible and Incomprehensible (d) Concil Nicaen 2. Actione 4 Actione 7. in Epist Synodica ad Constantinum Iren. And Durandus one of their learned Schoolmen says It is a foolish thing to make Images to represent God (e) l. 3. dist 9. q. 2. And yet the practice of the Church of Rome not only now but many Years before the Reformation was to picture God the Father and the adorable Trinity and so generally hath this practice obtained that Bellarmine makes that an Argument to prove the lawfulness of it (f) Bell. de Imagin l. 2. c. 9. For now saith he such kind of Images are almost every where received and it is not credible That the Church would universally tolerate that which is unlawful He says they are almost every where received and that the Church did universally tolerate them but in that he says they are now received he plainly grants that they were antiently rejected 7. Another gross Corruption in the Worship of Rome which rendred the Reformation necessary was the Worship of Images This also the Church of England hath condemned as Idolatrous and proved it to be so by the Authority of Gods Holy Word and by the Testimonies of the antient Fathers (a) Homily against the peril of Idolatry I shall not mention the many Scriptures in which God prohibits and expresses his abhorrency of this sort of Worship and dreadfully threatens those who practise it for that would be to transcribe a great part of the Bible Whosoever can reconcile it with the second Commandment he need not doubt but he may make Perjury and Murther and Theft and false
his Book of the Reformation of the Church That altho they are great Evils which we see yet unless the Church be speedily reformed we shall in a short time see incomparably greater after those horrid thunders we have already heard we shall presently hear others that are more horrible And the Suffragan Bishop of Saltzburg having described the Vices of the Roman Court he concludes 'T is vehemently to be presumed and cautiously to be feared that the Ruine of the Latin Church as to its Ecclesiastical Dignity is near (b) Onus Ecclesiae c. 19. fol. 36. Nor shall we think it strange that considering men apprehended such dreadful Evils were approaching if we consider that this deplorable corruption of manners was 1. Universal in all States and Degrees of Men. 2. And more especially in the Clergy 3. And most especially in the Pope and Cardinals 1. There was a general corruption of manners both in the Civil and Ecclesiastical State The Cardinal but now mention'd having recited the sad complaints S. Bernard made of the corrupt State of the Church in his time he further adds If these things were spoken by blessed Bernard they may now much more be said because since his time the Church hath proceeded from bad to worse and in the whole State as well Spiritual as Secular Vertue being abandon'd it hath fallen into the shame and filthiness of Vice (c) Fascic rerum expetend ac fugiend fol. 203. And supposing all States and Orders to be corrupted he afterwards proceeds to shew what he thought were the best expedients both for the Reformation of the Church in general and of the head and the several subordinate Members in particular Nicolas de Clemangis tells us That wicked Persons did so much abound in all professions of men that scarce one among a thousand was to be found who did sincerely live answerable to their Profession and if there was any one that was honest chast and frugal and did not follow this lewd kind of life he was made a laughing stock to others and was presently call'd either an insolent and singular madman or an Hypocrite (d) Sed tanta est improborum in singulis professionibus exuberantia ut vix inter mille unus reperiatur qui id quod sua Professio exigit sinceriter fâ—ciat Quinetiam si simplex aliquis si castus frugalis in Collegio aliquo vel conventâ— latam lubrican perditorum vitam non sectetur fabula ridicula caeteris efficitur insolensque singularis insaâ—â—s aut hypocrita continuo appellatur c. Nic. de Clemang de corrupto Statu Eccles c. 25. The description of the corrupt manners of all orders of Men both in Church and State which we find in the book before cited (e) Onus Ecclesiae is so black and tragical that it can hardly be read without horrour and that Book was publish'd about the beginning of the Reformation And the Cardinal of Lorrain forty years after in his Speech to the Council of Trent attributes all the dismal calamities which had befallen the Kingdom of France to corruption of Manners as one principal cause of them (f) Hist of the Counc of Trent l. 7. 