this Doctor opposeth himselfe against a corporation of Romish Doctors an Vniversity and the Councell of Trent 2. The not reiterating of baptisme against the Anabaptists which is the same with the baptisme of young children for the Anabaptists doe rebaptise those whom we haue baptised as holding baptisme in infancie to bee no baptisme 3. Rom. 8.9.11 Ioh. 14 26. 16.14 The proceeding of the holy Ghost which is proved by the places where he is called the spirit of God and the spirit of Christ and the comforter whom the father sendeth in the name of the sonne which taketh of the sonne c. 4. The consubstantialitie of the father and of the sonne Which is proued in this That the sonne is God Ioh. 1.1 Even our great God Tit. 2 13. consequently one God with the father for there is but one God 1. Cor. 8.6 and being one selfe God they are by consequence one selfe substance Wee haue also S. Iohn in his first Epistle cap. 5. who saith thus There be three that bear record in heauen the Father the Word and the holy Ghost and these three are one 5. He would haue said Anti-dicomarianites or Heluidians The perpetuall virginitie of the Virgin Mary against the Anti marianites but this is no point necessary to salvation The seemelinesse rather then any necessitie induceth vs to beleeue it 6. The translation of the Sabaoth to the Sonday An article not necessary to salvation Apoc 1 I was ravished in spirit vpon a sonday yet doe we see by the Revel 1.10 and by the 1. Cor. 16.1 and by the Act. 20.7 that this Institution was made in the time of the Apostles 7. The celebration of the feast of Easter against the Quarto Decimanis Which also is of no greater importance to salvation witnesse the censure and reprimendum sent by Ireneus to Victor Bishop of Rome who skirmished fiercly in that quarrell This Epistle of Ireneus is extant in the Ecclesiasticall historie of Eusebius lib. 5. cap 23.8 That there are but three persons in the Trinitie a matter which neither the holy Scripture nor any maÌ„ that ever had any one drop of common sense did ever studie to perswade for in a dualitie there can be but two in a Trinitie three 9. Lastly he bringeth in The washing of the Apostle's feet which saith hee wee cannot proue to be no sacrament therevpon hee great lights De Maiorit obed tit 33. Can. Solita quanta inter solem lunam tanta inter Pontif. Reges differentia Arist Phis li. 4. cap. 4. the greater is the Pope and the lesser is the Emperor and kings as saith Pope Innocent the 3. These our Masters I say so full of their subtilties and invention in their explications which according to the doctrine of Aâ—axagor as doe draw all things out of al things could they not aswell proue these eight points by the scripture as we with all our doltishnesse haue fouÌ„d them out without any difficultie But the truth is that it was no want of inveÌ„tioÌ„ in them but lack of good meaning And these defects in the Scriptures doe they seek out the rather that we might not thinke much that in the Scriptures there is no speech of painting of the Trinitie of worshipping of Images of fetching soules out of Purgatory by Popish Indulgences of their Pastors abstinence from marriage of thâ—◠〈◊〉 â—ctions of meats to be brief 〈◊〉 their traditions In these consiâ—â—â—â—ns it staÌ„deth them vpon to abâ—â—â— authoriâ—â— of the Scriptures 〈◊〉 accus◠〈◊〉 of imperfection Yet is it their surâ—â— course to prohibit the people from reâ—ding of them and from learning any thing but at their mouthes who haue most interest in the suppressing of theÌ„ and doe reape most commodity of the peoples ignorance I could therefore wish that the auctors of these torrents fires and furnaises would lay their haÌ„â—â— to their consciences if they caÌ„ find any and vpon their doctorall faith tell vs whether this vnwritten words these letters of credence be not a means prepared by the Pope thereby to forgâ—â— new articles for his commodity A secret corner wherein to coine false mony and to clip the word of God Theâ—â— consciences must say yes they are oveâ— wise to be ignorant thereof but worldly reasons carry them away in somâ— hope of gaine in some feare and in some worldly devises doe speake lowder and haue greater voice in the Chapter house then conscience In as much therefore as the word â—f God contained in the old and newe â—estament is the only and sufficieÌ„t rule â—f our faith and that Purgatory if wee â—eleeue our adversaries is to bee beleeâ—ed as an article of our faith that vnâ—er paine of damnation it is strange â—hat God in the old Testament having â—rdained sacrifices expiations for al â—orts of sinnes and pollutions even to â—he Leprosie to the bloody flixe â—nd to the touching of any dead â—ody c. did never ordaine any expiâ—tion sacrifice satisfaction or prayâ—r for the soules that were in Purgatorie The ancient Patriarkes good â—ervants of God Abraham Isaac Iacob â—oseph Moses Aaron Iosua Samuell or David never desired after their deathes â—o be prayed for neither did themselues pray for any that was dead that God would vouchsafe to bring them out of Purgatory True it is that they bewaiâ—ed their dead but among al their mournings weepings fastings and lamentations wee find no path to purgatory neither any one prayer to fetch the soules of the deceased out of Purgatory and indeed such lamentations and fastings were made even for the wicked such as died in Gods displeasure As for Saul to whom it was said by the Pithonesse not many houres before his death that God was against him who also died soone after his consultation with the witch David likewise bewailed Absalon who died in rebellion and treason against his owne father yet for such saith the Church of Rome wee must not pray How grievous were the teares vpon the death of Iacob and Moses who as holy and rare lights of the Church could never bee confined into Purgatory The high Priest of the Law never granted Indulgences neither made any intercession to abridge this so scalding a punishment neither did they that died make any foundations of services Pag. 16.18 or sacrifices to redeem their soules out of this fire Here doth our frier seeke a starting hole but the clefâ— is to straight for him to creep through He complaineth that In liew of seeking the true light in the law of Grace that is to say the Gospell we looke for it in the darke and obscure law of Moses To speak plainly he refuseth the old Testament as an incompetent Iudge for the darkenesse thereof But to this obiection wee doe answer that indeed the prophecies of things to come and the ceremonies of the old Testament are not so cleere easie as the Gospel yet are Gods Commandements therein laid down in
plain and open tearmes Wee therefore demand what commandement of God he can find throughout the old Testamēt wherein it is commanded to pray for the dead or to offer any sacrifice for them either among them to distribute the superabundant merits and satisfactions of holy men deceased as Abraham or Moses to helpe them out of Purgatory Here our adversaries are at a stand and bite the bit for were there any cōmandement that might bear wreasting to that sence they that can so cunningly rack the Scriptures to their purposes would no doubt haue produced it Here doth our Frier frie in his greace would faine shift it of with blasphemies as they that are beset with fires would gladly leap out at the windows He doth no longer accuse the olde Testament of obscuritie but of omission and impection How many things saith he hath God left vnmentioned in the olde Testament Pag. 16. to the end to take from the people all occasion of Idolatry and yet are necessarie to saluation As invocation of the Trinitie Pag. 18. the immortalitie of the soule c Againe he saith vnder the law prayers for the dead were not so frequēt publike least they should giue the Iewes occasiō with the Gentils to thinke that they ought to sacrifice to the infernall powers Secondly that in regard that before the redemption of man kind the estate of the deceased was not so well knowne as after that our Saviour Iesus Christ descended into hell And thirdly because they had not so good means to relieue the dead as they had after that the merits of the death and passion of our Lord were committed into the hands of the Church to apply them So many wordes so many monsters and blasphemies First in that hee denieth that in the old Testament there is any mention of the Immortality of the soule wee haue before heard the depositions of Daniell Salomon and the Prophet Balaam prophecying Let vs hereto adioine the taking vp of Enoch and Elias into heaven proofes of their immortality The wordes of Iacob on his death bed Lord I haue waited for thy salvation Gen. 49.18 Iob. 18.26 The hope of Iob who assured himselfe that after his skinne should be consumed he should yet see God in his flesh The words of God himselfe who saith I am the God of Abraham the God of Isaac Mat. 22.32 and the God of Iacob God is not God of the dead saith Jesus Christ but of the liuing The only name of Religion importeth the Immortality of the soule which being taken