afflicted he went a stray but after his afflictions he kept the commandements of God And againe It is good for mee that I haue beene afflicted that I may learne thy Statuts 2. Chro. 33 Was not Manasses for his conversion endebted to his captivitie And are not we for Davids Psalmes endebted to Saul and Absalon For the building of the Church of God in our daies are not we endebted to the Martyrdome and torments that our fathers endured for the Gospell By the word of God and experience we finde other ends of our afflictions then satisfaction and redemption to the iustice of God Therefore saith Chrysostome in his Homely of confession pennance that God punisheth vs not for the sinnes past Non exigens supplicium de peccatis sed ad futura nos corrigens but correcteth vs for that that is to come Here doe our adversaries rouse themselues and seeke all meanes to vnderprop their so ruinous a cause and to perswade that to pardon a sinne yet to punish it with satisfactory paines to acquit a debt and yet to make the debter pay it are things compatible such as doe well agree This doth the Frier proue by a Theologicall reason Among all the workes of God saith he doe equally shine his mercy and his iustice a propositiō that beareth many exceptions Pag. 75. As in the punishment of Divels we find soveraign iustice without mercy And God doth often minister the one without the other as himself saith in the Epistle of S. Iames cap. 2. There shall be iudgement mercilesse to him that sheweth no mercy Only in the worke of redemption is this proposition true his mind is that in the Iustification of a sinner Gods mercy should be displaied in conferring vnto him the first grace and remission of eternall paines And to giue some way to his iustice he will haue it to take some satisfaction of the sinner by punishing him with temporall paines as well in this life as in Purgatory Wherein I beseech the Reader to consider the nature of the vntruth which consisteth in wrangling and iarring with his owne principles The frier said that among al the works of God his mercy his iustice did shine equally but here he maketh them altogether vnequall In that mercy revealeth her selfe in pardoning an infinite paine but iustice sheweth herselfe in making thē suffer temporall punishments which neverthelesse may be abridged and redeemed by some fasts and slight offerings made by the survivers for the dead Was it meete to seeke place for the iustice of God where wee might abase it so low and dishonor it in paying it in such base coine and clipped mony◠Even this might serue for an evident and most mightie testimony to the truth if wee proue that according to our beliefe gathered out of the word of God the Iustice of God and his mercy doe equally shine in the worke of our redemption are likewise infinit For God hath shewed himselfe infinitly iust in accepting at the hands of our pledge and redeemer Iesus Christ a sufficient price for all our offences also infinitly mercifull in allowing to vs this payment as made in our name His wisdome hath vnited things which otherwise seemed hardly to agree having found a meanes to punish all our sins and withall to forgiue them all by giving to vs his son the obiect of his iustice for an argument and matter of his mercy But to pardon a man all his sins and yet to make the same man to beare one part of the deserved punishment for satisfactiō for the same are matters contradictory The fire of Helie speaketh no better to the purpose Adam saith he had pardon for his sinne and yet both he and his posterity haue incurred many calamities 1. Hereto we do answere that to no ende hee here commeth in with the paines and sorrowes that are cōmon to all men sith that in this place wee deale only with punishments proper to the children of God 2. He deceiveth himselfe in thinking that the evils and paines for al men are punishments for the sinne of Adam For they are punishmēts because men do persist in the sin of Adam God never punisheth one man for another mans sin The child shall not beare the iniquity of his father saith Ezechiell 18.20 True it is that so manie Calamities had never befallen mākind had not Adam sinned but yet this stādeth ever firme That God never punisheth any before they haue throughly deserved it 3. He presupposeth that which is false and yet in question namely that the paines whereto the faithful be subiected by the sin of Adam be satisfactions payments and redemptions to the Iustice of God For of this kinde of paines do we now entreat because they make Purgatory to be of this nature We say then that al these evils labours diseases yea even death it selfe do alter their nature in the faithfull and of evils become medicines Of satisfactorie pains they are made healthsome exercises to the soule God by the wounds of the body healeth the woundes of the soule even in like manner as a triakle composed of venimous Ingrediences yet tempered by a skilfull Physition becommeth a very