the signe of the fayth of Abraham wherein the Iewes might and did glory Thys circumcisiō then wherby suche perill miraculously was shunned was done by a stone not that an earthly stone should be the more estemed but Christ the corner stone be signified by whom al sinnes and transgressions be cut of Exod. 7. and by whom the daunger of eternall death only is auoyded The rod of Aaron Aarons rod. was often turned into a serpent often returned into the own nature which in a figure represented Christe from lyfe to death Exod. 15. from death arising vnto lyfe againe or els that as the rod by deuiding the red sea made a passage open into the lāde of promise so Christ through baptisme into hys death hath prepared the way into lyfe for vs shall nowe the rod of Aaron bicause it wrought such miracle be set vp in the Church The vvod of Marah The trée that was cast into the waters of Marah dyd make them swete in token that the bitternesse of the lawe was taken away by the death of Christe and nowe the mindes of the faythfull people be replenished thorow it with spirituall and aboundaunte pleasure shall therefore the signe of that piece of wood now be worthied of honor The Iewes were preserued from the serpentes stinges Num. 14. by loking on the brasen Image representing also the death of Christ which from infection of damned spirites The brasē Serpent Nume 20. The vvater out of the rock saueth hys elect shal now a piece of brasse or signe of a serpēt be set vp in Churches and reuerently adored The Rocke smittē with Moses hande gushed out of water and the streames flowed in the parched fieldes to satisfy the drought of the thirsty people whereby is signified Christ to be the stone cut out of the quarrey Sine manibus precidentium without any workmans hand which by the liuely liquor of his eternal testament quencheth the thirst of incredulitie crying continually Si quis sitit veniat ad me bibat Ioan. 7. If any man thirst let him come to me and drinke Shall nowe for this respect the rock or riuer be exalted set in place of Gods seruice The fléese of Gideon Iud. 7. Gideons fleese was onely moysted with the deawe when al the earth beside was drie agayne it was only drie vpon the fléese when the deawe fell vpon all the ground to note the Gentilitie of all the worlde destitute of grace voyd of that heauenly and spirituall deawe when onely the fléese of Israell the people of the Iewes were comforted with the showers of Gods word promises Agayne that for want of true beliefe the foresayde people should wither wyth the drought of infidelitie when the heathen folke should be all to be sprinckled with the deawe of heauen as nowe we are by preaching of the gospell But where the threshing place of the barne and fleese of Hierobaal were the meanes whereby the miracle was wrought shall any of them both be nowe magnified of vs Sampson with the Iawbone Iud. 15. Sampsōs Iavvbone of an Asse slewe a thousand men and oute of the chéeke tooth thereof the water ranne to asswage his thirste in signification how Christ our aduocate and mediatour hath ouerthrowen the aduersary power hath by one death destroyed all the enimies of life and hath refreshed the drye soules of faythfull people which be the members of his body with the spirituall drinke of affiance in him Shall we now haue Iawebones and chéeke téeth 2. Reg. 2. Elias cloke 2. Reg. 5. in the Church Elias with his cloke deuided the water of Iordā insinuating vnto vs how Christ by hys incarnation hath made a way to baptisme that by faith in him we may walke on the dry land of securitie dreadelesse of the waues of synne Shall therefore a cloke be hanged vp and a candle lighted before it Naaman Naamans vvashing the Syrian by washing himselfe in Iordan was clensed of his leprosie And shall the signe of Iordan be worshipped of vs The hem of Christs garment The shadovve of Peter Paules handkerchefe The hem of Christes garment conferred health vpon the womā touching it And shal the signe of this be had in estimation The shadowe of Peter healed also some that passed by Likewise the kerchefe handkerchefs of Paule cured diseases and droue out euill spirites shall nowe the signe of a shadowe shall a sory clout be so much made of Therefore if miracles of olde time past wrought as I may graunt you though absolutely I am not bounde to beleue all that you doe bring by meane of a Crosse shall be sufficient cause to make the signe thereof or the selfe same thing to be erected and honoured then shall the fyry bushe the Mountayne of the Lorde the Circumcision of Moses the Rodde of Aaron the woode of Marah the brasen serpent the water of the rocke the fléese of Gideon the Iawebone of Sampson Mat. 9. Act. 5. Act. 19. the cloke of Elias the washing of Naaman the hemme of Christes coate the shadowe of Peter the handkerchefe of Paule be set vp in the Church themselues or their signes For by none of these but miracles were done and as good reason in this respecte to set vp in the Church any one of these as otherwise the Crosse As I haue shewed you the effecte and ende of other miracles reported in the Scripture So when it pleased almighty God to bring moe nations to one fayth in Christ and vsed the Crosse as a meane to worke the lyke by you must as well vnderstande the meaning not to bring the woode into an admiration not to teach vs the seruice of a signe but to confirme the fayth in the crucified and due obedience to him that was signified Fol. 108. a. A Ievvell you saye a precious stone of some straunge vertue if a man haue it muste be kepte vvarely nor the stone be suffered to be broken And shall vve Christen men breake the Crosse of Christ c. An hearbe in the garden medicinable for this or that dysease muste not be rooted out And shall vve roote out of our gardens the holy signe of the Crosse and so forth Well M. Martiall let me aske you this question If ye haue but a glasse and repute it a diamond doth your estimation bring vertue to the thing If ye had a good hearbe and the same be nowe withered wyll ye make as much of it as if it were in the prime The Crosse that ye make so greate accompte of that ye couet to haue set vp in Churches hath not the vertue and power that ye talk of It can not heale It can not preserue It can not daunt the affections of the fleshe It can not driue the wicked spirites from vs. As the meane is gone of the foresayd effectes so are the effectes themselues ceassed Possible it is that in time paste men dyd some good by
Wherfore to conclude Folio 9. b. Ioan. 4. the only swete water to quench our thyrsts must be fet from the fountayne of Gods eternall wyl There is the well that springeth vp into euerlasting life Beware of the puddle of mens traditions it infecteth ofte féelde it refresheth We must not vse the pretexte of custome but enquire for that which is right and good Chrisost in Gen. cap. 20. Hom. 56. If any thing be good if it profyt and edify the church of Christ let it be receiued yea though it be straunge If any thing be hurtful and preiudiciall to the true simplicitie of the Gospell let it be abandoned though .xv. hundreth yeares custome haue confirmed it For my part I craue no further credit than the christian conscience groūded on the word of God shal of indifferency and good reason graunt me The Lorde directe your hearts in his loue and feare confound Sathan with all hys wickednesse and giue the glory onely to Christ His name be praysed for euer and euer So be it To the first Article HAuing to erecte the house of god wherto we ought to be fellow workers we are bound especially to sée to this that neyther we builde on an euill ground therby to lose both cost and trauail nor set to sale and cōmende to other a ruinous thing or anye waye infectious in steade of a strong defence or holesome place wherevpon to rest The Apostle commending his doctrine to the Corinthians sayth Vt sapiens architectus fundamentum posui 1. Corin. 3. As a skilfull masterbuilder I haue layde the foundation And other foundation can no man laye than that which is layde which is Christ Iesus Christ hath receyued of his father all things he hath conferred vpon vs no lesse he by his death hath made entrance into life for vs he is become our wysedome our righteousnesse our sanctification and redemption By his name we must onely be saued by hys doctrine we must only be directed vpon that rock that fayth of his we must substantially be grounded If any man teach other lessons than of that we must say with Paul Si Angelus è celo Gallath If an Angel from heauen teach otherwise than the Apostles haue preached to vs let him be accursed And with S. Iohn Quod audistis ab initio id in vobis permaneat Let that abide in you which you haue heard from the beginning so shal you continue both in the sonne and in the father And this is the promise that he hath promised vs 1. Ioan. euen eternall life If any man do not bring this doctrine with him do not so much as salute him Ioan. 14. Math. 15. neyther receiue him into your houses For he that loueth God heareth his voyce sayth Christ And they in vayne do worship him that teach the doctrine and preceptes of men Men in God his matters not to be beleued vvithout the vvord Men haue their errors and imperfections though they be the children of God yet they be not guided by his good spirit alwayes Euery man that hath an instrument in his hand can not play on the same nor euery man that hath learned the science can please the eare But if the strings be out of tune or frets disordered there wanteth the harmony that should delite So whensoeuer we swarue neuer so little from the right trade of Gods holy word we are not to be credited we ought not to please Wherefore sith the way is daungerous our féete slippery that we fall oft and are slyding euer no maruell if the best of vs sometime do halte It falleth oft that such as preach professe Christ builde sometime on him euill vnsound and corrupt doctrine Not that the word of God is occasion of heresies but that men lacke right vnderstanding and iudgement of the same which commeth