away what is Religion but an intollerable yoake a scrupelous feare a superfluous labour If in this life only saith S. Paul we haue hope in Christ wee are of all men the most miserable 1. Cor. 17.19 what was the old Testament but the Religiō of Gods people It doth therefore presuppose and as it were in the forehead beare written this title The Immortality of the soule As for Invocation of the Trinity it is commanded in the old Testament for there we are commaunded to call vpon God and he that calleth vpon God calleth vpon the Trinitie But what shall we say to the discretion of our Moncke who maketh God marveilous provident in that he would not speake of the Immortalitie of the soule so to take from the Jewes all occasion of Idolatry alas poore man God cureth not one evill by an other much lesse a smaller evill by a greater Idolatry by Atheisme or superstition by Irreligion the mother of all excesse As if it should be forbidden to speak of God either good or evill for feare of blaspheming him or as if a man should cut of his head for saving the wearing of a cap. What discretion to loose the principall for saving of the dependant To sell the horse for saving of the hay God provideth not against evils in such manner as the Popes who will saie they prevent heresies by prohibiting the vse of Gods word the diminishing of Ecclesiasticall profits by prohibiting marriage of the Cleargie Dist 18 Can Sirac vxor filii per quos Ecclesiast solet periclitari substantia contrarie to the doctrine of S. Paul 1. Tim. 3.2 howbeit if God followed this precept of discretion in the old Testament why did he alter his mind in the new where with too much simplicity if we beleue this Moncke he doth in every place inculcate Eternall life Are men since the daies of Jesus Christ lesse bent to Idolatry Nay which is more The opinion of the death of the soule Idolatry do for the most part follow each other between them there is a fraternity The heathen that had little or no hope of eternal life were Idolaters did not Pope Iohn 24. celebrating his Masse kneele to the bread yet did he beleeue that the souls of men died as the souls of beasts for which small sin togither with 54. others Consil Const Sess 11. the Councell of Constance in their eleventh session condemned him That which ensueth is ferial smelleth of the friery He yeeldeth an other reason why in the old Testament prayers and sacrifices for the deade were so vnfrequented It was saith he because before the redemption of mankinde ehe estate of the dead was not so well knowne as after that Christ descended into Hell He doth therefore presuppose that Jesus Christ when he came from hell brought assured news as if that Jesus Christ before his death knew not the state of the dead as well as after his resurrection or els that either he would not or could not instruct his disciples of the estate of the dead as wel before his death as after But now I pray you what be the news that Jesus Christ brought vndoubtedly even the same that the golden legend and the booke of the life and death of Jesus Christ do report how he came to hel gates and the good thiefe Dinas carying a Crosse before him how hee made the gates to be opened how hee beat and hampered the Divels how he entertained the fathers whom he foūd in this Limbo with goodly discourses a thousande such Iolly gallant histories after the imitation of the Romanes all which the Evangelists had forgotten for either of these or of any other news that ever Jesus Christ brought out of Limbo out of Purgatory or out of Hell we finde not one sillable in all the newe Testament The souldier raised again of whom S. Gregory Dialogue 4. cap. 36. doth make mention and one Nicholas mentioned in the legend of S. Patricke who by a Caue that he found in Ireland entred into Purgatory at their returne related his things as they had seen below more exactly As that they had seen mē fryed in frying pans others fluttering about the chimnies like small flames a bridge of yce of two fingers broad vnder the which ran a torrent of fire and over this bridge must they passe that were to enter into Paradice Thus grew
the world very skilfull and a good boy but to the detriment of the purity and simplicity of the Gospell Lastly he saith that Vnder the olde Testament they had no such meanes to releeue the dead as they had after that the merites of Iesus Christ were committed into the handes of the Church to apply them These are three principles forged in the Vatican to vnderprop the Popes greatnes to bring in the traffique for soules first that the dead could not bee so well relieved before the cōming of Jesus Christ as now they are Secondly that the merits of Jesus Christ are nowe in the Churches hands to apply thē Thirdly that these merits of the death and passion of Iesus Christ were never passed over to the Church vntill since the comming of Iesus Christ since which time the dead haue beene the better relieved And this is to bee noted that by the Church we are to vnderstand the Pope who taketh vpon him to be the Guardian and treasury of this treasure of the Church where he shutteth vp the merits and supererogatorie satisfactions both of Iesus Christ and of the Saints Monks And this we cannot finde very strange Dist 95. causa satis and in the last councel of Lateran sess 9. Extrav De facund Eccl. Can. quoniā for having assumed to himselfe the name of God of the divine Maiesty and the name of Jesus Christ and tearming himself the Spouse of the church it is no great matter for him to take the name of the Spouse of Jesus also Let vs now therfore proceed to the examination of these three principles For the first That the dead could not bee so well relieved before the comming of Iesus Christ as since I demande whether he speaketh of the reliefe of man or of the reliefe of God To say that God hath now better meanes to relieue the dead then he had before is Blasphemy His power and goodnesse are ever infinite and without encrease and craue no helpe of any new means but if he speak of the reliefe of man I aske him who imparted to them now those meanes that their forefathers had not The Monke no doubt wil say that God gaue them to them thē belike God had thē If he had then I suppose he would then haue bestowed them as wel as men do in these daies whereof it must follow that the faithfull that liued before Iesus Christ might by praiers and sacrifices haue entreated God to employ those means which since he hath committed into hands the of men Wherefore did they not Wherefore was there in the law no sacrifice for the dead Nor no publike service instituted by God Thus doth this difficulty still remaine vnresolved The second principle is That the merits of Iesus Christ were cōmitted into the hands of the Church to apply them 1. Tim. 2.6 A doctrine as farre repugnant from the gospell as helping to the Popes commodity For by the scripture it plainely appeareth That Iesus Christ offered himselfe 〈◊〉 ransome to God for vs to whom wee were endebted and enthralled to eternall paine and emprisonment This ransome then did God receiue at his sonnes hands If he receiued it when did he againe dispossesse himselfe of it to passe it over into the Popes hands May it be lawful for vs in a matter of such importance which concerneth the participation in the merites of Jesus Christ to speake without the authority of the worde of God Againe what prodigious dealing is this that a creditor having received of his debtors surety the ransome for many prisoners shoulde deliver the same over into the handes of some one of his prisoners to apply it to the rest It is a matter not only without example but even besides all reason All men do know that in such a case it is enough that the creditor or detainer receiue the ransome and that the debter or prisoner reape and enioy the benefit God hath for me receaved the full ransom by the hands of my surety redeeme◠Iesus Christ God then hath it with himselfe therefore will I go neither to the Pope nor to any other to entreat them to distribute it to me but will rely onlie vpon Iesus Christ and will trust to his death and in acknowledgement of so great a favour will consecrate my life to his service The pastors are set over vs to preach this benefit to the penitent sinner to let him vnderstād that he is reconciled to God also that whosoever beleeveth in Iesus Christ shal through his name obtaine remission of his sinnes Act. 10.43 If our frier shall yet invent any reason to proue it to bee necessarie that the Pope or his Prelates should be the treasurers and dispensers of the merits of Iesus Christ he shal but skirmish with him selfe for he shal find the same necessities before the comming of Iesus Christ considering that both quick and dead in that age stoode in no lesse necessity of Gods graces then they that liue in these daies Againe if the Pope haue in his treasury the merits of Iesus Christ his Saints to distribute them to others how commeth it that he taketh none to himselfe Or why doth he not keepe for himselfe so many as may serue to keepe him out of Purgatorie