healthsome preservatiue The like do we say of the death of the faithfull It resembleth the passage over the red sea where Gods enemies are swallowed vp but his children doe finde way to the promised inheritance Farthermore if it be a punishment to satisfie the iustice of God wherfore do the faithful expect it with Ioie and in their desires even hasten the comming of it as did the Apostle S. Paule Phil. 1.13 Besides these reasons they alleadge many examples as of Mary Moses David who were punished after their offences were forgiven Namely David whose example they do vrge 2. Sam. 12. Where God having forgiven him his sinne said neverthelesse vnto him The sword shall not depart from thy house because thou hast despised me Againe Because thou hast given the Lordes enemies cause to blaspheme his name thy childe shall die There is not say they to the end thou shouldest not cause to blaspheme Likewise in the 7. of Micheas I will beare the wrath of the Lorde because I haue sinned against him wherein their iudgement fayleth them for they labour to proue that which we do grant Who denieth but that the sins of the faithfull are the efficient causes of the chastisementes that God layeth vpon them And that they fall vpon them because they haue sinned But our controversie dependeth not vpon the efficient cause but vpō the finall They say that it is to the end that Gods iustice may be satisfied by the punishment of the sinne we say that it is to the end A sinner may amend They will haue it That God punisheth as a iust iudge we that he punisheth vs as a loving father not to exercise his Iustice but correct our vnrighteousnesse for as for the satisfaction due to his Iustice the merits of
the fire of Helie p. 44. The lowest place is hell the habitation of the damned and the same is divided if wee beleeue our adversaries into two parts The one where the soules are tormented in fire the other where they are tormented in snowe Throughout alâ— the word of God can we not find that that ever any came out of this place Yet Pope Gregory the first in the first Booke of his Dialogues cap. 12. reporteth that S. Severus raised a dead bodie whome the Divels had carried away Also Damascen In 4 Dist 45 quest 2. and after him Thomas Durand and Richard doe tell vs that by the prayers of S. Gregory Traian an heathen Emperour was fetched out of hell Gabriel Biel in his 56. Lesson vpon the Cannon of the Masse holdeth the same opinion And Ciacconus hath written an Apologie expresly for this history Cayer and the Doctors that subscribed to his book do approue this historie The secoÌ„d place but his coÌ„panions do reiect it The second place is the Purgatory that serveth for such as are indeed righteous and do not sinne but in their life time haue committed some trespasses for which they haue not satisfied The same â—ope Gregory teacheth that so soone as â— man is deceased his soule is presented before the Iudge Lib. 4. c. 36. also that soÌ„time there happeneth abuse they bring before God one that was not called As saith he it chanced to one named Stephen who being deceased and his soule presented before God immediatly as God saw him hee said that was not the man that hee had called for but that it was â—n other Stephen a beater of Iron who therevpon died incontinentlie and the former Stephen revived againe and was sent backe because hee dyed before he was called These soules thus presented before the Iudge if they need any purging are instantly sent to this second place which they tearme Purgatory And this doctrine is grounded vpon this principle which is a third article of their faith and taken out of the vnwritten word Read the catechisme of the couÌ„cel of Trens in the châ—â— of pennaÌ„ce namely that Jesus Christ by his death and passion hath indeede dischardged vs from the fault and from the paines due to sinnes committed before baptisme but from the paine duâ—â— to sinnes committed after baptisme he hath not discharged vs. Therefore that such as haue not made full satisfaction in this life by fastings scourgings gifts to the Church c shal be sent to Purgatory there to finish their satisfaction and to pay as they say even to the last penny Herehence grewe that pennance which the Priest imposeth vpon the sinner which do farre differ from the pennance vsed in the primitiue Church which was publicke of long continuance and rigorous thereby to humble the sinner and to repaire the scandall to the Congregation but at this day in the Church of Rome they impose for the most part privat pennances and the same either very easie or ridiculous these doe they make vse of to prevent Purgatory and yet to pay and satisfy Gods iustice The formes of these pennances are to say a set number of Anees intermixed with Paters vpon a paire of beads to scourge their bodies or vpon tâ—e bare flesh to gird themselues with aâ—cord or to goe in pilgrimage to Saint â—â—mes in Galicia N. Giles an 768. c. Our Annals do informe vs of a pennance