only by the spirit of God And this it is that S. Paule sayth 1. Cor. 5. how some do builde vpon Christ the foundation golde siluer and precious stones But some other timber hay and stubble Yet must we not take the hope of Gods mercy from such euill carpenters as lay so rotten a couering vpon so sure a building where as otherwise they offending in trifles be sound inough in greater matters sticke to Christ the only substantiall and true foundation Yet such their errors and imperfections being brought to the fier of gods spirit De doctrin Christiana li. 2. ca. 9. sequentibus and tried by the word shal be consumed Augustine therfore when he would frame a perfecte preacher willeth him to conferre the places of Scripture together He sendes him not to the Doctours distinctions nor to the censure of the Church nor canons of the Popes nor traditions of the fathers but onely to quiet and content himselfe with the word of God Therfore in the primitiue Church when as yet the new Testament was not written al things were examined according to the sermons and wordes of the Apostles For which cause S. Iohn writeth Qui ex Deo est nos audit 1. Ioan. 4. He that is of of God heareth vs and he that heareth vs not is not of God So farre therfore as men accorde with the holy Scripture and shape their writings after the paterne that Christ hath left them I will not only my self estéeme them but wish them to be had in most renoune and reuerence Otherwise absolutely to trust to mē which may be deceiued gather out of the fathers writings whatsoeuer was wytnesse of their imperfection is neyther point of wisdome nor safety In euery age God raysed vp some worthy instrumētes in his church And yet in no age any was so perfect that a certaine truth was to be builded on him Which thing by example as wel vnder the law as in the time of grace god hath sufficiently by his worke declared Among the Iewes who was euer comparable vnto Aaron Aaron who fell so shamefully he assented for feare vnto the peoples Idolatry Among the ministers of the Gospell who had so great rare gifts as Peter who did offende so fleshely Peter for dreade of a girle he denied his master Which thing was not done without the prouidence of almighty God thereby to putte men in remembraunce of their frailty further to instruct them whence truth in doctrine must only be fetcht Trust not me Pro loco li. 3. de Trinita To. 3. sayth Augustine nor credit my writings as if they were the canonical scripture But whatsoeuer thou findest in the word although thou didst not beleue it before yet groūd thy fayth on it now And whatsoeuer thou readest of mine vnlesse thou knowest it certainly to be true giue thou no certaine assent to it Epist 48. ad Vincent de Vi coer her And in an other place reprouing suche as will bring forth cauils out of mens writings therby to confirme an error he saith that a difference should
will word for word rehearse it in English Celsus doth say that we auoid the making of Altares and Images and Oratories bicause he thinketh that the fayth of our inuisible and inexplicable communion and charity is nothing else but a faction where as in the meane while he séeth not that insteade of Altares and Oratories with vs the mindes of the faithful are from which no doubt most swete sauours of incense are cast out prayers I meane and supplications from a pure conscience Whereof S. Iohn in his Reuelation speaketh on this sort Apocal. 8. The prayers of the Saincts are incense And the Psalmist Psalm 141 Let my prayer O Lord be in thy sight as incense Furthermore we haue Images and worthy offerings vnto God not such as be made by vncleane workemen but framed and fashioned by Gods word in vs wherby such vertues may rest in vs which shall imitate and resemble the first begotten of all creatures in whome examples are as well of Iustice continence and valiantnesse as otherwise of wisdome godlinesse and all vertues Therefore such Images are in al as haue by the word of God gotten them this temperance this righteousnesse this fortitude this wisedome and piety with all the frame of other vertues in which I thinke it méete the honor be giuen vnto him which is the paterne of all Images the Image of God inuisible so forth Whereby it appeareth as in playne wordes he speaketh after that all Images should be such as God himselfe commaunded such as should be within man and not without man such as consisted in the knoweledge of him after whose Image man himself was made Also his testimonie serueth for this No Images in Origens time but spirituall that in his time there were no material Images in temples There was no Roode no Crosse no likenesse of any thing saue onely spirituall of grace and vertues Consider I besech you howe in his fourth boke agaynst Celsus he commendeth the Iewes Nimirum apud quos praeter eum qui cūctis praesidet rebus pro Deo nihil vnquam sit habitum nec quisquam siue Imaginum fictor siue statuarum fabricator in eorum Republica fuerit vt quos procul lex ipsa abigeret vt ne qua hijs esset fabricandorū simulachrorum occasio quae stultos quosdam mortalium à Deo reuelleret ad contemplanda terrena animi oculos retorqueret That is to say Among whom nothing was euer accompted God beside him which ruleth all nor in their common wealth any caruer of Idols or Image maker was as whom the law it self droue away frō them to the intēt they shuld haue no occasion to make any Images which might pluck certayn folish persons from God turne the eyes of their soules to the contēplation of earthly things So much for Origen And if ye read his boke thorow ye shal see it proued in plain words a frentike part to worship Images a madnesse to say that any knowledge of God can be gottē by them Only this suffiseth here that your allegatiō maketh not to your purpose and your author alleaged maketh most agaynst you Then what should ye talke that in the primitiue Church Crosses were set vp in euery place that euery Church Chappel had the signe of the Crosse erected in it that sacraments could not be made without it that men deuoutly kept pieces of it c. Whereof Origen 280. yere after Christ Folio 9. a. knew nothing but rather by the law condēned such obseruances Wher now is the counsel that you haue learned of your elders Where is the aduertisemēt of graue fathers Where is the medicine that you cal soueraine taken frō the best Physitians of the church I wil not compare you to a Tapster a Tinker an Osteler but to a leude Apoticarie that vnderstandeth not his bil but giueth Quid pro Quo or else to Cooke Ruffian that marres good meate in the dressing But to procéede giue somewhat a further taste of your vnsauorie soppes ye bring forth Cassiodores Cassiodor Folio 19. b. authoritie which may be answered in a word that he meaneth nothing lesse than you doe ymagine For what though the signes of the heauenly Prince be prynted vpon the faythfull as the Image of the Emperour is in his coyne vvhereby the Diuell is expulsed from them c. What though the Crosse be the inuincible defēce of the hūble the ouerthrovve of the proud the victorie of Christ the vndoing of the Diuel the destruction of hel the confirmation of heauenly things the death of infidels the life of the iust Is a Roode or a Crucifix or wagging of a finger able to shew whose men we are as the print in that mony doth shew whose the coyne is Whersoeuer that Image and superscription is stāped there is it certayne who hath a right to the coyne But whosoeuer haue the signe or stampe of a Crosse vpon them shewe not thereby whose seruauntes they are Your Popes and your Prelates haue Crosses before them Crosses hanging vpon them Crosses in their Crownes Crosses in their garmentes And yet I feare me least ye wil not affirme them to be the best seruaunts of Christ You knowe sometime there be coynes of counterfets I know the most crossers are not the best Christians The signe of God printed in the faythfull is the beliefe in Christ The signe of God in the faythfull and grace to doe thereafter The Crosse that is their refuge their succour defence is the death of Christ and merits of his passion But sée what pieuishnesse is in Papists Pieuishnesse of Poperie Whersoeuer they reade of fier in the Scripture thence they kindle Purgatorie Wheresoeuer they heare a body mentioned there doe they teare it to Transubstantiation Wheresoeuer they sée thys word Crosse come in place they lift it vp to the Roodeloft or at the least to the forehead Me thinks M. Martial that you might haue remēbred your first diuision where ye made mētion of .iiij. significations of the Crosse and so applied as the troth is the sayings of your authors vnto the seconde But your wisdome foresaw this obiection of mine therefore ye graunt that nothing can auayle or profite man Fol. 20. a. b. vnlesse he hath a stedfast fayth in Christ faithful beliefe in the merits of his passion But Mary say you Mary is much beholding to you in dede she stands next to the Crosse as not euery simple bare naked fayth but such as vvorketh by charitie conquereth the vvorld so not euery fayth vvorketh to man the foresaid effects but faith assisted by the signe of the holy Crosse Then by your reason the signe of the Crosse is as necessary to concurre with our beliefe as charity to be with fayth But fayth without charitie is a Diuels fayth Therefore beliefe without a signe of the Crosse is also diuelish I am sure that no man endewed with cōmon sense howsoeuer he be