How is it that after his death they saie so many Masses for his soule Must sillie Priests by their Masses and suffrages apply bestow the merits of Iesus Christ and his Saints vpon him who distributing them to others yea even so farre forth as to graunt to some one an hundred thousand yeare of plenary pardō could not reserue enough for himselfe albeit if we list to beleeue him himself continually carryed the keies of this treasure even to his last gaspe Where note withall that if the distributing and applying of the merits of Iesus Christ to the faithfull be a part of the Pastors charge it followeth that the dead haue no part in this the Popes liberality considering that he is no longer their pastor Now let the reader iudge whether this gay principle be not a butteresse or prop to support tiranny that the people may thinke that they cannot participate in the merits of Iesus Christ but by the hands of the Pope or of such as he doth authorize therevnto The third principle is the worst and as it were vpon the highest step of impietie and therefore it is our dutie to cast it downe headlong The merits of Iesus Christ saith hee were not in the hands of the Church vnder the old Testament as now they are and therefore there were not so good meanes to relieue the dead But here we wil set down another principle gathered out of the word of God That is that the merits of Iesus Christ were of power sufficient to saue the faithfull even from the beginning of the world as saith St. Paule 2. Cor. 5.19 God was in Christ and reconciled the world to himself not imputing their sinnes
at libertie because some friend of his hath scourged himselfe or fasted for him 3. Whether the pardons that the Pope giueth without enioining any penance be of any force as also those which he giueth with conditiō to work some wickednesse as in the yeares 1587 and 1588. when hee gaue seven yeares of pardon to every one that would ioine with the holy Vnion that is to say that would rebell against their king yet he a Roman Catholike 4. Againe In as much as these superabundant satisfactions of Saints are gathered together into the Popes treasurie because God will haue nothing lost how haue the superabundant satisfactions of such holy men as died vnder the old Testamēt as Moses Abraham c. beene husbanded be those also in the Popes treasury But where were they laid vp before the Pope had them Did they lie lurking in some corner two or three thousand yeares vntill the Pope gathered them together and found meanes to employ thē It were not amisse also to enquire the reason why the world in the yeare of Iubile maketh such hast to Rome cōsidering that at Rome they may at all times obtaine millions of yeares of Indulgences and full remission of sinnes and some six hundred thousand yeares of plenary pardon Aboue all we would gladly know when a man that needeth ten thousand yeares of pardon doth purchase enough for fiftie thousand yeares what becommeth of the fortie thousand yeares that remaineth Cayer saith that they returne into the treasurie for the good of others but because his companions doe despise disgrace him wee would willingly bee taught by some substantiall Doctor the rather for that at Rome and in one selfe place a man may obtaine besides the plenary pardon certaine thousands of yeares of surplussage To what end may that surplussage serue wil the Pope therewith pardon sins giue Indulgences by provision CAP. 6. That all the passages of holy Scripture by our adversaries quoted for prayer for the dead and for Purgatory are either false or vnprofitable IN all the Premises wee may see that our enimies fight but faintly that they are armed but with strawes against the force of the truth how much lesse shall they be able to do any thing when they shall be quite stripped and that little armour that is left them be cleane taken away This is it which in this Chapter wee will with Gods helpe performe My adversaries therfore whose desire of gaine induceth them to practise Pyrotechny doe heape together stubble good store that is to say simple proofs to kindle this fire of Purgatory Of these proofes some concerne prayer for the dead and some Purgatory some taken out of the old some out of the new Testament we will then without dissimulation propound them all and for my part I will deale with thē with as much equitie and sinceritie as they haue dealt with me with fraud vniustice which consisteth in suppressing my best obiections and corrupting the rest Passages produced by these three Doctors to proue prayer for the dead All that my adversaries doe alleage concerning prayer for the dead is groūded vpon a false principle namely that who so prayeth for a dead body presupposeth that there is a Purgatory but in the last Chapter wee will shew that the prayers for the dead which some of the ancients did vse were even against Purgatorie Here might we dispense for answering hereto the rather for that albeit they should obtaine their desires yet had they gained nothing toward the establishment of their Purgatory Howbeit we will doe them thus much more then right that nowe receaving their principle we wil lay open the falshood and impertinencie of their proofes therevpon 1. Cayers passages p. 24. A falshood Cayer shall haue the credit to march foremost as the most skilfull His words are these It is said Numbers 16. v. 47. 48. that Aaron reconciled the people both the quick and the dead A passage false and by him invented for as well in the Hebrew as in the translations even in the Roman it is thus Aaron standing vpright betweene the dead and the living besought God for the people and the plague ceased 2. In the third book of Kings cap. 8. v. 38. There is a manner of prayer for the dead saith Cayer in these words Every prayer and supplication made by any man for the wound of his heart in the Church it shall be acceptable to God Also in the 33. verse it is said If the people fall before their enimies in praying to God they shal be heard Were not this passage falsified yet shew me one word in it that importeth praying for the dead 3. Againe he saith that in the 57. of Esay the Prophet complaineth that they did not pray for the dead This also is false neither is there any such speech throughout all the Chapter Looke also what wee haue already said in the third Chapter and third Argument 4. He goeth on and saith that in the third Chapter of Baruch it is set downe in expresse words Heare o Lord God the prayer of the dead Israelits and of their children that haue sinned before thee And soone after Remember not the iniquitie of our Fathers First the booke is Apocriphall secondly In these wordes of Israell are comprised all the people of Israell who in those daies through the extremitie of their captivitie misery were as if they lived not as it appeareth in the eleventh verse where it is said Israell is counted with them that go downe to the graue Tearming those dead after the ordinary phrase of the Scripture that are oppressed with affliction and as it were within two inches of death As David in the 88. Psalme albeit aliue counteth himselfe among the dead and those that goe downe to the pit so also in the 18. Psalme v. 5. 6. and in the 116. Psalme v. 3. hee saith that he is environed and surprised with the snares of death and with the bonds of the sepulcher Also in the 18. Psalme v. 19. the faithfull doe desire of God that he would restore them to life as if they had beene dead and already brought to the graue Thirdly to what purpose doth hee come in with a prayer of the dead considering that our question cōcerneth only the prayer of the living for the dead Fourthly as concerning these words Remember not the iniquitie of our fathers hee prayeth that the threats of the lawe which denounce that God will visit the iniquitie of the Fathers vpon the children be not executed vpon them hee therefore prayeth that the sinnes of the fathers be no cause to prolong their captivitie as plainely appeareth in the eight verse Cayer produceth yet another passage out of the second of the Machabes but that you shal find among the passages of the other two 5. The Frier having discharged all his anger vpon M. Calvin and charged that good man with infinit slanders wresting the Interpretion of sundry his