imposed by a â—ope vpon one Robert the Norman surnamed the Divell vpon sundry his â—ots committed that is that for the space of seven yeares hee should not â—â—eake and that he should all that time 〈◊〉 at a staier foote and take no other food but the relicks of such bones as a Grayhound should haue gnawn Was iâ— meet to abridge the benefit of Iesus Christ and to supply the places with such frivolous devises and in such couÌ„terfeit quoine to satisfie the iustice of God which Iesus Christ had before satisfied to the full The Frier pag 75. As concerning the torments that the soules doe there endure these our masters doe tell vs that all the fires and torments in this life are â—ut easie in regard of the heate of the â—te of Purgatorie and that the tormeÌ„t â—hereof equalleth that of the damned This doctrine was not yet receaued in the Church of Rome when to the CaÌ„noÌ„ of the Masse they added these words ensuing which the Priest must daily say for the soules in Purgatory Memento Domine Remember Lord thy servants whose soules doe rest in the sleepe of peace Hereby it appeareth that they then beleeved that the paine was easie or rather none at all and that the soules for whom they prayed did rest in peace as in a sleepe Hereto accordeth the saying of the aforenamed Gregory who advoweth that the soules of S. Severus S. Pascasius wrought miracles in the Bathes where they lay in Purgatory Lib. 7. Epist 61. For it is hard to worke any great miracles in such cruell torments This is the same Pope Gregory who doth in earnest confesse that the Apostles celebrating the Lords supper added vnto the consecration nothing but the Lords prayer and so consequently prayed not for any soules in Purgatory Againe the Church of Rome holdeth this torment to be of long continuance for every sinne they must abide there seaven years besides also that we pray for some that died many hundred yeares since And in this regard doth the Pope grant pardons some for fifty some for an hundred thousand yeares and the Frier may verie well remember that when I shewed him in the Masse booke a praier that contained foure fiftie thousand yeares of pardon thereto adioined he did not onlie advow it but tooke vpon him to defend these so â—iberal indulgences In the Church of S. Bibian at Rome vpon the day of all Saintes they haue sixe hundred thousand yeares of verie pardon for the space of one whole day In the booke of Romane Indulgences these sixe hundred thousand years are writteÌ„ at large The Pope that granted that pardon preâ—upposing that a soule may haue committed so many sinnes besids those for which the paines of Jesus Christ haue â—atisfied that hee must haue so manie â—eares of torment to purge all his sins â—nlesse the Masses and suffrages of the â—ving togither with the Popes indulgences doe procure him ease and abbreviation of his paines At Paris in the entering into a chappel of the friers Fevillans in the suburbs of S. Honorat hangeth to be seene a long bedrole of pardons wherein among other is contained that vpon everie daie of lent there are to bee purchased three thousande eight hundred sixtie seaven yeares and two hundred and seaven Quarentines of daies of verie pardon In the church of S. Eusebius at Rome they haue seaven thousand foure hundred fifty and foure Quarenteins of daies of verie pardon for such as shall bring thither any honest offering and as
diminish the paines thereof yet haue the Popes found out a more ready and gallant invention to the same end and this it is Hee raketh together all the superabundant satisfactions as wel of Iesus Christ as of all his Saints which remain in the treasurie of the Church whereof himselfe doth carrie the keyes and these doth he distribute among his Indulgences for the freeing of soules out of the fire of Purgatorie To the same vse doth he also apply his hallowed graines and medals which hee distributeth abroad granting hundreds and thousandes of yeares of pardon to all such as shal kisse or reverently keepe them And these pardons serue not only for this life but also for Purgatory The Church of the Fevillants at Paris haue this priviledge That the Masses in that church said for the dead vpon the moonday or wednesday doe every of them deliver one soule out of Purgatorie Many such Churches doth Rome containe S. Potentian S. Laurence without the walls S. Praxede c. vpon the 7. of May anno 1586. did Pope Sixtus the 5. grant to such of the fraternitie of the corde of S. Frances as should say 5 Paternosters as many Ave Marias vpon the Saturday before palme Sunday and vpoÌ„ the feast daies of St Iohn Evangelist and St Iohn Port Latyn plenary Indulgence for all their sinnes yea and more then then that for they shall moreover deliver one soule out of Purgatorie as appeareth in the booke of Indulgences granted to that reverend Corde printed at Paris by Iohn le Bouc vpoÌ„ Mount S. Hillary at the signe of diligence ann 1597. And these priviledges were reconfirmed