that to your purpose What a consecution is this M. Martiall The Crucifixe is prefigured in Moses in the Prophetes and in the time of Christ Therefore no remedye but a Crucifixe must be had in the Church borne in procession and crept vnto on good Friday Then let me reason with you The treason of Iudas was foretolde by Prophecie Psal 108. Fiant dies eius pauci Episcopatum eius accipiat alter Let his dayes be shorte sayth Dauid and let another occupie his rome which to be vndestode of Iudas the Actes of the Apostles proue And in the tyme of grace there was no lesse foreshewed Ioan. 6. when Christ said Vnus ex vobis diabolus est One of you is a Deuil Ergo we muste reuerence the treason of Iudas yea some signe therof we must haue amongst vs. In psal 108. The maner of his death was also prefigured as Augustine affirmeth howe his belly should burst and he desperatelie die Therfore let vs haue one holyday of betraying another of bursting For if prefiguring in law of nature denouncing by the Prophetes foreshewing from Heauen in tyme of grace be able to enforce the necessary vse and estimation of any thing then why should not this and many other plagues of God be honored aswel as the signe of the Crosse Wherfore I wyll breiflyrunne ouer your authors and note by the way sometime how fondly ye applie them When men from a certaine reueled truth will runne to their owne fantasies and deuises no maruell if sometime they ouer shoote them selues and when they leaue the histories of the Scripture and séeke for Allegories more than néede they bréede oftentymes obscuritie and bring men in doubte further than before Yet I denye not but as Augustine sayth De Ciuitate dei Libro 13. Cap. 21. Gallath 4 1. Cori. 10. there may be a spirituall vnderstanding beside a sense litterall Otherwise the Apostle did not well in figuring the twoo Testamentes by the twoo Children one of the bonde woman an other of the frée Nor we coulde admitte his exposition of Moses Rocke to be Christ him selfe But in this case where euery man is lead by his owne sense his exposition is moste to be alowed who speaketh moste according to pietie Damascene Damascene doth resemble the trée of Lyfe in Paradise Folio 25. to the Crosse And as in one sense I condemne it not so in another I like it not for I sée that you be deceiued by it He shewyng howe Christ as a good Phisitian did cure by contraries made as it were oure lyfe to spring out of his death and therefore compared the tree of lyfe to the passion But the wordes that are inferred sauour not of the Scripture for ye saye Seing Death came in by the tree it vvas conueniente that Lyfe and Resurrection should be giuen agayne by a tree Paule speaketh otherwise Per vnum hominem intrauit mors per hominem resurrectio 1. Cor. 15. By one man sinne entred in and by one man resurrection Not by one trée though one death vpon a tree was a meane thereof Augustine in diuers places maketh the trée of life to be the wisdome of God as in his seconde booke de Gen. contra Manich. Cap. 9. And in his thyrtenth booke de Ciuitate Dei Ca. 21. Lykewyse as often he doth resemble it to Christ himselfe As in hys first boke and fiftenth Chapter contra aduersarios legis Proph. speaking of Paradise where Christ and the Théefe should méete sayth Esse ibi cū Christo est ibi esse cum vitae ligno To be there wyth Christ is to be there wyth the trée of life And whereas Cassiodore vpon the first Psalme doth refer the trée planted by the riuer syde vnto the Crosse that bare Christ howe much better Augustine on the same place expounds it of Christ himselfe Qui de aquis decurrentibus id est populis peccatoribus trahit eos in radice disciplinae suae Which of the running waters that is to say the sinfull people draweth men vnto him in the roote of his discipline For whereas Christ is the wisedome of the Father this exposition is consonant vnto Scripture which of that wisedome sayth Lignū vitae est amplectentibus eam She is the trée of life to them that lay holde on hir But if the woode of the Crosse be worthyly called The tree of life Folio 25. b. bicause our Lord Christ vvho is our life vvas hanged there why should not the Asse be the beast of life bicause our Lord Christ who is our life did ride vpon hir Ye will say peraduenture that the Asse was no instrument for his death but for his kingdome she was And why not the instrument of his kingdome as well as of hys priesthode be honored of vs I say it to this ende that if ye thinke the fathers of the Church speaking of the Crosse to be vnderstode so grosly as ye take them many fonde absurdities shal arise thereof They meant of the death of Christ that which you attribute to the materiall Crosse They by a figure did ascribe to the signe that which is propre to the signified thing I omit some authorities that you do alleage bycause they neyther doe make for you nor agaynste me Cyrillus sayth Folio 26. a. The holy Crosse brought vs vp to heauen And that the Crosse is that Arke of Noah by vvhich vve are saued from the floud of the vvater of sinne ouerflovving vs. c. I think there is none so senslesse as your selfe but consters his words otherwise than you To easy God wote is that way to heauen whereto we may be caried a pickbacke on a Roode To sone shal we fal from state of our felicitie if a rotten piece of woode or cancred metall must support vs in it To dreadful shall this drowning in our sinnes be if no better arke than of a Crosse material shal preserue vs from it Let the Doctors dally in figures as they fansy let vs not depart from the verity of the word If they speake one thing and meane another let vs take their meaning and let their wordes alone Great difference there is when a doctrine is playnely taught and when they descant vpon a texte Folio 26. b. Folio 27. a. Wherfore the standard of Abraham according to Ambrose The wood of the sacrifice according to Cyrill The blessing of Iacob atcording to Damascene The rod of Aaron according to Origen by which all is sayd the Crosse was prefigured I wittingly omit For what if a thousand things else were as men ymagined figures of a Crosse in which case a mannes inuention might haue scope ynough and finde in the scripture many moe such figures than they haue spoken of shall this bring such authority to the Crosse which is the thing that you do shoote at that the signe of the Crosse shall be in all places set vp and honored Folio 28. The
lyfting vp of Moses handes Exodi 17. somewhat wil I speake of thereby to declare that such yong men as you speaking much of the Crosse knowe not at all the signe of the Crosse That the lyfting vp of Moses hand did signifie prayer is euident by consent of all men Chrisostome de orando ad Deum lib. 1. sayth Quomodo Moses Israeliticum populum in bellis seruauit An non arma quidem cum exercitu discipulo tradidit ipse vero deprecationem opposuit hostium multitudini Nos interim docens preces iustorum plus valere quam arma quam equitatum c. In englishe thus Howe did Moses preserue the people of Israell in the warres Did he not deliuer vnto his scholler his armour and hoste but he himself set his earnest prayer agaynst the multitude of his ennimies Thereby teaching vs that the prayer of the righteous is more auayleable than armes or horsemen And in his sermon of Moses Definit Israel vincere Mose disistente in prece vt dum diuersa populis exhiberentur orationis potentia nobis monstraretur Israel leaues ouercomming ê™ he when Moses left his praying that when diuers effects were shewed vnto the people the power of prayer might be shewed vnto vs. And truely if we marke the place it self much better doctrine may be pyked of it than to prefigurate I wote not what maner of Crosse vnto vs. The lifting vp of Moses hands with the rod therin is nothing els but prayer that procedes of fayth according vnto Gods worde So Dauid sayth Psal 140. Let the lifting vp of my handes be as an euening sacrifice The heauy hands whereof the story speaketh do signify the sluggishnesse and fainting of our flesh in al vertuous and honeste exercise But as Moses faynting had a stone put vnder him so we must haue Christ that spirituall stone to support our weakenesse as Aaron and Hur stayed vp Moses handes so the ministers of the worde must confirme the hearts ObiectioÌ„ of them that make their prayers with the mercyfull promises of almighty God But Augustine sayth that beside al this the figure of the Crosse vvas foreshevved there That am I well contented to admit But your englishing of the text I will not admit For where as the Latine hath Manibus in Crucis figuram extensis you to expound it thus his handes helde vp a Crosse is to absurd and foolish For to stretch out his handes in forme of a Crosse and to holde his handes a Crosse is two thinges The stretching forth is at the armes ende as Christes was on the Crosse with the whole distance of body betwixt them The holding of the hands a Crosse is with one ouer the other Wherefore by your reason Moses made a Crosse but it was a Sainct Andrewes Crosse Or if you will haue the figure of the Church Crosse represented here then Moses put one of his handes vnder his other elbowe which the texte beareth not But O blindenesse of Poperie that neyther vnderstaÌ„d the fathers writing nor can giue a reason of your owne ceremonies Moses stretching out his handes made a figure of the Crosse But your learning can not reach to knowe what the olde figure of the Crosse was It is like to the Greke Î¥ which oure countreyman and late Cardinall M. Poole vnderstode well ynough And therefore in his newe gallery at Lambheth in the glasse windowes he drew this figure Î¥ in token of the Crosse as is yet to be séene But what is this figure like to the Roode or Crucifixe What haue ye gayned by this allegation but vtterly bewrayed your ignoraunce And certaynely if Goddes worde woulde suffer vs which in dede is agaynst it to haue and occupy the signe of a Crosse yet the forme that we vse is agaynst all president of Scripture and antiquitie Which when I come anone to the exposition of the letter Thau shall appeare more playnly Folio 28. b. But your fresh argument inferred of the place afore moueth me to laughter with an indignation For it sauoures nothing of the schoole saue that it hath Ergo before the conclusion which euery alewife can doe as well as you It hath neyther mode nor figure witte nor common sense For this is your reason The Diuell is discomfited by ihe Crosse of our Lord vvhich vvas prefigured by the handes of Moses But by Moses handes the signe of the Crosse vvas prefigured Ergo by the signe of the Crosse Diuels are ouercommed I néede not to shewe the errour of your argument