ensuing besides the aforesaid absurdities hath yet this particular that it presupposeth that the Lords praier is said for the dead also If so theÌ„ do we also pray that God would giue them their dayly bread As for bread it is the lesse strange because the fire of Purgatory is sufficient to bake it and sith in the Masse it is said that the soules do sleepe in this fire and rest in a slumber of peace it is like wheÌ„ they awake they haue a good appetite But I cannot comprehende howe this bread may be called Dayly sith there they haue neither day nor sun Hereto let vs adioine the same that our doctors haue confessed That God hath already pardoned those roasted soules from all their offences that he only requireth of them the paines due to the sins already pardoned how can we theÌ„ desire God to forgiue theÌ„ their sins which are already forgiven them A lyer must haue a good memory The last passage for subtiety beareth away the bel Iesus Christ saith the Monk shed his blood for many therefore for the dead What need he to seeke so farre set proofes to proue that which we confesse who denieth but the blood of Iesus Christ was shed for many for al the faithful for all the Saints and Martyrs How impertinent also is this collection that the Frier here maketh out of the ancients to proue that the Lords Supper is a sacrifice What maketh it for Purgatory Sith we grant that it is a sacrifice but as it is said in the Masse A sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving neither Propitiatory nor redemptory but by representation because the supper is a commemoratioÌ„ of the death of Iesus Christ the only propitiatorie sacrifice And in regard hereof this sacrifice was alwaies called Eucharistia that is A thaÌ„ksgiving As for the coÌ„memoration of the dead practised by some of the ancients in the supper I wil in the next chapter following proue that it maketh against Purgatorie for therein they also made a commemoration of the Apostles and Martyrs And in this place doth the Frier proue himselfe a most ridiculous flatterer in spreading abroad such Panegericks and praises of Monsieur Duranti one that deserveth commendations out of an honester mans mouth as also of our king who is too wise to thinke that such commeÌ„dations are other then shamelesse beginnings But what is become of those daies when men of his coat went in Procession in armes the pike in one hand the portuise in the other and were the firebrands of publike combustions encouraging the people against their king whilst we as good subiects even such as we will be to the death did shed our blood in his service Of like substance also is the fable that hee patcheth vp of a Masse song in England for the soule of the late Queene and the offerings contributed in her funerall wherevpon in full hope he exclaimeth At length the truth shall rise out of Democritus well you deceaue your selfe good man she rose from thence even in the time of the Apostles and primitiue Church But the divel hath dealt with her as he did with Ioseph when hee came out of the well she hath been sold to strange marchaÌ„ts brought into bondage and put in subiection not as Ioseph was to an Eunuch but to the father of lies marveilous fruitfull 8 This now decided let vs into our way againe In his 19. page hee bringeth in a prayer for the dead taken out of Esay 57.1 2. Cayer also pag. 24 citeth the same place but contrarieth the Frier saying that it is not a prayer for the dead but a lamentation that he maketh because that in those daies in Israel they prayed not for the dead The fire of Helie is content to say only that this passage doth not condemne Purgatory Pag. 66. Thus doe these our masters agree among themselus but in the third Chapter we haue shewed that the Frier falsifieth this place and that the same quite quencheth Purgatory 9 Nowe followeth the passage which all the 3 Doctors make vse of whereof they forme a mightie Bulwarke It is in the 2. of the Machabes the 12. where say they Iudas sent 12 thousand drachmes of silver to Hierusalem to be offered in sacrifice for the dead Hereto we answer 1. They falsifie the place The Frier pag. 10. 2. The book is not Canonicall 3. Were it Canonical yet maketh it nothing for Purgatory 4. They sinne against the naturall principles of the question For we never dispute against any but by the principles and autorities that we receaue Men dispute not with Iewes by the autoritie of the new Testament neither will the Gentils disputing against the Christians produce the testimony of Hesiods Theogony This S. Augustine knowing in his question against Maximine saith in his third booke and 14. Chapter that he will vse the Scriptures non quorumcunque propâ—ijs sed vtrique communibus Not proper to such or to such but coÌ„mon to both Now let vs returne over the three first points First the falsification is proued by reading over the place This it is Iudas sent to Hierusalem the summe of twelue thousand drachmes of silver to offer sacrifises for the sinne hee saith for the sinne not as the Frier saith for the dead Now what these wordes for the sinne doth signifie shall hereafter appeare That the book is not Canonicall we haue infinite proofes 1. First these books are not in the Hebrewe 2. Iesus Christ and his Apostles whoe vpon every occasion did alleage the passages of the old Testament never named any of these bookes neither out of them cited any passage 3. The Autor himselfe cap. 2. v. 19. saith that his purpose is to abridge the fiue bookes of Iason the Cirinean into one booke Now if Iasons bookes were not Canonicall how can the abstract of them be Canonicall If Trogus or Dyon bee prophane bookes how can Iustine or Xiphiline be sacred S. Paule 2. Tim. 3.16 saith All Scripture is given by inspiration of God But what inspiration is it to say the same that another in a prophane booke hath spoken and only to abridge his words What more The Autor doubting whether he had said well toward the ende concludeth thus If I haue said well and as it appertaineth to the history it is as much as I desire Are the motions of the spirit of God so insensible or doubtfull as to leaue the mind in suspense and vncertaine concerning the excellency of such things as it hath suggested a little after hee excuseth the simplicitie of his stile Will God who hath no interest to be beleeued whose naked words doe farre exceed the most polished words of man excuse the poverty of his owne phrase Or shall not hee that made the tongue haue eloquence enough yes for hee inspireth his servants with so much eloquence as he thinketh good neither is it for vs either to distast it or to bring excuses But in the reading of these
no apparance to impute the inventiō of this act to him therefore it were Impudencie to condemne him And this is the place where I meane to gratifie the frier For albeit this booke may as well bee false in this point as it is in the others that I haue laid open yet will I admit this history as a truth Thus it is at large After the battaile Iudas and his men came to gather vp the bodies of the slaine and to burie them but they found vnder their apparel things cōsecrated to the Idols that were at Iannia a matter forbiddē in the law Then had they recourse to praier and intreated that the sin committed might be forgiven and forgottē Iudas therevpon having made a collection sent to Hierusalem twelue thousand drams of silver to offer in sacrifice for the sin hitherto the history That which ensueth is the auctours Iudgement whom we receiue for an historiographer but not for a iudge or doctor in matters of faith In this history then which I pray you is the first word importing praier for the dead Or that concerneth Purgatory Had Iudas offered for the dead he would haue praied for all their sins and not for that sin only and vpon this reason did the Frier falsifie this passage and set in for the dead insteed of for the sinne Iudas therefore prayed that the sin of some might not pull downe the wrath of God vpon all the people as in the like case the sin of Acham had procured the overthrow of all the people of Israell Iosua 7. 10 The frier addeth yet one passage out of Toby forgiving Almes for the dead These saith he are the wordes of Toby Cast thy bread and thy wine vpon the graue of the righteous and beware thou eate not with sinners Toby 4.17 Whereto we saie first the book is Apocriphal al the testimonies produced against the bookes of the Macchabees are in force against the booke of Toby for it is in the same Rancke yea this book hath this in particular that it maketh the angel Raphael a lyer who being demanded by Tobyas who he was answered I am Azarias of the kindred of great Ananias and of thy brethren Yet let vs admit this booke were Canonicall and consider the passage Cast thy bread wine vpō the graues of the righteous then saith the Monke It must needs be there were almes for the dead 1. First this hath no such sequence neither can we hereof frame any good Argument 2. Againe no man denieth but it is good to giue almes for the dead that is to say not only inremēbrance of the dead but also for and insteed of the dead giving to the poore that which the deceased woulde haue given if he had lived but not for fetching his soule out of Purgatory for therof we find not one word in Toby The heathen that prayed not to fetch their dead out of Purgatory yet ceased not from giving almes and making funeral feasts ferales coenas silicernia Yea even among the Israelites there was some such matter not for the redemption of the soule departed but for the Consolation of the survivers as we learne in Ieremy Ierem. 