by other letters pattents of the same Pope Given at S. Markes the 9. of August ann 1587. But the principall matter that we are herein to note is this That this grace is not conferred to any that is not of that fraternity albeit in the same places hee should say the 5. Paters and as many Avees yea and fifty more and that with farre greater devotion then that fraternity doth Some Alters also there be whereto his holinesse hath conferred such priviledges that vpon the saying of a set number of Masses vpoÌ„ them At Rome in the church of S. Praxe de and in many other places they shall bring a soule out of Purgatorie Some people also there bee that are so priviledged that after their deaths either they go not into Purgatory at all or if they go in they staie not there any time but come forth by and by albeit they be as heavy loaden with sin as any other such shall the elect bee that shall liue in the day of Iudgement or such as shall die immediatlie after the Iubile Sub auspiciis sapientissimi D.N. Bartholomei Guitart Navarrici Wee haue seene certaine Theologicall Theses disputed on at the Carmelites in Paris vpon the eighth of October 1601 by a certaine Carmelite named Iacobus de Rampont Carmelitarum presentatus ac Metensis Carmeli Alumnus at the end whereof the said Rampont in good sort and with a good grace maketh a briefe Oration in commendatioÌ„ of his order tearming the Carmelites the first Anachorites the Imitators of the Apostolicke life practising both the life wearing the habit of Elyas and Elizeus brethren ro the Virgin Mary and among al other preeminences endued with this singuler priviledge That whosoever is entred or shall vowe to enter into this fraternitie shall no longer abide in Purgatorie but from his death vntill the next Saturday following A priviledge which Cayer with tooth and naile defendeth in his Oven of Reverberate c. and promiseth shortly to show vs the Bull of that Pope which graunted this priviledge with whom the Carmelites are vnited who thereto haue set their seales and among the rest this frier RaÌ„pont And this is the reason that they vse so few Masses for the soules of their brethren especially if they die vpon the Friday The Pope himselfe sometimes granteth his Buls as our selfe haue seen whereby at the petition of some surviver of the kindred that craveth it hee fetcheth the soule out of this fier Yet for the expedition of such Buls as also of all other Buls of Absolution or dispensation the Penitentiaries That is to say Notaries dataries brethren of the lead c. Who farme their offices at the Popes hand must be greased in the fists and these our Masters must be paid in duckats of the chaÌ„ber as in the pallace of Paris the spices are paid only in crownes of the sunne Thus doe they wrong in subscribing their Buls Datum Romae for if they wold deale truly they should write Venditum Romae Hereof did Aeneas Silvius complaine before he was Pope saying Epist 66. ad 1. PeregalluÌ„ Nihil est quod absque argento Rom. curia dedatâ— nam ipsae manuuÌ„ impositiones Spiritus sancti dona venduntur nec peccatorum venia nisi nummatis venditur That is to saie in few words In the Court of Rome nothing passeth without mony no not the holy Ghost or remission of sinnes Thus is he named in the froÌ„t of the booke of the conformitie of S. Frances This might suffise for this argumeÌ„t were it not that I am willing to gratifie our Portugall frier in regarde of our friendship Whose patron the Typicall Jesus namely S. Frances in their booke of conformities compared with Jesus hath greatly contributed to the redeeming of souls out of Purgatory For the Rosary of Barnardin Thomas 2. quaest vlt. Artic. EandeÌ„ grati am consequuÌ„tur Religionem intrantes quam coÌ„sequuntur Baptizati Anton. tit 24 cap. 7 Rosarium Bernardini Assisium a towne in the Dutchy of SpoletuÌ„ wherein dwelt the first Franciscan Friers also Thomas vpon the fourth booke of Sentences doth testifie that the taking of S. Frances habit is of like vertue as Baptisme hereof it must needs ensue that whosoever dieth in this habit doth go straight into Paradice And in hope hereof there haue bin some who in the verie agonie of death haue cauled themselus to be shrowded in this habit Or haue at the least thrust an arme into the sleeue thereof Among others Robert King of Sicill as Anthoninus reporteth To this Reverend Saint being at his towne of Assisium in Italyan o 1223 appeared an Angell who told him that Iesus Christ the Virgin Mary and the â—ngels attended him in the Church â—alled St Mary of the Angels wherevpoÌ„â—e being come thether Iesus Christ â—aid vnto him Frances Luk. 2 22. demand any thing concerning the salvation of soules for thou art set to be a light to the Gentiles Frances answered I require thee to grant pardon for all sinnes to every one that shall enter into this Church and I beseech the Virgin Mary the advocate of mankind to assist me in this petition Then said Iesus vnto him Brother Frances thou hast desired a great matter but thou art worthy of greater Goe therefore to my Vicar to whome I