for it is to manifeste and hath nothing else but errour in it If thus ye had sayde Diuels are discomfited by that vvhich Moses handes prefigured But Moses handes prefigured the signe of the Crosse Ergo by the signe of the Crosse Diuels are discomfited I would haue better allowed your argument denied your Minor which is the second proposition for Moses hands prefigured not the signe of the Crosse but the Crosse it self which is the death of Christ Loke on the words of your author But one fault is to familiar with you that what soeuer is spoken of effect of the passion you doe attribute to the instrumente and signe So the woode of Marah prefigured the glory and grace of the Crosse not of the signe but of the thing it self For the bitternesse of death is not taken away by a materiall Crosse or signe in the foreheade but death by death is swallowed 1. Cor. 15. Hitherto of your Crosse figures vnder the law Nowe that the same was denounced by the Prophetes ye runne to the places of Ezechiell Ieremy which although I haue aunswered at the full in the latter ende of the first Article yet somewhat must I adde for your further learning The letter ת Thau to be a kinde of Crosse as you out of Tertullian alleage I graunt Folio 30. a. But how it can be applyed to the signe of our Crosse I sée not For the figure which you make somewhat like vnto our common Crosse is the Gréeke 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or the Latine T. But the Prophets spake Hebrewe the Hebrewe charactar is a very paire of gallowes ת Your crosse is Figura duarum linearum in se inuicem ductarum ninurum vnius perpeÌ„dicularis sub altera diametrali The proportion of two lines drawen together one directly downward and another Crosse ouerthwart Wherof if ye will haue any figure of olde time before you goe to the Egiptians Idoll Serapis which had it iust pictured in his breast as Suidas and Orus Apollo testifie But that the Latine T or Gréeke Tau and Hebrewe Thau be all alike none wil say but such a great cleark as you For in dede as the Hebrewe letter is different in fashion from the Gréeke so in signification they were quite contrary The Hebrewes by their ת Thau did figure death the Gréekes by their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 did signifie life Therfore Isidorus writeth that in olde time when they would
of humaine wisdome but in the shewing of the spirite and power The droppes of rayne that fell vpon Iulian made a printe of the Crosse in his garment and the rests Therefore say you it is necessary for euery man to be signed marked vvith the crosse But the Crosse noted them to be persecutors Ergo it is necessary for vs to be noted as persecutors Ye sée howe your owne examples kill you there is nothing that ye bring but maketh against you Ecclesi hist lib. 5. Oap 1. In dede Sozomenus writeth that some did interprete the Crosses on that sorte Christianorum doctrinam esse caelestem oportere omnes Cruce signari That the doctrine of christians was heauenly and that all men ought to be signed with the Crosse But God forbyd we should haue such occasion to be so marked For none were marked but such as had reueged their fayth So that the Crosse doth not alwayes portende goodnesse nor is the signe peculiar vnto Christians If the signe had bene of such force as ye make it Iulian the Apostata would not haue gone forwarde with his attempted mischiefe But forwarde he went though the Crosse continued on his coate styll Wherefore the Crosse is no proufe of vertue Folio 35. The same may be confirmed by the story that followeth For the glittering signe of the Crosse in the element the crossing of the Iewes coates when they would haue reedified their Hierusalem was but a token of Gods wrath and vengeaunce and although it was Signum salutaris Crucis the signe of the healthfull Crosse yet was it not healthfull to them that ware it but rather a testimonie of Gods iust iudgement agaynst them Wherfore as God miraculously did worke and vsed this signe to contrary effectes sometime for comforte sometime to dispeire sometime for the godly sometime to the wicked So muste we not contrary to reason gather an vniuersall onely of the one side and contrary to his will abuse it at our pleasure If it had bene alwayes graunted to the godly and to none but them If it had bene alwayes a signe of succour and not of destruction your argumente then should haue had some apparance of troth or likelyhode Nowe by your owne examples where the wicked onely be signed with the Crosse where the Crosse doth worke nothing but confusion the groundwork of your cause is miserably shaken and you be turned ouer in your owne trip Of all your examples ye inferre your owne fansy what you do thinke Gods meaning was to shew such signes of the Crosse both vnder the law and in the time of grace but of your meaning ye bring no proufe at all eyther out of Scripture or Doctours that ye bragge of Onely for vs your ydle supposall as you thinke may serue Louain hath licenciate you Goddes vvord the ground of religion to make what lies ye lust The substantiall groūd that I spake of before whervpon we ought to builde our religion is the worde of God without the which no facte of man no particular example can proue any thing Then if ye would haue the signe of the Crosse receyued into Gods seruice ye should as well proue Gods will therein and bring his direct authoritie to vs. It suffiseth not to say This vvas once so but rather to shewe This vvas vvel so nor any one example can binde vs now without expresse cōmaundement in Gods boke for it extending to vs during for euer But you deale with gods boke as Epiphanius reporteth of heretiques Qui multos decipiunt Contra Her Lib. 1. To. 2. per malè compositam dominicorum verborum adaptatorum sapientiā Which deceiue many by the wisedome of the Lords words ilfauouredly applied As if a man should take an Image of some notable personage liuely set forth and adorned wyth pearle stone and afterward shuld deface the counterfet of a man in it make a dog or a fox of it Then if he should remoue the iewels and garnishing of the one to the picture of the other and say to them that loke vppon it This is the picture of suche a man or suche and for proufe thereof would bring the pearle and stone so cunningly cowched would ye not think him to be a crafty fellowe and yet beleue him neuer a whitte the soner Euen so fare you For in steade of the texte ye bring forth a contrary misseshapen glose and then ye apparell it with a fewe pearles of Scripture applyed as wel as a precious Diamond to the picture of a grinning dogge And yet a dogge is but a dogge although he had a byshops beste Myter on his heade no more are you but leude liars for all the patch of truth sowed on your cloke of fables Bleare not therefore the peoples eyes deceiue not your selues learne the true seruice of God out of his worde and goe no further The Crosse of Christ is necessary for vs his death and passion is onely our ioy and comforte our life and our redemption but the materiall or mysticall signe thereof is more than nedeth to daungerous to be vsed We haue the worde the ordinary meane to leade vs into all truth we must not beside the word séeke signes tokens We haue the bodies what grope we after shadowes The ende of Ceremonies Ceremonies were giuen vnto the Iewes to be a mound as it were betwene the Gentiles and them to seuer the people of God from other not onely by inward things but also by outward that the people of God should be with in that inclosure the other without and these outward rytes and obseruaunces were an assurance vnto the Iewes that they were lawefull heires of the promise and not the Gentiles But Christ came into the worlde to gather one Church of both peoples and therefore pulled downe the wall that was betwene them Decretae ceremonialia The Decrées of Ceremonies Christ followed herein the pollicy of Princes which if they will gather into societie of one kingdome as it were diuers peoples they will take away the thinges that made the difference before diuersities of coynes and lawes So Christ minding to make one people of the Iewes and Gentiles vtterly did abolish all legall ceremonies And Paul compareth them to a hande writing whereby we be bounde to God that we can not stand in argument agaynst him and deny our debt But by Christ this debte is so remitted that the obligation is cancelled that hand-writing is put out as the Apostle sayth now whē the instrumentes are cut in pieces the obligations cancelled Colos 2. the debter is set frée which we haue purchased by Christes death Wherefore we reade that the vayle of the temple tare to the ende the people might vnderstand therby that their sinnes were remitted and they discharged from burden of the lawe But when the wicked and faythles nation continued after Christes death to exercise in the temple ceremonies which had their ende before and would thrust