167 Tertull. de Resur carnis c. 5. vnigus defunctos atrocissimè exaurit quos postmodum Gulosissimè nutriunt Qui in memoriis Martyr se inebriant quemodo a nobis approbari possunt c. Cyprianus de duplici Martyrio An non videmus ad Martyrum memorias Christianum a Christiano cogi ad ebrietatem where hee placeth this among the afflictions prepared for the Iewes They shall not stretch out the hands for thē in the mourning to comfort them for the dead neither shall they giue them the cup of Consolation for to drink for their father or for their mother Neither can this custome be reproued in case there be neither excesse nor superstition 3. The Christians in the primitiue Church on the day of the remembrance of the Martyrs tooke their repast neer to the graues and as abuse doth commonly intrude it selfe they many times overdranke themselues and buried their reasons vpon the sepulchers S. Augustin against Faustus the Manichean lib. 20. cap. 21. saith How can wee allow of those that drinke themselues drūken at the memories of the Martyres considering if they should do it in their houses al true doctrine would condemne them Hereby it appeareth that the meats set vpon the sepulchers were not a price or offering to deliver the soules of the dead for they were set vpon the sepulchers of those Martyres for whome the Church of Rome holdes that wee must not pray 4. Consider also I pray you whether this Monke desired to be beleeued and mocketh not himselfe when hee saith that this bread and wine was for those that were destined to weepe for the deceased and to pray for them that they might take some comfort For what a iest is this to buy teares with bread to haue certaine persons destined and affected to weeping thus to bring tears to be an occupation and so of an affliction to erect a trade A course indeed practised by the heathen and by the Iewes imitated yet by Chrysostome cōdemned which also the Prophet Ieremy mocketh saying Call for the mourning women and let them come But what appearance is there that these teares premeditated and hired may bee accepted for a payment and satisfaction to the iustice of God and so enable to redeem a soule out of Purgatory Fire of Helie pag. 12. 13. 11 The same Monke as also the fire of Helie doe inculcate many examples of weeping and fasting for the dead as the teares fastings after the deaths of Saul Ionathan Abner c Yet amōg all these lamentations we find no mention of prayer for the dead or of Purgatory Besides wee haue shewed that Saul died in Gods displeasure that Iacob and Moses were also bewailed who neverthelesse never descended into Purgatory and for such the Church of Rome saith we must not pray Places out of the new Testament for prayers for the dead 12 Now follow the Friers places gathered out of the new Testament to the same purpose The first is page 39. and is taken out of the Gospell of S. Iohn where Martha saith to Iesus Christ Lord if thou haddest beene here my brother had not died Yet doe I now know that what soever thou askest of the father he will giue it thee It is very certaine saith hee that Martha prayed our Lord Iesus Christ to make some prayer for her brother for shee beleeued not that Iesus Christ could of himselfe raise him againe All coniectures All false propositions and yet not without contradiction For if Martha beleeued that God would grāt to Iesus Christ whatsoever hee demanded shee beleeued that Iesus Christ could raise him againe for he could demand it In this place the Frier prates apace and doth imitate Cayer A slander who in the beginning of his booke saith that wee
beleeue neither heaven nor hell The intent of the Ministers saith he is to deny both Purgatory and Paradice for wee know that at Geneva in the Italian Church after they had argued of the means to root out the beliefe of Purgatory one of their Deacons rising vp said let vs doe that which we had once determined let vs deny the Immortalitie of the soule so shall wee soone see Purgatory laid along The fire of Helie saith it was not a Deacon but a Minister yea he saith moreover that one Perrat a Minister of Geneva in his life coÌ„plained that among vs the beasts are buried with greater honour then men But he speaketh as if a man already deceased so truely hee is informed but the man yet liveth and if the accuser or accusation did deserue it I could easily from himselfe procure the confutation of so cold a slander Herevpon were the Divell our principall enimie a man to be examined I would demand of him whether our fathers that suffered martyrdome for the Gospell who were so lavish of their blood and so sparing of the glory of God did think that there was no heaven or that the soules were mortall But in as much as wee meddle not with coniurings or making the spirits to appeare as our adversaries doe let the Frier take his place and be our Iudge therein Dare hee say that these persons did not aspire to eternall life The two Decij Curtius or Empedocles who with their deathes did purchase fame voluntary lost their liues to purchase commendatioÌ„s after death might haue done it without hope of immortalitie But where the death is accompanied with infamy the ashes overlaid with reproach what man will without hope of immortalitie seeke an inglorious death and voluntarily lose both his life and his honor Moreover who be our slanderers Even the props and pillers of the Roman sea a sea that hath beene blemished with Popes that haue made profession to teach that there is no Paradise and that the soules of men doe die together with their bodies as doe the soules of beastes Let these writers of fires furnaces torrents acknowledge whether these bee not the very words of the Councell of Constance Sess 11. Iohn the 23. Often and very often in the presence of sundry prelats and other good and honest men hath said supported taught and obstinately at the instigation of the divell maintained that there is no eternall life neither any other life after this yea he hath said and obstinately beleeued that the soule of man dieth with his body and is extinct as those of brute beasts He hath also said that man once dead shall neuer rise againe at the last day c. And afterward it is said that all this is publikely and well knowne O how the pulpets should haue rung of it if any one of vs had spoken but the huÌ„dreth part hereof 12 There resteth yet one place taken out of S. Paule 1. Cor. 15.29 What shal they doe that are baptised for dead The Frier in liew of these wordes for dead hath set downe for the dead The fire of Helie committeth a notable falsehood and disguiseth the passage thus Pag. 46. Falshoods What shall they doe that baptise themselues for the dead And then expoundeth that which he hath corrupted in this maner To baptise ones selfe signifieth to doe laborious and satisfactory workes for the dead and withall wee must vnderstand that it is to fetch them out of Purgatory Good God what a troublesome thing lying is This interpretation is taken from Bellarmine who according to his manner hauing alleaged the explication of a number of the fathers as Tertullian Ambrose Sedulius Theodoret Chrysostome Oecumenius Theophilact c washeth al their heads and for the establishment of his owne exposition confuteth all their explications And this doth the Frier confirme with the autoritie of Turrian the Iesuite who maketh vse of this passage An excelent testimonie and of great antiquity But the sense of these wordes must be taken of the Apostles intent This is bee seene in Mat. 5 16â— Marc. 1.10 his intent was to proue the resurrectioÌ„ here to hee imployeth baptisme which in those daies was celebrated by plonging the whole body in water in token that we are in death the comming forth of the water representeth the resurrection S. Paules meaning is that this signe were in vaine if there were no resurrection and that in vaine we are baptized for dead or as dead and to represent vnto vs that wee are in death if there be no hope of Resurrection The explicatioÌ„ of Theodoret groweâ—h much herevpon which also Caietan doth follow The places of scripture wherevpon these Doctors doe lay the foundations of their Purgatory 1. Cayer pag. 5. proveth the multitude of habitations vnder the earth by the creed where it is saide Descendit ad Inferos in the plurall number but his grammar faileth him for in the Greeke it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the singular and Inferi in the plurall importeth no more diversity of chambers or habitations then Superi which signifieth those that liue vpon the earth Virgill Aeneid 6. Apud superos furto laetatus inani 2 Againe vpon the last of the Revelation where it is written Pag. 9. Out of the throne proceeded a river of water cleare as christall He foundeth Purgatory in rivers in bathes in yce vnder the leaues of trees c To the same end he alleageth the 92. Psalme The righteous shall flourish like a Palme tree And this passage doeth hee make to serue for a defence of his flowred medow that lieth at the end of Purgatory Let vs yeeld Peter Victor Palme Cayer this Doctor taketh vp the straw which is not like the palme albeit he assumeth that name but rather like the figge tree which Christ cursed it bare no more fruit 3 Himselfe defendeth the altars wherevpon the saying of a stinted nuÌ„ber of Masses sufficeth to fetch a soule out of Purgatory Pag. 17. because in the lawe there was an altar of propitiation 4 In page 23. he heapeth vp a whole bedroule of passages for Purgatory as if they were paternosters 1. Because there was a flaming sworde before the garden of Eden and the same passage doth the fire of Helie make vse of 2. By the fire of sacrifices after the law of nature for he imagineth that the making of sacrifices by fire is a law of nature thus doth he confesse that he hath lost his humane nature because he doth not sacrifice by fire 3. Because the law was given in fire 4. By the perpetuall fire that was vpon the altar 5. By the iudgement of God that must be in fire 2. Pet. 3. Out of al this he coÌ„cludeth that there is a purgatory How many pens sonnets shall wee pin vpon this doctor in reward of his profound subtlety Some few other passages there bee but they wil be found among those of