2. And no wonder that all flesh had corrupted their ways when the lives of the Clergy which should have been the Salt of the World were themselves more corrupt and unsavory than those of the Laity Cardinal Julian in his Epistle to Pope Eugenius IV. tells him That the People were above measure incens'd against the Ecclesiastical State by the dissolute lives of the Clergy for which saith he 't is greatly to be fear'd unless they mend their Manners lest the Lay-men after the example of the Hussites fall foul upon the whole Clergy And in truth this deformity administers great boldness to the Bohemians and gives a fair colour to their errours who especially inveigh against the filthiness of the Clergy (g) Incitabat me huc venire deformitas dissolutio Cleri Alemaniae ex qua laici supra modum irritantur adversus statum Ecclesiâ—sticum propter quod valde timendum est nisi sise emeâ—dent ne laici more Hussitarum in totum irruant Clerum c. Richer Hist Concil general l. 3. c. 2. p. 322 323. The German Bishop before quoted in the words of Catharine of Sienna gives this character of the common Clergy at the beginning of the Reformation The Modern and unhappy Clergy addict themselves to temporal things being destitute of Divine light they love themselves neglect the love of God and their Neighbour they are worse than wordly Men whom they destroy together with themselves They are addicted to Pleasures and infamous Practices and neglect the Salvation of the Souls of Christ's faithful People By the lives of such wicked Clergymen the seculars come to be disobedient and irreverent towards the Church they are seduced by blind Guides who Oh shame are ignorant Idiots Proud Covetous Hypocrites Simoniacal Luxurious Envious slow to good Works prone to Evil c. Where at this day can be found that Continence in Gesture Diet apparel and Laughter that becomes the Clergy At Banquets Taverns Plays and Theaters they are more frequently found than in places dedicated to God How hugely pernicious to the Vniversal Church the Scurrility Ignorance Fornication Simony and other crimes are with which almost the whole Clergy is infected there is no man doubts (a) Onus Eccles c. 21. S. 1. Much more may be found of the like import in the following part of the Chapter And Nicolas de Clmeangis who was himself an Arch-Deacon in the Church of Rome represents the Clergy of that Church as the dregs and scum of mankind as persons who for the generality abandon'd themselves to the most loathsom vices as may be seen in the Margin (b) Jam illud obsecro quale est quod plerisque in Dioecesibus Rectores Parochiarum ex certo conducto cum sâ—is Praelatis pretio passim publice Concubinas tenent De corrupto Statu Ecclesiae c. 15. Si quis bodie desiâ—iosus est si quis à labore abhorrers si quis in otio luxuriari volens ad sacerdotium convolat quo adepto statim se caeteris sacerdotibus voluptatum sectatoribus adjungit qui magis secundum Epicurum quam Christum viventes caâ—â—onulas sedulo frequentantes potando commessando pâ—ansitando convivando cum tesseris pila ludendo tempâ—ra tota consuâ—unt Crapulati vero inâ—briati pugnant clamant tumuâ—tuantur nomen Dei sanctorum sâ—orum polutissimis labiâ—s execrantur siâ—que tandem compâ—siti ex meretricum suarum amplexibus ad Divinum â—â—tare veniunt c. 16. Nor were the inferiour Clergy alone chargeable with these foul immoralities but the Prelates were as bad or worse than the Curates The Bishops says the foremention'd Author serve Onus Ecclesia c. 20. S. 3. their own Tables instead of the Altar they are unwise in Divine things
while they love the wisdom of the World they are more employ'd in the Offices of the Exchequer than in the Works of Christ they adorn their Bodies with Gold they defile their Souls with Impurity they account it a shame to employ themselves in spiritual matters and their Glory is to meddle with those things that are scurrilous Hence 't is said by Catharine of Sienna they as men that are blinded reckon that to be their Honour that is truly their shame contrary to the Canons they keep about themselves Pimps Bawds Flatterers Buffoons such as give themselves wholly to Vanity instead of men that are Learned and of good report And a little after The Bishops neglect due Hospitality by neglecting the Poor of Christ by making themselves fat by feeding Dogs and other Beasts §. 9. and so one Beast feeds another as if they chose to be of the number of those against whom the Lord will pronounce that just sentence I was poor and ye received me not therefore depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire There are few Bishops who are not covetous they take by violence other mens Goods and wastfully spend the Goods of the Church they bestow the revenues of the Church not to pious uses but upon their Kindred upon Stage-players Flatterers Huntsmen Whores and such like Persons they rather make provision for the wickedness of Men than for the necessities of Nature c. This was the complaint of a Popish Bishop in the year 1519. And that the matter was not much mended with the Romish Clergy more than forty years after appears by the speech of the Duke of Bavaria's