them vnto men as percell of religion and worshipping of God Christ vsing the ministerie of the Romaines so destroyed the temple that for these fiftene hundreth yeares they haue had no place no respite to repaire it And when they did attempt the matter they were as you alleaged by diuers meanes destroyed and disappoynted namely by the dreadfull apparition of a Crosse Whereof ye might haue gathered that God so misliked the superstitious ceremonies of the temple that he would not suffer the stones of it to stande The lyke plague shall ensue to all that hauing light wil follow darknesse that being frée will bring a slauery vpon them that being deliuered by Christ from these outwarde things and hauing Christ yet will be wedded to these outward things as if that God were pleased with them Wherefore remember Saul let no disguised cloke of a good intente couer an ill acte contrary to the worde Leuit. 10. Nadab and Abiu brought in straunge fyre not commaunded of the Lorde The fyre of the Lorde therefore consumed them 2. Sam. 6. Vzah when the Oxen did shake the Arke of a good intent did put his hand vnto it and was stricken deade for his offence Melior est obedientia quam Victimae sayde Samuell Better is obedience than sacrifice Better is a naked seruice with the worde than a a gorgeous solemnitie not cōmaunded by the worde Quicquid ego praecipio vobis Deut. 12. hoc tātum facite Whatsoeuer I do commaunde you sayth the Lorde doe that and that onely Non addes quicq̄ nec minues Thou shalt not adde any thing to it nor take away any thing from it When Christ shall appeare in brightnesse of his glory when he shall sytte as a iust iudge at his seconde comming to aske a straight accompt of all your life fayth and religion what can ye answere what wil ye say vnto him We haue garnished thy temple with golde and syluer we haue set vp candels vpon thine altares we haue sainsed thy saincts we haue erected estemed honored thy Crosse What shal he then reply to this Esay 1. Leuit. 26. Esay 52. 1. Cor. 6. 2. Cor. 6. The worde of his Prophete Esay Quis requisiuit ista de manibus vestris Who did require these thinges at your handes My temple ought your own heartes to be as I my selfe pronounced and my Apostle Paule bare witnesse with me This should haue bene adorned with chastitie simplicitie feare of my name loue of my mercies innocencie of lyfe integritie of fayth Such resting place and such ornaments therof haue I required but you haue them reiected No altare of squared stone haue I appointed my selfe on the altare of the Crosse abolished it I only ought to be the altare nowe wherevpon your sacrifice of prayse and thankesgiuing should be layd and light of your good workes shining to the world be set vpon But me and my death ye haue adnihilated to magnifie your owne imaginations my sainctes should haue bene paternes of holy lyfe and true fayth vnto you not haue vsurped my rowme and office to become mediators and be called vpon The swéete perfume of prayer shuld haue arisen from the saynsure of your heart to me and no flinging of coales about the Church to other But you haue sticked onely to the Iewish and hipocriticall obseruaunce The truth exhibited in time of grace ye haue not receyued The memory of my death by preaching of the worde and due administration of Sacramentes in the Church should haue bene continued according to my wyl The members of my body the liuely counterfets of myne owne person the poore the naked the comfortlesse christians should haue bene relieued clothed encouraged but by your Imagry you haue excluded my word by your Roodes Crosses and crucifixes vtterly as much as in you lieth defaced the glory of my death departe ye therefore away from me ye workers of iniquitie let nowe the God that you haue serued saue you Entre into euerlasting fier prepared for the Diuell and for you his Angels Thys when God shall lay vnto your charge this fine shall followe of it and when in the terrible conflict with Sathan ye shall call your consciences to accompte and sée those ydle toyes that you haue trusted to to be voyde of comforte what shall ye then doe but be dryuen to dispeire and say to the mountaines fall downe vpon vs. Luke 22. Wherefore if yet there be any place of repentaunce left for you if malice and obstinacy haue not vtterly secluded Gods grace from you take vp by times Séeke Christ in his worde forsake your will worshippings Set not your follies in the seruice of God agaynst the wysedome of the Almighty reuealed in his worde You thinke your holde is good God knowes it abydes no stresse Ye say ye séeke the Shepherd I proue ye finde the Foxe To the thirde Article FOr declaration and proufe of your thirde Article Folio 36. b. which is that euery Church Chappell and Oratory erected to the honor and seruise of God should haue the signe of the Crosse ye bring foure reasons whereof the two first be too vnreasonable grounded vpon folish fables The third is insufficient to confirme a doctrine The fourth is a custome of error not consonant to truth For the first ye alleage one of Abdias tales whome you affirme to haue sene Christ in the flesh Folio 38. b. to haue follovved Simon and Iude into Persia and to haue bene made Byshop of Babilon by the Apostles Abdias To speake somewhat of your famous father that he sawe Christ in the fleshe what maruell was it if he were one of the .72 disciples as you and Lazius that foūd the lying legend in his proface vpon Abdias witnesse Concerning his auncienty no maruel if ye cite him For if ye make accompt of his yeares by probable coniecture out of his boke ye shall finde him almost as olde as Mathusale He liued long after S. Iohns time for he citeth authorities out of his Gospell Ii 5. in fine diuers And speaking of a miracle done at S. Iohn his tombe how Manna sprang out of it he sayth Quam vsque hodie gignit locus iste that is to say Which Manna this place bringeth forth to this day Then if it were so strange a matter as he would haue it séeme many yeares were runne betwene the death of the Apostle and writing of his booke But Iohn himself was an hundreth yeare olde lacking two when he dyed For as your Abdias sayth Cum esset annorum nonaginta septem c. When he was foure score and seuentéene yeare olde Christ appeared to him and so forthe And Abdias if he were one of the .72 Disciples was called to hys ministery the selfe same yeare that Iohn was to his Apostleship So that by all likelyhoode hée was then as olde as Iohn and liuing long after Iohn How old was hée say you But a man of those yeares being broken
so much in trauaile as he was to doe as he did was a miracle of it selfe For if ye credit his owne writings he was at saint Andrewes death in Achaia For in his life he saythe Lib. 3. circa finem Diutissimè dominum clarificans gaudens nobis flētibus reddidit spiritum He long gloriefyng the Lorde and reioycing while we were wéeping gaue vp the ghost Wherevpon the marginall note hath Ex hoc apparet Abdiam huius historiae authorē passioni interfuisse It appereth by thys that Abdias the author of this history was present at the passion Likewyse he was with Thomas in India where he was a witnesse of all hys doings For speaking of a miracle shewed in prison he saith Serui dei dormire non poterant quos sic Christus excitabat Lib. 9. neque patiebatur nos somno dimergi The seruants of God could not sléepe whome Christ had raysed so nor suffred vs to be drowned in slepe Then if that Nominatiue case plurall vs includeth him that tolde the tale Abdias then was also there Beside this he was at the death of sainct Iohn in Ephesus for he sayth Lib. 5. Gaudebamus quod tantam cernebamus gratiā dolebamus quod tanti viri aspectu presentiae spetie defraudebamur We reioyced for that we sawe so great grace we sorrowed that we were bereued of the sight and presence of so great a personage And there is noted in the margent Et hoc argumentum est Abdiam interfuisse morti Iohannis And this is a proofe that Abdias was at the death of Iohn Notwithstanding all this he went out of Iewry wyth Simon and Iude into Persia Lib. 6. There as he witnesseth of himself He was present at al their doings was made Bishop of Babilon by them For thus he writeth Ordinauere autem Apostoli in ciuitate Babylonis episcopum nomine Abdiam qui cum ipsis venerat à Iudaea The Apostles apointed byshop in the city of Babilon one whose name was Abdyas which came from Iewry with them Now I besech you howe is it possible that he whiche immediatly came oute of Iewry had hys charge in Babilon should be at one tyme as it were in so dyuers and so farre distante partes of the world In Achaia in India in Ephesus in Persia and if we gyue credit to historiographers also in Scythia For as touching Andrevv Lib. 3. cap. 1. at whose martirdom he affirmes he was Eusebius out of Origen and Sophronius as we rede in Ptolome Lib. 2. ca. 39. li. 3. ca. 1. Ennead 7. lib. 4. and Nicephorus do al wytnesse that he went into the coast of Scythia farre distante from Grecia And as for hys death Sabellicus doth say that he suffered in Scythia Then eyther was your author a lyer or a leude byshop to forsake hys charge and be such a lādleaper But a lyer he was For comparing the times of the Apostles deathes and distaunce of places where they were resident it is impossible hys sayinges to be true Furthermore that the antiquitie of thys Abdias should be such as ye talke of is more than a miracle to me since neyther Irene nor Eusebius nor Hierom nor any one of the receiued fathers being nerest to the same tyme and writing of the same matter do once mention hym Yea to say the trueth both Scripture and Fathers be directe agaynst hym Lib. 5. For wher he maketh S. Iohn to say virtutū opes habere non posse qui voluerit diuitias habere terrenas That he can not haue the substance of vertues that wil haue the substāce of the earth it accordeth not with the doctrine of Christ For we reade in hys word of many that were rich and yet were vertuous notwithstanding That Iohn should alow the fact of Drusiana Math. 19 1. Cor. 7. Colos 3. Math. 18. which beyng a maryed wyfe withdrewe her selfe from her husbandes company without hys consent is contrary to the rule of Christ and hys Apostle Paul That he doth attribute to the same Apostle the prescription of thirtie dayes for sufficient repentaunce is otherwise than Christe hath taught vs. For he wyll haue vs to forgiue Septuagies Septies seuenty tymes seuen tymes That S. Iohn shoulde vse so fond miracles as to make whole again brokē iewels to turne trees and stones into golde hath no apparaunce of truthe in it That in hys life tyme a Church was builded at Ephesus dedicated to hym and called by hys name may be proued false by a thousande testimonies For beside that it was derogation to Gods honor it was cōtrary to the vse of the primitiue Church And al men agrée that vntyl the raigne of Constantinus there were no chapels or oratories erected in honor of any sainct Augustine plainly affirmeth that in the Church of Christ martyrs haue the hyghest rowme De ciui dei lib. 8 cap. 27 Nec tamen nos sayeth he eisdem martyribus templa sacerdotia sacra sacrificia constituimus quoniam non ipsi sed deus