Romans he speaketh thus of the last iudgement We shall all appeare before the iudgement seat of Christ for it is written I liue saith the Lord let everie knee bow before me and every tongue giue praise vnto God In this place S. Paule taketh to appeare before the iudgement seat of God for bowing the knee before God The wicked therefore the divels shall bow the knee because they shall appeare and be forced to acknowledge the iustice of God In this regard doth Iustine the Martyr in his dialogue against Triphon say that the Infernall spirits are subiect to Iesus Christ bowing their knees at the bare pronountiation of the Crosse 8. As for the praises spoken of in the fifth of the Revelation they are the praises of all creaturs of whom even of the inanimate as of the heauens the earth the sonne c. The Scripture in aboue a hundred places saith that they praise the eternall Psal 19. Psal 140. Psal 145. especially in the Psalme 148. where this is repeated some twentie times Neither need we goe any further then this passage namely of the Revelation to proue it For he saith I heard EVERT CREATVRE which is in heauen thē the sunne the starres the Angels c. he also saith All that is on the earth vnder the earth and in the sea yea even all things that are comprised in them c. It appeareth then that he speaketh of all creatures and this is it that made our adversaries to omit these words yea all things that are comprised in them with a notable falsehood according to their custome thereby to abate the edge of Gods word and to take from him that which pierceth the very vntruth I should wrong the autor of the fire of Helie if I should suppresse one inventiō which he doth very gallantly produce to shewe that the divels doe not bowe to Iesus Christ If saith he Du Moulin himselfe will not put of his hat when wee speake of the name of Iesus how can the divels be forced to doe it The divels then by this Doctors saying doe wear hats but they will not put them of when we speake of Iesus Is it because they are somewhat surly and prowd or for that they feare the aire Note also that by this argument taken from the more to the lesse hee doeth vs this honour that hee holdeth vs lesse wicked then the divels and yet wee flee not for his holy water But in the end I say this doctor is deceived in one point and deceiveth in an other hee is deceived in that he thinketh that by the name of Iesus Saint Paule in this place meant the word IESVS cōsidering that the scripture by the name of God ordinarily vnderstandeth his auctority his glory his strength his power c. and so say we Our helpe be in the name of God also hallowed bee thy name and I come against thee in the name of the Eternall 2. Sam. 17.45 In this sense we honour the name of Iesus but our adversaries honor the syllables and thereof commeth the feast Masse of the name of Iesus for as concerning his parson there is a feast apart But in this that he falsely accuseth vs he deceiveth For if a man hearing the name of Iesus putteth of his hat we like it well so as it be done without superstition But marke what it is They vse many salutations to the name of Iesus whiles in the mean time his parson is wronged and his benefite abused and they finde out other redeemers and an other purging for our sins he is entreated as he was by those that buffeted him saying vnto him All haile Thus is Religion corrupted which at this day hold her handes in rule and giveth godlinesse her pasport Hereof it cōmeth that the service of the Church of Rome namely the Masse consisteth in gestures in a set number of bowings in frisking from one end of the alter to the other in Allegoricall habites historied at pleasure whiles the people looking on learneth nothing and is entertained with gestures when they should be instructed by the intelligible worde Thence commeth also the gallāt Interpretations of Pope Innocent the 3. of Durands Rationals and others which say that the Priest turneth his backe to the people because God said to Moses Thou shalt see my backe parts That the miss all is laid vpon a Quisheon because it is written Mat. 11. My yoake is easie my burdē light That he that serveth the Priest at Masse moveth and steppeth vp and downe as the Priest doth because Iesus Christ said Where I am there shal my servant be also That the Gospel booke is laid vpon a deske in forme of an Eagle because it was written in the 18. Psalme Hee flyeth vpon the wings of the winde That the deakon goeth in at one side of the pulpet commeth out at the other because it is written Mat. 2. They were warned from heauē to returne an other way And he that serveth a Bishoppe at his Masse kisseth his shoulder looking a scance on his face because it is written 1. Cor. 13. Wee see now in part Thus is the whole battery of our adversary dismounted which was not charged but with stubble and hay against the truth and here would I shut vp this chapter did not the falshoods of the fire of Helie detaine mee yet a while so extreamely licentious is he in falsifying Many of his falshoods haue we already produced yet here followe some more In the pages 40 41. to proue the Limbo of the fathers he alleadgeth the Apostle in the 11. to the Hebrews Having beene tryed by the testimony of faith This word salaried is of his own invention they received not the promises that they without vs should not be made perfect and salaried In the 43. page he saith that God by the leaues of the figge tree closed vp Ezechias sore and for that citeth the 4. of Kings 26. and Esay 38. In page 44. to defende Purgatory in bathes in yee in rivers c. hee alleadgeth Iob. 24. in these words The wicked that are in hel from a heate of fire do passe to a coldnesse as snow Al this is false and by him devised In the same place where S. Peter Act. 2.24 saith that God raised vp Iesus Christ hauing loosed the sorrows of death he saith the sorrowes of Hell In page 56. to proue that the Pope may graunt Indulgences for the dead he maketh S. Paule 1. Cor. 5. say The stewardship of Indulgences vvas by Iesus Christ left to the Church whereof there is not a word in the whole chapter In page 66. be corrupteth this excellent passage of Esay 57. Whosoever vvalketh before God goeth in peace he maketh him say Whosoever vvalketh before God vvalketh in peace In pages 69 70. he maketh S. Paule say to the Colossians 1.24 I fulfill in my flesh that which wanteth in the passion of the Lorde for his body which is the
I knowe that thou wilt answer it is to the ende the deceased may obtaine rest and find his iudge favourable thou weenest that thou must weepe for these matters but seest thou not that even in the same thou dost wrong him For considering that thou thinkest he is gon into the flowred fields why dost thou yet stir vp great stormes against him Againe in his 70. hom ad populum Antiochenum speaking of the funerals and the duty that we performe to the dead with torches and hymnes he saith What is the meaning of these flaming lamps No other but that we convey the Champions after the combat ended and these hymnes but that in them we glorifie God and giue him thankes that he hath crowned the dead and freed him froÌ„ all sorrowes that he now keepeth him about him hauing taken from him all vncertainties all which are actions of ioy Hee hath almost the same words in the moralitie of his fourth homily on the Hebrewes Both there and in his third homily on the Philippians hee gathereth that the duties that wee performe to the dead do testifie that their soules are in rest for the people say Convertere anima mea in requiem My soule returne into thy rest Againe in his 32. homily vpon Matthew Teares and lamentations beseeme the enemy not thee that goest to rest surely Death is a quiet hauen from all troubles Againe There is the spirituall bride bed and coelestiall And he saith that after death there is no more sorrow To bee briefe In Nilus Bâ—shop of Thessalonica we haue an expresse book against Purgatory which is an Apology for the Greeke Churches wherein they saie that this temporall fire was coÌ„demned in the fifth Councel as also to this day the Churches of the Greeks and Russians the Abissines and the Armenians knowe not what this Imaginary fire meaneth There also the