Embassadour to the Council of Trent In which he tells the Council that the cause of the evils that were risen among them was the bad life of the Clergy whose wickedness was so great that he could not relate it without offending the chast ears of the Auditory (a) Hist of the Counc of Trent l. 6. p. 527. Tho' it may seem strange that the Clergy who by their very Calling are oblig'd to exemplary Purity and Holiness should be so monstrously vicious yet the wonder will be the less if we consider 3. That the vicious lives of the Popes and Cardinals were indeed the main source of that deluge of wickedness in which the inferiour Clergy was immersed We can desire no better proof of this than the confession of Pope Adrian VI. in his instructions to his Legate for the Diet at Nuremberg in the year 1522. Thou shalt promise says he that we will use our utmost endeavours first that this Court may be reform'd from whence perhaps all this evil hath proceeded that as from thence the corruption flow'd to all inferiours so from thence the health and reformation of all may proceed (b) Sleidan Comment l. 4. History of the Council of Trent l. 1. Richer Hist Concil general l. 4. part 2. p. 129. This was a rare confession from a Pope but no more than what the necessity of the thing extorted from him For the Cardinals were by degrees arriv'd to such an excess of Pride and Luxury as was odious and intolerable to all but themselves and those whose vices were supported by them If a man would make an image of Pride says Clemangis he can no way do it more to the life than by representing a Cardinal to the eyes of the Beholders (c) Jam vero Cardinalium qui Papâ— assident spiritus verba tumentia gestus tam insolentes ut si Artifex quisque vellet superbiae simulachrum effingere nulla congruentius ratione id facere posset quam Cardinalis effigiem oculis intuentium objectando De corrupto Statu Eccles c. 10. They trampled upon Bishops who were their Betters nor would they vouchsafe so much as to salute them when they fell prostrate upon the ground to worship them which is more than any King ever assumed (d) Nec pro quocunque Praelato etiam prono adorante eos in terra ponerent manum ad capellum ut salutarent eum quod nunquam aliquis Rex aut Princeps fecit neque hodie permitteret Responsio Apologet. Gallicanae Nationis de Annat non solvend apud Richer l. 2. c. 3. One of themselves more modest than the rest when he returned home laden with the Spoils of Germany being asked in Consistory what the Barbarians so they called the Germans thought of Rome which was so kind as to send them those choice Wares of Indulgences answered That the whole World complained of the Pride and Luxury of the Cardinals (e) Totum orbem conqueri de luxu fastuque Cardinalium Fascic Rerum expetend ac fugiend fol. 203. And can any man think there was not just cause for this complaint who will but consider what vast Revenues were spent upon their Lusts For not two or three or ten or twenty Benefices would suffice but a hundred or two hundred yea sometimes four or five hundred or more were usurp'd by one Cardinal and those not of the poorer sort but the fattest and richest of all And well had it been says our Author for the inferior Clergy had they been content with that prodigious number but the great mischief was that nothing would satisfie them but how great a number soever they had they still more vehemently coveted more (f) Non quidem duo vel tria decem vel viginti sed centena ducentena interdum usque ad quadringenta vel quingenta aut amplius Nec parva tenuia sed omnium pinguissima optima quibus si contenti essent postquam ad summam illam numerosam perventum est nec ultra quaererent prospere cum pauperibus Clericis qui reliquias earum expectant ageretur Sed quantumcunqâ—â— ad numerum aut summam venerint ad â—mptiorem festinant assidue festinant ardentius festinant De Cor. Statu Eccles c. 11. Nor shall we think it strange to hear of such Cardinals when we consider what manner of men the Popes themselves commonly were We need not look back to foregoing Ages in which their own Historians tell us they were Monsters and Prodigies g Hâ—c monstra haec Portenta Plat. in vita Benedicti IV. Such tragical Examples and so devoid of all Piety as neither to regard the Person they sustained nor the place they were in h Non possum non multum mirari unde tragica haec Pontificum fluxerint exempla quam dira pietatis oblivio eorum mentes irrepserit ut neque personae quam sustinebant ratio ab his ulla haberetur neque loci quem tenebant Sabellic Ennead 9. l. 1. that about fifty Popes together did utterly degenerate from the Virtue of their Ancestors i Hoc vero uno infelix quod per annos fere 150. Pontifices circiter quinquaginta à virtute Majorum prorsus defecerint Genebrard Chronograph l. 4. But passing over these let us only consider what the Popes were