eorum nobis est deus Yet we builde not vp temples appoynt officers seruice sacrifice for the sayd martirs bicause not they but their God is our God Againe in an other place somwhat more plainly Nonne si templum alicui sancto Angelo excellentissimo de lignis lapidibus faceremus anathematizaremur a veritate Christi Contra. Max. Arr Episc lib. 1. ab Ecclesia dei quoniam creaturae exhiberemus eam seruitutē quae vni tantum debetur deo Si ergo sacrilegi essemus faciendo templum cuicumque creaturae quomodo non est deus verus cui nō templum sacimus sed nos ipsi templum sumus If we shoulde make a temple of wood and stone for any holy Angel yea though he were the most excellent of all should we not be accursed frō the truth of Christe and from the Church of God bicause we exhibited the seruice to a creature whiche is dew to God alone Therefore if we shoulde offende in sacrileage by building a Churche to any creature howe can it be but he is the true God to whō we make no temple but our selues are temples By which places we proue that in hys tyme there was no Church or chapel builded for any Sainct that it was reputed a cursed thing contrary to truthe the Church of God that they commyt Sacrileage which doe builde any Finally that Churches and oratories are not erected for God himself but to the vse of mā Wherfore in the tale of saint Iohn his Church your doctor doted Now what say you to this that Chrisostome affirmeth Petri quidē Pauli Ioannis Thomae manifesta sunt sepulchra To. 4. in cap. ad Heb. 11. In Ho. 26. Aliorum verò cum tanti sint minimè cognitum est vbi sunt The sepulchres of Peter and Paul Iohn and Thomas be well knowe but of the reast as great as they were it is not
holy ghost that in baptisme hath giuen fulnesse to innocencye in confirmation performeth increase to grace But let thē shewe me what warrant of God hys worde they haue for thys what promise of God is sealed in vs by this their new founde Sacrament Is Christianitie now to be fet oute of popery Is the truth of God contayned in the Scriptures insufficient to informe vs Is there no full Christiā vnlesse he be annointed Alas where are so many Apostles so many martyrs become that neuer wer annoynted Is baptisme insufficient wtout cōfirmatiō Is baptisme auaileable as the decrée hath only for them that should dye straight confirmation for them that shuld lyue longer Doth baptisme only regenerate vs to lyfe but confirmation furnishe vs vnto the fyght what is it thē the Paul hath We are buried with Christ by baptisme into hys death that lyke as Christ was raysed vp frō the dead by the glory of the father Rom. 6. so we also should walke in newnesse of lyfe Thys partaking of death and lyfe with Christ is nothing els but the mortifiing of our own flesh the quickening of the spirit in that the olde man is crucified Mar. 7. and we may walke in newnesse of lyfe But by this their deuise they take away halfe the effect of baptisme reiecting therein the commaūdemēt of God to establish their own tradition Wherfore I wil reasō with you as Christ did with the Pharises Mat. 21. Is the confirmation which you call a Sacrament ordained to be so from heauen Mat. 21. or of men If it be of men it is no Sacrament If it be of God then shew the worde Ye haue the example of the Apostles in the. cha 8. and .19 of the Actes Folio 54 a. Actes 8. But no exāple suffiseth for a Sacramēt The Apostles thēselues vsurped not so much But sée how well ye folow the example When the Apostles which were at Hierusalem heard say that Samaria had receaued the worde of God they sēt vnto them Peter and Iohn which when they were come down prayed for them that they myght receyue the holy ghost For as yet he was come down on none of them but they were baptised only in the name of the Lorde Iesus Then layd they their handes on them and they receyued the holy ghost Now are ye ignoraunt what here is ment by the holy ghost I wyl tel you The gift to speake in diuerse languages to worke miracles and other particuler graces of the holy spirite And although they had receyued the common grace of adoption regeneration through baptisme yet had they not these other qualities which in the beginning of the Church were graunted and now be denyed So that laying on of handes serued to good vse then when it pleased God at instance of the Apostles praiers to conferre the visible graces of hys spirite but now that there is no such ministery in the Church now that miracles be ceassed to what ende should we haue thys imposition of handes the signe without the thyng If a mā should now a dayes prostrate hymselfe vpon the bodyes of the dead bicause Helias and Paul vsed thys ceremony in raysing of their dead should he not be thought preposterously to doe So that it might well be a kynde of Sacramēt in the Apostles tyme but the cause ceassing what should the signe continue Yet ye content not your selues with the Apostles order ye wyll as I sayd before haue somewhat of your owne For neyther Peter nor Iohn annoynted the Samaritanes but you do besmere whomsoeuer you lay handes on Folio 54. a. Ye cal it Chrisma salutis the Chrisme of saluation But whosoeuer seketh saluation in the Chrismatory shal be sure to lose it in Christ Oyle for the belly and the belly for oyle but the Lord shall destroy both the one and the other Good Lorde what beast but a papist what papist but a diuell durst presume to say that saluation should be fet out of an oyle box The Apostle calleth vs from impotēt and beggerly things Gala. 4. Colos 2. and if we be dead with Christ he sayth we must not be burdened with traditions Wherfore ye take the matter all amisse that by the dooinges of S. Peter and S. Iohn in Samaria or els by the fact of S. Paul at Ephesus Act. 19. do grounde your Sacramente of Confirmation One reason ye haue heard Bicause the Ceremony of laying on of handes serued for particular graces whiche were but temporall and therfore now the thyng abolished the signe should not remayne An other I wyll bryng you The Apostles layed their handes but only vpon certayne persons euen such as the gyftes aforesayd were bestowed on Confirmation is extended vnto al gracious and gracelesse come who wil none is denyed it Who gaue you authoritie where is your commission to bestowe the indifferently vpon all persons which the Apostles gaue but vnto fewe In dede if it be so necessary to saluation as ye make it I can not greatly blame you But thē on the other side blame you I must that you are so negligent in bestowing it For this is your doctrine that without confirmatiō there can be no perfect Christian And I besech you how many be suffered to dye vnconfirmed vnlesse the bishop chaūce to passe by which is once peraduenture in seauen yeare all they that departe in the meane season are Iewes belyke or in state of damnation And can your charities suffer without remorse of conscience so many semi christians to passe you Thus euery way you cōfute your selues For if your Sacramēt of Confirmation Folio 55. a. be as you say such an oyntment vvith vvhose most holy perfection the gyft and grace of baptisme is made perfect If it be an oyntment altogether holy and diuine the perfection it selfe and sanctification the beginning the substance the perfecting vertue of al holinesse giuen vs from heauen Then are you wycked persons that take no order that the moe may haue it But if there be no such vertue in it then do ye lye the more Agayne yet further to note your absurditie Your decrée in case of Confirmation De consecr Dist 5. cap. Manus quoque is thys Manus quoque impositionis sacramentum magna veneratione tenendum est quod ab alijs perfici non potuit nisi a summis sacerdotibus nec tempore Apostolorum ab alijs quam ab ipsis Apostolis legitur aut scitur peractū esse nec ab alijs quam qui eorum tenent locum cuiquam perfici potest aut fieri debet Nam si aliter praesumptum fuerit irritum habeatur vacuum The Sacramente of laying on of handes must be helde with great worship which can not be made of any but only of the hye priestes nor it is red or knowen that in the Apostles tyme it was ministred by any but onely by themselues nor it can or ought to be done of any saue only such
chapel erected for hym Ep. Iude. ◠In dede the diuel dyd attempt no lesse then to make it a matter of superstition for we reade that there was a stryfe betwixt hym and Michaell about Moses body but the Angell of the Lord withstode it And although peraduenture by some instructiō ye shall hap vpon the story of Ioseph Iosephes body who required hys brothers to cary hys bones into the lande of Canaan yet doth it not make for your reliques nother For who kneled euer to Iosephes tumbe who brought it euer into the sāctuary who lyghted euer any candell to it Only to assure them of hys fayth in Gods promises and to confirme them that the lande of promise they should enioy he wylled thē as a witnesse to take hys body with them Next vnto Moses amōg the Prophetes were Samuel and Elias Samuel 1. Samu. 25. dyed as the Scripture sayth and all Israell assēbled and mourned for hym and buried hym in hys own house more we haue not Elias was rapt in a fyry charet 2. Reg. 2. hys body was translated not into the Church but into heauen both to testifie the rewarde of immortalitie prepared for the faythful and to cut away occasion of mens Idolatry Furthermore Elisha dyed they buried him And certaine bandes of the Moabites came into the lande that yeare 2. Reg. 13. and as they were burying a man beholde they saw the soldiors therefore they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha and whē the mā was down and touched the bones of Elisha he reuiued and stode vpon hys féete Yet after so great a miracle hys bones were not trāslated there was no pilgrimage appointed to hym there was no chappel erected for hym Ecclesi 48. While he lyued sayeth Iesus the sonne of Syrach he was not moued for any prince neyther could anythyng bryng hym into subiection nothing could ouercome after hys death hys body prophecied he dyd wonders in hys lyfe and in death were hys workes meruellous