Greeke Churches do protest that S. Chrysostome never beleeved any such matter nether any of their ancient Doctors whereof we doe gather that some places of this doctour which seeme to make for Purgatory either must bee vnderstoode of an other kind of Purgatory such as was the purging fire of Origen and Ambrose which shall be spoken of hereafter or els that those passages are corruptly inserted and suggested Tunc est tentatio finieÌ„da quando finitur pugna tunc est finienda pugna quando post hanc vitam succedet secura victoria paulo post milites Christi labori osa peregrinatione traÌ„sacta regnant felices in patria Illis omnia remissa sunt delicta nihil ob delicta puniâ—is for likewise in the couÌ„sell of Florence where the Greekes armed them selues with the auctority of their Doctours the Latins would not haue forborne to bring in these passages to convince them Prosper in his first book of Contemplatiue life cap. 1. saith Temptation shall end when the Combat is ended and the Combut shall end when after this life an assured victory shall succeed Againe soone after he saith The souldiours of Iesus Christ after they haue finished their laborious pilgrimage do raigne happyly in their Countrey Procopius vpon Exodus To those who by faith are entred into the number of their confederates and brethren and haue beene made partakers of the divine nature by the participation of the holy Ghost all their sinnes are pardoned they haue received no punishmeÌ„t for their offences Epiphanius in his second book of heresies heresie 39 which is the same of the Catares and Novatians seemeth to haue taken a smatch in the ConfutatioÌ„ of Purgatory where he saith In the age to come after a mans death there is no more helpe by fasting no more vocation of pennance no more exhibition of Almes hee also saith It is as the corne that swelleth not after it is reaped neither can be spoiled with the winde Finally he coÌ„cludeth The Garners are sealed vp the time is past the combat is finished the lists are voided and the Garlands are given Now saith hee all this is finished at the departure out of the body after which departure our adversaries do impose grievous penances and augment the difficulty of the fight and torments and doe deferre the giuing of the Crownes vntill the comming out of Purgatory that is to say many hundreds and thousands of yeares after death Arnobius in his second book against the gentils saith that Plato after this life hath set downe Rivers of fire in quibus animas asseverat volui mergi exuri where the soules are tossed plunged and burned But himselfe contrarywise doth holde that the souls out of the bodies can endure no sorrow Quis hominum non videt quod sit immortale quod simplex nulluÌ„ posse dolorem admittere Wherein albeit he erreth not yet doeth it sufficiently shewe that hee beleeveth not that the soules without bodies can after this life bee cast into a fire Note also that throughout all antiquity wee finde no mention of buls of fetching of soules out of Purgatory of Indulgences for the dead aulters and of fraternities that haue priviledge to fetch a soule out of Purgatory As this is but lately inveÌ„ted and as old age encreaseth in covetousnesse so hate Avarice beene more inventiue in this declining old age of the world for it is credible that the Apostles and their first successours omitted the fetching of foules out of this fire by indulgences for want either of knowledge either of abilitie either else of good will Also that togither with their greatnesse and riches skill spirituall power pietie and charitie haue growne vp in the Bishops of Rome That the Doctours in the primitiue Church in this matter had their errors which the Church of Rome reiecteth namely in this that for the most part they beleeved that the soules are detained in dennes or corners vntil the day of iudgmeÌ„t whereof neverthelesse it appeareth that they knew not Purgatory Irineus toward the end of his fourth and last booke condemneth two opinions the one that hell is in the world the other that the soule which hee calleth the inward man comming out of the body ascended into the region that is aboue the heauens Then he addeth For sith our Lord went into the middest of the shadow of death where the soules of the dead remained and is since corporally risen againe and after his resurrection was receaued on high It is evident therefore that the soules of his disciples for whom Iesus Christ acted and suffered these things shall also goe into an invisible place to them appointed by God where they shall remaine vntil the resurrection afterward being perfectly that is corporally raised as Iesus Christ was they shall appeare in the presence of God for no disciple is aboue his master c. In summe his meaning is that herein the condition of the faithfull deceased shall bee conformable to that of Iesus Christ whose soule came not into the presence of God before his resurrection but was in darknesse and
immediatly hee seeketh a beginning of another iourney The soule is losed from the body Solvitur corpere anima ad huc tamē futuri iudidii ambiguo suspenditur but yet abideth in suspense vpon the doubt and vncertainty of the future iudgement If this be so then doth she not inioy felicitie before the day of iudgement S. Augustine is of the same mind for in him we finde sundry places wherein speaking of the soules of some persons deceased he thinketh them to bee translated into heaven and to bee with God but wee find more places where he holdeth the contrary and followeth the common error vpon the 36. Psalme he saith that the soule departed from the body shal not be in the kingdome of heauen well it may be in Abrahams bosome with Lazarus for so doth he cal this receptacle and to shew that this was the common opinion he saith that no man was ignorant thereof These be his words Post vitam islam parvam nondum eris vbi erunt sancti quibus dicetur venite Benedicti c. Non dum ibi eris Quis nescit So in the ninth booke of his Confessions cap. 3. he thus speaketh to God Thou hast losed Nebridius out of this flesh Nebridiu◠carne solvisti nunc ille vivit in sinu Abrahae quicquid illud est quod ille significatur Tempusquod inter hominis mortem vltimam resurrectionem interpositum est animas abditis receptaculis continet Socratis animarum receptaculis sedibusque requiescit Secundum apertissimam Domini sententiam etiā ipse sentit tūc visuros faciē Dei cum in Angelos profecerimus 1. aequales Angelis facti fuerimus quod erit vtique in resurrectione mortuorū and now he liveth in Abrahams bosome whatsoever it is that is signified by this bosome Here he speaketh as doubting In his manuell to Laurentius cap. 108. The time that is betweene death and the last resurrection containeth the soules in secret receptacles according as every one is worthy of rest or of affliction And in his 17. booke of the Citty of God cap. 9. This part of the citty of God which is gathered together from among mortall men must bee conioined with immortall Angels is now a traveller vpon earth being subiect to death whereas for those that are dead they rest in the hidden receptacles or seats of souls In his Epistle to Fortunatianus According to the most evidēt sētēce of our Lord and S. Paule holdeth that wee shall see the face of the Lord when we shal be advanced even to the Angels that is to say that we be made equal to the Angels which shall be in the resurrection of the dead I will therefore make any man of vnderstanding iudge whether the wordes wherewith at this day they pray in the masse for the soules in Purgatory doe not testifie that when this praier was penned the beliefe of the latin Church was not concordant with it Qui nos praecesserunt in signo fidei dormiunt in somno pacis These bee the words Remember O Lord thy servāts that are gone before vs in the sign of faith and do sleepe in the slumber of peace To thē O LORD and to all that rest in Christ vvee beseech thee to graunt place of refreshing of light and of peace Could this bee spoken of soules so long tormented in a fire like to hell fire What rest what quiet sleepe in fire seavē times more hot then our ordinary fire A fire that cōtinueth hundreds and thousands of yeares Vndoubtedly this praier was made for the soules that they thought to be in the hiddē receptacles where they rested in expectation of the resurrection and felt some refreshing by the praiers of the living Indeed wee haue heard that such was the opinion of Tertullian who also vseth the like tearmes in his booke of Monogamy and willeth the wise to pray for her husbād In refrigerium adpostulet vt in prima resurrectione consortium entreating some refreshing for him and that he may accompany her in the first resurrection For this doctour beleeved that all the faithfull shoulde not rise togither as in the last chapter of his booke of the soule hee doth expresly say yea evē all the Greek Church is yet of that opinion who denying Purgatory do neverthelesse pray for the dead Vide Concil Ferrariense seu Florentinum Nilū de Purgatorio as not yet enioying coelestiall felicity And