sufferingt Thus our Monke by doing of iustice and iudgement which signifieth to deale vprightly and to giue to every man his owne vnderstandeth it to chastise a mans selfe shewing himselfe a Novice in the phrase of the old Testament where this word Iudgement signifieth equitie and vpright dealing As in Deut. 32 4. Daniel 4.37 The Auctor of the fire of Helie answereth otherwise for they seldome concurre in their answers he will haue these words I will no more remember to signifie Pag. 6. I will not punish as an enimie that is to say with eternall punishment By his account the keeping of a man many thousands of yeares in a fire for his sinne signifieth not to remember his sinne How often did David pray to God to remember his sinnes and wickednesse of his enimies yet not so that he desired that God should punish them with eternall punishment After all this the frier maketh a digression wherein hee chargeth vs with sundry slanders but all besides the matter 2 Gods Angell Revelat. 14.13 saith thus Blessed are the dead that hereafter dy in the Lord yea truly the spirit saith that they rest from their labours their works follow them Surely if they rest from their labours they goe not into a burning fire This speech concerneth not the Martyres only as our adversaries doe faine for throughout that whole chapter there is not any word of the Martyres but of all such as keepe the commandements of God faith of Iesus as it is said one line before But if the Martyres only doe die in the Lord in whom doe the rest of the faithfull die Bellarmine saith they die in part in the Lord and in part not in the Lord Bellarm. de Purgat lib. 6. cap. 1. hee was ashamed to say in part in the Lord and in part in the divell 3 Esay cap. 57. v. 1. 2. saith The righteous perisheth and is taken away from the evill then he addeth Hee shall enter in peace or peace shall come they shall rest in their beds every one that hath walked before him Why did he not except those that goe to Purgatory or what peace or rest is there in a burning fire And this is the point wherein the Frier is brought into such a straight that his only recourse is to his ordinary boldnesse Pag. 19. and laboureth to make this passage a meanes to establish his Purgatory Hee affirmeth it to bee a prayer of Esay for the dead and to make it the more probable in liew of these words Peace shall come he saith let peace come also for They doe rest he saith let them rest contrary to the truth of the original Hebrew which hath Iavo that is to say shal come and Ianuchu they shall rest Yet let vs thus farre yeeld all this to his ignorance in the Hebrew tongue but herein doth he shew his bad meaning even in this that hee affirmeth it to bee a prayer of Esay sith by the words ensuing it appeareth that they bee the wordes of God who saith Yee witches children come hither yee seed of the adulterer and of the whore drawe neere Whome haue yee mocked c. and againe Can I be content with all these things and thou hast discovered thy selfe behind mee Throughout all this Chapter God opposeth the blessed estate of the righteous against the curse prepared for the wicked 4 S. Paule to the Corinthians saith 2. Cor. 5.1 If our earthly habitation be destroied we haue an eternall building in heaven But why did he not adde but that shall bee after you are purged with fire 5 The Apostle in the 9. to the Hebrewes saith It is ordained that all men shall once die after that the iudgement He forgat Purgatory that should haue gon betweene For throughout the holy Scripture we find not any other iudgment spoken of after death but the last and vniversall iudgement 6 In the 20. Matt. the laborers doe all receaue their promised wages towards the end of the day that is to say in the end of their liues and when their works is done but Purgatory can bee no part of this labour as the auctor of the fire of Helie would haue it to be for in that place they speake only of labouring in the Lords vinyard which is his church which hath no communitie with any torment in fire Againe Purgatory caÌ„not be the last houre of the day because they make it continue much longer then all the life Besides that even in this last houre some labourers are called and hired but in Purgatory no man is called to the service of God 7 In the holy Scriptures we haue many examples of men receaved into Paradice immediatly after their decease but no example of any soule sent into Purgatory Luk. 2.26 Simeon had a promise that he should not see death before hee had seene the Messias S. Paul 2. Tim. 4. saith that after he had fought the good fight there remained no more but to receaue the crowne of glory And S Luk cap. 1â— saith that the Angels carried the soule of Lazarus into Abrahams bosome where hee was comforted whiles the â—ich man was tormented but of any passage to Purgatory either to or fro we heare no newes 8 