Yet for al thys the people repented not So that thys miracle confirming the doctrine and calling of Elisha serued as a preaching of penāce to them and not to enforce a worshipping of the body For which cause it is plainly sayd hys body prophecied Whē zelous good Iosias 2. Reg. 23. had taken the bones of the false Prophetes out of their graues and burned them vpon the altare seeyng the sepulchre of the man of God he sayde let hym alone let none remoue hys bones Great cause in appearaunce why they shoulde haue bene remoued thence where so many wycked had lyen buried but suffered they were and honored they were not In the new testamente what shal we thynke the cause that so little mention is made eyther of the buriall or else assumptiō of the Virgin Mary whose vndefiled body was the worthy temple of the holye ghost but that the wysdome of God foresaw what michiefe and Idolatry would soone haue risen of it Mat. 14. Of Iohn Baptist we reade that after he was slayne hys disciples came and toke vp hys body Act. 8. and buryed it Likewise of Stephē whē he was stoned that certayne men that feared God caryed hym among them to be buryed and made great lamentation for hym but of their bones reseruing or bodies trāslating not a word at al. Doubtlesse if such reliques had bene thought profitable to the church of Christ there should not haue ben such silence of them Notwithstanding afterwarde vpon aboundaunce of zeale not onely the memories of the faythfull martyrs but also some parcels of their māgled bodyes began to be kept to little vse of them and ill example to their posteritie Wherefore me thynke they made a ryght good excuse that denying the body of Polycarpus to thē that sued for it sayd Ne Christo relicto hunc colere inciperent It should not be deliuered lest Christ forsaken Euse Eccel His Li. 4 cap. 16. they shoulde begin to serue hym None of the Saincts but haue left behynde them a better memoriall than a scull or a carcase in writing or in doing Let their writings thē be perused of vs the vertuous conuersatiō of their lyfe be followed and they no doubt wil be beste contented In Euchir can 5. Erasmus intreating of such superstitions as you do moste embrace sayde very wisely to the soldior of Christ Veneraris diuos gaudes eorum reliquias contingere sed contemnis quod illi reliquerunt optimum puta vitae purae exempla Nullus cultus gratior Mariae quam si Mariae humilitatem inuteris Nulla religio sanctis acceptior magisque propria quam si virtutem illorum exprimere labores Vis tibi demereri Petrum Paulum Alterius fidem alterius imitare charitatem plus feceris quam si decies Romam cursitaris That is to say Thou worshippest the Saintes thou arte glad to touche their reliques but the beste thyng that they haue lefte behynde them whiche is the examples of a pure lyfe thou contēnest No seruise more acceptable vnto Marye than if thou imitate the lowlinesse of Mary No religion more welcome and more proper vnto Saintes thā if thou study to expresse their vertue Wilt thou procure the fauor of Peter and of Paul follow and resemble the fayth of the one and charitie of the other and thou shalt do more than if thou shouldest gad ten tymes to Rome So much as touching Anastasius reliques Now that I haue proued the Crosse of Chrisostome to make nothing for you the lawes of Iustinian not to prescribe me the example of Augustine the Monke not to bynde me the trāslating of reliques not to be estemed of me it remayneth that your proufes for hauing of a Crosse at singing or saying Letany are insufficient I haue shewed you by the way whose deuyse were Letanyes whence came processyons howe farre we swarue both in the one and in the other from those wylworshippers that first inuented them I haue declared no lesse the fonde abuse of tapers and shameful superstition of Reliques in the Churche both by Gods worde and testimony of good men condemned Wherfore let vs forsakyng vanities of mens deuises seke God and seruyse of hym in Scripture Let vs walke before hym in innocency of lyfe let vs be followers of Sainctes as they were of Christ let vs in hūblenesse of our heart make our prayers vnto hym although we haue no Crosse in procession before vs. But for auoyding of the Crosse the plage of God due for our desertes let vs often vse our Godly Letanie let vs instantly alwayes say From the tyranny of the bishop of Rome and all hys detestable enormities from all false doctrine and heresie from hardnesse of hart frō contempt of thy worde and commaundement good Lord deliuer vs. To the eight Article That many straunge and vvonderfull miracles vvere vvrought by the signe of the Crosse IF signes and miracles which in these latter dayes haue
oftē giuen so straghtly enioined Thou shalt make to thy self no likenesse of any thing Suppose they be so strengthened in fayth so assisted by grace that how great soeuer the daunger be yet they fall not in it they kepe themselues vncorrupt from Idolatry shall that be sufficient excuse for them if they leaue occasion of such offence to other Shal their learning and wysedome be cause of folly and deceyt to the simple Shal they haue such regard of their own fāsie which is to no purpose but only to gaze on wtout a cōmaundement as they thēselues confesse that the silly flocke shal be scattered therby and the more multitude being simple perish for whō Christ payed as deare a ransome as for the greatest the wisest the best learned of the earth The Scripture is cōmaunded to be knowen of al men Gather sayth Moses the people together Deute 31. men wemen children the straunger that is within thy gates that they may heare and that they may learne and feare the Lord your God kepe and obserue al the words of hys law Likewyse in the new testament the lyke cōmaundement is giuē by Christ to search the Scriptures Which words if any mā think Iohn 5. do appertaine only to the Iewes of the old tyme or to that Cleargy now by the same reasō as Augustine doth wel proue he may say the Christians ought not to know Christ De verb. Domini Ser. 45. nor be knowen of Christ Notwithstanding the Scriptures contrary to Gods wil haue bene for a policie forbidden to be red least the ignoraunt myght fal into error by thē And shal not the pictures forbidden banished out of Gods seruise breding a most vile affection of Idolatry be remoued rather out of the tēple aswel in respect of the precept as peril I haue shewed what these Images do describe pryde auarice wantonnesse and nothyng else If a man say thys Sainct in hys lyfe tyme despysed hys lyfe to lyue with God cōtinued in pouerty to be rich in Christ reiected the pleasures lustes of the fleshe to subdue the same to the good guiding spirite hys Image by by controls hym of a lye For he séeth a most chereful stately loke a gorgious rich attire an embracing in death of the which in lyfe he most abhorred Wherfore as Images generally describe a contrary effect to their first paternes as alway they worke a more wicked ende than in religiō is to be admitted so the Crosse it selfe doth not nor cannot leade as to the crucified but estrāgeth our harts frō god the creator to a vile creature And if the commoditie of Images in the Church or Crosses had bene such as you would haue it appeare I maruell the Christ our scholemaster that hys Apostles our teachers toke no order for them Rom. 15 Paul sayth not Quaecūque picta sunt sed quaecunque scriptae sunt ad nostram doctrinā scripta sunt c. Whatsoeuer thinges are painted but whatsoeuer thynges are written are written for our instructiō Not that by Images or gasing stockes 2. Tim. 3. but thorow pacience and cōfort of the Scriptures we may haue hope Nor he sayth All picture but Scripture inspired of God is profitable to teach to reproue to instruct that the mā of God may be perfect furnished to all good workes Then if the Scripture be a commended and commaunded way and the same sufficient to make vs perfect in all pointes I sée not to what vse an Image or a picture is Exo. 20. God gaue the lawe to Moses not set forth with colours but writtē in .ij. tables Iosue Iosu 23.2.4 deliuered the same vnto the people not in Imagery but in worde not glorious to the eye but gladsome to the eare comfortable to the hart so that the meane wherby they would the benefites of God to be kept in remēbrance was not to paint or graue the lykenesse of thē but by faythfull pen report the noble factes so print in the hart a thankfull memory Dauid intreating of the incarnatiō natiuitie passion death resurrection kyngdom of Christ our Sauior which are the proper effectes which you wyl haue set forth in Imagery sayth in the persō of Christ thus Psa 39. In capite libri scriptū est deme In the beginning of the boke it is writtē of me It is not graued in a piece of metal or painted on a wall The Euāgelist sayth Sicut scriptū est in libro Sermonū Esaiae Luke 3. As it is written in the boke of Esaies Esa 52. sermons He spake of sermons and not of signes of a boke and not of an Image The Apostles also of whome it is written beautifull are the fete of those that bryng tidinges of peace preach helth which wēt throwing their sedes with teares planting the fayth of Christ with afflictiō and shal returne agayne hauing their handfull Psa 125. with plentifull increase with ioy for gayne and successe of the gospell sent not a Crosse or history of the passion painted in a table to cities or to nations but their Epistles the certayne witnesses of their myndes their writinges Nor Christ that we reade of conferred on them the art of painting caruing or engrauing wherby they myght conuert the heathen to the fayth or leaue a remembraunce with their disciples after them Luk. 24. Sed aperuit illis dominus sensum scripturarum but the Lord opened the sense of Scripture to them S. Iohn banished into the Ilande Patmos to receyue the secrete and diuine reuelations heard at the Lordes handes Scribe haec in libro Apoc. 1. Wryte these in a boke and not worke thē in stone or metall Wherby we are giuen to vnderstande that the instruction of our fayth the only ayde of a Godly memory must be the Scripture The Crosse with a picture of a mā vpon it with armes stretched body pearced and fete nayled may peraduenture put me in mynde of a man so executed but who it was for what cause it was to what holesome ende and effect it was no picture in the world can tel me If preaching inspired by the grace of God working effectually in the hearts of hearers be not able to turne and conuert the obstinate If the lawful vse of Gods holy instrument pearcing the hearts and striking the conscience can not frame aright and reforme to pietie what shall we thynke of a dumbe senselesse vnlawfull thyng If I sée a fellon a théefe a murtherer hanged before myne eyes haue I not more to consider myne owne estate than if I behelde a wodden roode or siluer crucifix Suppose I know that that picture representeth Christ am I furthered any thyng towarde my saluation or are the mercies of Christ more effectual to me Ephe. 1. vnlesse I know that euen God the father hath also chosen me in Christ hys sonne before the foundations of the worlde were layd that I