Guido in his summe of heresies attributeth the same errour to the Churches of Armenia This was it that induced Pope Iohn the 23. to maintaine this opinion to prohibit the divines of Paris from teaching otherwise as witnesseth Gerson in his pascal sermon Iohn Villanus in the tenth booke of his history This is one of the heroical actions of the Colledge of Sorbon and one of her last gaspes of her dying liberty for saith Erasmus in his preface to the fifth book of Ireneus Iohannes coactus opere Theologorum Parisiorum ad palinodiam coram Galliarū Rege Philippo non sinc buccina By al the premisses it appeareth how irresolute the ancients are in this question how vnfit they are to decide it into what Laberinthes they that sende vs to the fathers to be directed by them do endevour to entangle the consciences It also appeareth that the prayers for the dead that are to be foūd in these doctors doe make nothing for Purgatory but were made for their refreshings in those receptacles and for their salvation in the day of Iudgement also for other intents whereof we wil speak hereafter This is one degree of the bad dealing of my adversaries in their citing of the fathers That divers of the fathers beleeved that the fire in the last iudgment should purge the soules of all men even of the Apostles and Saints Clement of Alexandria was the first that declined frō the purity simplicity of the doctrine of the Gospell intermingling Platonicall Philosophy there with also his wheeling and capricious stile did blast and corrupt all that was naturall or forcible in the simplicity of Gods word yea he proceeded so far as to say in the sixt booke of his Tapisseryes that the Greekes were iust by Philosophy also that Philosophy was givē vnto them in liew of the Testamentes By the same vanity was hee likewise induced in the same booke to say that Christ and his Apostles descended into hell and there preached the Gospell to the soules of the Gentils and Infidels who saith he were by that preaching converted hee also holdeth that the souls of Infidels that are in hell may yet be converted and come to salvation Orig hom 3. in Psal 36. Omnes nos necesse est venire ad illū ignem etiam si vel Paulus sit vel Petrus Origen his disciple succeeded him in time but outstript him in heresies and to this Platonicall humour hath added thus much more The wresting of al the scriptures into allegories
doubt of the Lords sentence in the day of iudgement The Friers falshood But our adversaries say that the soules in Purgatory are assured of their salvation and therefore the Frier pag. 56. omitteth these last words of S. Cyprian 3. Finally sith hee speaketh of such as doe pennance after their revolt it is not possible hee should speake of soules separated from their bodies either of Purgatory Wrongfully therfore doe my adversaries make so many brags of this passage for it is most vniustly and fraudulently alleaged As also the Frier pag. 63. citeth S. Hierom vpon the fourth of Ieremy and in his second booke against Iovinian also Nazianzē in his 39. oration and Basil in his oratiō vpon the 9. of Esay where hee speaketh of purging torments and afflictions of a fire that trieth the faithfull but in this life or at the day of iudgement And here doe our adversaries shew the third degree of their bad consciences in their allegations of the Doctors Of Commemoration and prayer for the dead practised by divers of the ancients and that it maketh nothing for their Purgatory Throughout the bookes of my adversaries there is nothing more grosse thē their false presuppositiōs that they make aboue an hundred times wherby so soone as they haue alleadged any father that speaketh of Commemoratiō Almes Oblations or Sacrifice for the dead they strait conclude Then is there a Purgatory A matter false and that for sundry reasons 1. Wherefore did Saint Augustine in writing a whole tract of the care for the dead set downe never a word therin of Purgatory 2. Why did they offer for the Apostles Prophets Martyrs and made sacrifices for them As witnesseth Cyprian in his third book Epist 6. and in his fifth booke Epist 4. dare my adversaries therevpon inferre that the primitiue Church beleeved that the Apostles were in Purgatory 3. Epiphanius accuseth Arrius of heresie because hee reiected praier for the deade and bringeth many reasons to proue that this prayer made for the Patriarches Prophets Apostles and al the faithful is profitable to bee received yet speaketh hee not one word of Purgatory albeit that was the place where to speak of it or not at all 4. Denis falsly tearmed Areopagite disputing of the cōmodity of prayer for the dead still presupposeth that those for whom wee pray are blessed propounded for examples to the living and for matter of thanksgiving but of Purgatory or of any fire that purgeth soules he hath not a word 5. We haue heard in the second of the Macchabees that to pray for the dead is but meere madnesse vnlesse we haue regard to the Resurrection so not to the torment of Purgatory 6. The Greeke churches do pray for the dead yet do they denie Purgatory 7. Wee heard before by Chrysostome in his 32. homily vpō Matthew that such as procured praiers for their dead parents did beleeue that they were in flowred meddowes in that homily in aboue twēty places he saith that Death is the entrie to rest and an end of sorrow S. Augustin in the ninth book of his Cōfessions praieth for his mother Monica and S. Ambrose for the Emperour Valētinian yet do they protest that they beleeue that these parsons deceased are with God do enioy the pleasures of Eternall life But the matter of greatest consideratiō is that S. Ambrose saith that Valentinian dyed without Baptisme Oratione de obitu Valentiniani Valentinian I say who was a great Emperour and a Christian even from his birth having so many cleargy men at his command at whose hands to haue received Baptisme who then did better deserue to bee confined into Limbo or Purgatorie then he yet saith Ambrose He is in coelestiall felicity 9. Wee haue heard that most of the ancients shut vp the soules of all men in certaine hidden receptacles where they desired refreshing thervpon had they some groūd to pray for the dead albeit they did not beleeue Purgatorie wherin appeareth the corrupt faith of the Frier for he sets a brag vpon the words of S. Augustine in the 110. chapter of his Manual Wee must not deny but that the soules of the dead are relieued by the piety of the liuing but hee was wiser then to alleadge the wordes going before namely The soules are in hidden receptacles euen from their decease vntill the resurrection For so it woulde haue appeared that the opinion of S. Augustin touching praier for the dead was grounded vpon an error which the Church of Rome reiecteth also that frō an error will soone spring an abuse 10. We haue alreadie heard the opiniō of Origen and his followers touching the fire of the daie of Iudgement that should scortch and burne the soules evē of the most holy and perfect Also wee haue shewed howe fearefull S. Hillary was of this fire All this therfore might haue ministred vnto thē argument sufficient to haue praied for the deade as trembling at the punishment to come 11. What more can we desire Let vs make our adversaries our iudges in this case Do not the Priests many times receiue money for saying Masses for the young children that dyed soone after Baptisme who neverthelesse as they beleeved were neither in Limbo nor in Purgatory Let them now choose whether they will confesse their error or acknowledge their Avarice their want of knowledge or their bad consciences 12. Do they not in their dailie Masse pray for the soules that sleepe in a slumber of peace and therfore are not in the horror of flames 13. Let vs therfore heare the forme of the ordinarie praiers of the Church of Rome for the dead This book of sacred cerem sect 5. c. 1. libera domine à morte aeterna in die illo tremendo Saue them O Lorde from Eternall death in that terrible day when the heavēs and the earth shall bee moved when thou shalt come to iudge the world by fire I trēble and feare when the triall shall come and the wrath to come that day of wrath of calamity of misery that great and mervailous bitter day They pray that the souls of the dead may be saved from eternall death and the last iudgement which is more Throughout all the publicke praiers of the Church of Rome for the dead we finde not one word of Purgatory which proveth that it was not yet established in the Church at that time when they praied onlie for the refreshing of souls in their hidden receptacles or for the last iudgement or to eschew Eternall death 14. Finally is it not a matter mervailous notable that among such a multitude of the passages of the fathers by our adversaries quoted for praier for the dead there is not one that saith that these praiers were made to redeeme soules out of Purgatory This thē is the fourth degree of the deceipts and fraudulent allegations that our adversaries do make whē at every speech they still inculcate praier for the dead for proofe of