Papistes degenerate from all good order ib. The Crosses of Constantinop what they were 140. Howe Martiall in one storie maketh .iiij. lyes 141. a. Concerning the vse of Tapers 141. b. seq Ther must be no Tapers on the Lords table 142. b. Howe Martiall proueth Luther no heretique 143. a. The affaires of August the Monke in England 143. b. Papistes superstitious and why 145. b. The true ensigne of Christ 146. b. For Reliques ib. seq In the .viij. Article MIracles no prouf of doctrine Folio 150. seq Wrought by the diuel 149. b. Thre reasons why miracles make not for the Crosse 151. a. How M. belieth Euseb ib. b. How the Papists agree not for inuentioÌ„ of the crosse 152. a. What lies be made of peces of the Crosse 153. b. Of the nayles that Christ was crucified withall 154. seq The answere to the miracles that were affirmed to haue ben done by the Crosse 155. How Papistry breedeth securitie in synne 156. seq Miracles paste no proufe of present vse 157. a. That as well we may haue the signe of Idols as the signe of the Crosse for any miracle ib. b. Whether the miracles of the Crosse were true or no they can proue no lawefull vse thereof 158. seq The similitude of the cloth of estate 161. b. For memorie holpen wyth a Crosse 162. b. In the .ix. Article VAnities alleaged for coÌ„modities of the Crosse Folio 164. a. The true effects of Images ibid. b. The Reason that Images shoulde not be vnlawefull though not expedient aunswered 164. 165. seq Gods bookes commaunded forbydden for pollicy mans bookes for pollicy must needes be maintayned 165. se Whether Images can teach things necessary to saluation 166. b. That Crosses teach no humilitie no vertue 167. b. That Images speak doubtfully teach diuelishly bee red vnlawfully 168. b. 169. a That ther can be no such ignorance as should driue vs to seeke knowledge in an Image 169. a. The titles and commendation of Scripture 170. a. That for wante of preachers we must not seeke to Images ib. b. What leud affectioÌ„s be stirred by Imagery 171. a. What affections were stirred in the heathen by Images ib. b. No ymagery with preaching much lesse without 172. a. Howe Images must not be admitted for help of memorie ib. b. How Cyrill alloweth no Images in Churches 173. b. A diuelishe memory the muste be holpeÌ„ with a crosse 174. a In the .x. Article WHat Adoration worship is Folio 175. b. That adoration by the scripture is forbydden to Images 176. a. Authorities for adoration of the crosse falsly aleaged 176. b Authorities of the fathers agaynst the Adoration of the Crosse ib. seq A strange prouf that no man may feare Idolatry in worshippers of the Crosse 183. b The absurde argumente of Martiall 184. a. ij Kindes of Idolatrie 185. a. That bowing kneeling to Crosses and Images doth proue Idolatry 185. 186. The Authors alleaged agaynst both the hauing and Worshipping of the Crosse Clemens Rom. Epis Folio 4. b. 177. a. Ireneus 14. b. 178. a. Clemens Alexandrinus 177. b. Iosephus 15. a. Cyprianus 178. b. Tertullianus 6. 7. 49. a. 178 a. Origenes 31. 32. 178. b. Arnobius 13. b. 179. a. 82. a. Lactantius 5. b. 14. a. 142. a. 179. b. Eusebius 7. b. Athanasius 29. a. 127. a. 180. a. Epiphanius 14. b. 117. b. 181. a. Ambrosius 86. b. 181. b. Hieronimus 97. a. 133. a. 181. b. Augustinus 15. a. 52. a. 83. 84. 88. a. 181. Chrysostomus 46. b. 106. b. 133. b. Cyrillus 173. b. Prudentius 53. b. Gregorius PP In the Epistle to M. Also 8. b. 182. a. Alfonsus de Castro 182. a. Carolus Magnus 68. b. Petrus Crinitus 85. Erasmus In the Epistle to Martiall The author of the Turkes hystorie 15. b. COVNCELS The CouÌ„cel of Constantinople vnder Leo Isauricê° 58. a. The Councell of Granata 68. a. The Councell of Franckforde 68 a. seq Leafe Syde Lyne  Faultes  Corrected 3 b 2 For was a Reade was not a 10 b 29 strayning strayeng 17 a 18 taught naught 24 a 1 toy our to your 67 b 11 were deified were not deified 68 a 22 whether whyther 86 a 9 preasseth presumeth 88 a 12 vnfounde vnsounde 89 a 26 worde wood 93 a 26 gayne game 95 a 33 hath ordayned hath ordayned 102 b 15 htat that Ib b 20 them them them 107 a 21 Christome Chrisostome 116 b 34 Eueria Euoria 129 a 28 pristinuÌ„ pistrinum 135 a 33 follo wed both followed both 141 b 28 is was it was In the Epistle to Martiall the .4 leafe the seconde syde and in the last Quotation for Ep. 109. reade Cap. 109. In the .5 leafe the fyrst syde and line .2 for quid reade quidem Wheras two leaues together be escaped wyth the number of 23. reade for the laste of them .24 and for the number of the next leafe following which is .26 reade .25 In the mergine of the .97 leafe for Cofirmaion reade Confirmation And in the margine of the .110 leafe in the second syde for martrimonye reade Matrimonie If ought else be escaped I trust the gentle Reader will beare with it and of himself amend it Mortis Crucis collatio QVI cupis ad Vitam renouari Morte futuram Mortem Christi animo fac meditere tuo Mors ea Vita fuit vitamque fidelibus omnem Praestitit in sola mortuus ille Cruce Non tamen ipsa licet Cruce Mors inflicta ministra Mortis erit celebri dira ministra loco Mors peperit victa solidos de Morte triumphos Crux valet ad vitam materiata nihil Mors affert animis onerum folatia pressis Crux dare lenimen lignea nulla potest Stigmata Mortis habent animi defixa fideles Stigmata formatae sunt malefida Crucis Mors in honore pijs aeterno tempore stabit Effigiata pijs Crux abolenda venit Mortis vt obrepat mala non obliuio nobis Corporeae remanet mystica Coena dapis Haec data firmandis quasi tessera mentibus olim Solaque perpetuo quae paragatur erit Non sic ille Crucem Christus praeceptor habendam Instituit valeat Crux vbi coena valet Sin Crucis ante oculos monumentum velle videmur Subdita sunt Christi viuida membra Cruci Viuida si nequeant animos percellere nostros Incutiantne magis mortua Signa fidem Perfida visibili gens est contenta Figura Dum Res interea significata perit Sic quos debuerat verum vox viua docere Fusilis errorem semper Imago docet Quos Deus in sacrae demissus viscera mentis Non facit Offitij sic meminisse sui Vana Creaturae facies subiecta proteruis Luminibus memores scilicet efficiat Nec tamen hic scelerum finis sceleratior inde Cultus ab effectu deteriore venit Namque velut diui Lapides Ligna coluntur Artificis postquam forma fit arte Crucis Sin ea forma magis precioso obducta Metallo Protinus Idolum Crux facit vna duplex Ergo Crucifixus nobis in honore locetur Cruxque sit a nobis materiata procul The same in English WHo doest desire to Life to come by Death to be restorde Recorde alway in mindeful heart the Death of Christ thy Lord. This Death gaue Life and he that dyed did on his Crosse alone Bring euerlasting Life to those that him beleue vpon But though by meane of that his Crosse this death was brought to passe Yet ought not Crosse in steade thereof to holde the sacred place A perfect triumph ouer Death this Death did once atchieue But the materiall Crosse to Life no help at all doth giue This Death doth bring a full release vnto the grieued minde But in the framed Crosse of wood no comfort is to finde The markes of this most holsome Death the faithful hearts do beare The marke of formed Crosse God wote is but vntrusty geare With godly men this Death for aye in honour shall abyde Of godly men the shapen Crosse is to be layde asyde Least this good Death that bringeth Life should flip out of our minde He of his sacred body hath his Supper left behinde This as a pledge to strength our soules is poynted to endure And this alone ordayned is to be in dayly vre Our Master Christ commaunded not the Crosse be holden so But where this Supper is in place the Crosse may be let go But of the Crosse some monument if we desire to sée The liuely members of our Christ to Crosse styll subiect be If liuely ones want force ynough to moue our resty minde Alas in liuelesse Signes what force of credite shall we finde The faythfull sorte content themselues with Signes yséene with eye Euen while the Matter signified is wholly lost thereby So them that should by liuely Voyce haue learnde the truth to know The forged Image euermore doth into errour throw Shall they whome God that doth descende into the godly brest Doth not so make to call to minde the duetie they profest Shall they forsoth in heart be brought to holde the same aright By fickle forme of Creature subiect to erring sight Yet is not here the ende of ylles For hereof doth ensue From worse effect false Worship done where it was neuer due For after once a forme of Crosse is made by workemans arte To Stockes and Stones as heauenly Gods then honor they imparte But if with precious Metall it be garnisht to the eye A double Idoll of one Crosse is honorde by and by Let him therefore that Dyed on Crosse deuoutly be adorde And let materiall Crosse be farre from vs that feare the Lorde FINIS Imprinted at London by Henry Denham for Lucas Harrison dwelling in Paules Churchyarde at the Signe of the Crane Anno Domini 1565. Nouembres 3.