Iesus Christ said to the good theif This day thou shalt be with me in Paradice This thiefe was surely a great sinner satisfied civill iustice either for theft or murder But where had hee made satisfaction to God for all his sinnes committed all the daies of his life Hee that was converted to God in the very article of his death But God requireth no satisfactory paines of such as doe repent but for them hee doth accept of the obedience and death of Iesus Christ who hath sufficiently satisfied aswell for our sinnes as for the punishment due to our sinnes The auctor of the fire of Helie with the rest will needes haue this priviledge to bee granted to this thiefe in regard of the greatnesse of his faith of his hope of his charitie of his zeale c. wherein they doe the more accuse themselues 2. By exalting the faith of the thiefe they do at vnawares confesse that in case we haue a stedfast faith in Iesus Christ we shall not come in Purgatory 3. Herein also they do coÌ„fesse that it standeth with the iustice of God freely and without imposing any satisfactory paines to pardon alwaies provided that the sinner haue a stedfast faith and hope in Iesus Christ 4. How could this thiefe at Gods hand merite this privilege by his faith and hope considering that God endued him with this faith For what kind of merit is this to receaue the gifts and graces of God with a stedfast faith which faith also God gaue him who giueth not only the benefits but also the means to receaue them And the same doe I say also of other vertues which were the gifts and effects of the spirit of God in him For it is God
confound it selfe But what need so many by waies when they might cut it cleane of franckly say that God doth not acquit vs freely As indeed the Frier in many places saith as much in his 99 page in these words God pardoneth the sinne howbeit for the satisfaction of his iustice he appointeth the chastisement The â—ing pardoneth a gentleman for some murâ—er committed yet coÌ„demneth him in great â—ines Sith then the pardon wherby the capitall paine is converted into pecuniâ—ry and so is no full pardon but a diminution of pain it manifestly appeareth that our adversaries doe hold that the pardon which God graunteth vs is no full or free pardon Hereto come their words That God doth freely remit the fault but not the pain the eternal pain but not the temporal for he that freely forgiveth his debtour the one part of his debt but not all cannot be said freely to giue or acquite the whole debt Neither can the pardon be said to be ful when there is a necessity imposed vpon the debtor to pay or suffer punishment for the sinne be it in the whole or in a part 11 Herein also appeareth the folly of their distinctioÌ„ between the fault and the paine The Frier saith Pag. 75. that the sin bringeth with it two things A faulâ— and a paine Had this good man beene perfect in his natural language the absurdity of his principle had been apparant for the word Culpa or fault in his language signifieth sinne witnesse the Priests words wheÌ„ in his Masse lie beateth his brest and saith Mea culpa it is my sin also Iacobs wordes to Laban for what sinne of mine Gen. 13.36 What fault haue I committed And the like throughout all the holy scripture Now let the reader iudgâ— whether the fryer had dined when hee writ or no when he saith that sin bringeth with it the fault that is to say sin The examination of the distinction between pain and fault Vpon this worthy distinction betweene the paine and the fault is Purgatory grounded and this pinne once pluckt out the whole frame falleth out of ioint They say then that God doth indeed acquit vs of all the fault but not of al the paine A saying not only vniust but even incompatible 1 The vniustnesse hereof is evideÌ„t for no man is iustly punished but for his fault and the fault taken away the offender is no longer guilty and being no longer guilty he cannot iustly bee punished These Doctors therefore do blemish dry vp the righteousnesse of God 2 The Incompatibility hereof is likewise manifest In that they say God doth forgiue vs all our offences yet punisheth them in a burning fire both to pardon and yet to punish one selfe offence are matters incompatible And when we forgiue our neighbour all his offences against vs we vse not to say I forgiue thee the fault yet wil I punish thee or I acquit thee of thy debt yet shalt thou pay me But as saith Tertullian in his fifth booke of baptisme Exemp to reatu eximitur poena 3 Againe sith our sinnes be debtes to the Iustice of God as Iesus Christ witnesseth where he teacheth vs to say Forgiue vs our debts of which debts the payment was paine satisfaction shal we not sin even against common sense if we affirme that God forgiveth al the debt but not all the payment Thus doâ— our Masters shadow vs forth Chimeraes and monsters in the aire 4 Let vs proceed How is it possible that by the death of Iesus Christ we should be purged quit and delivered from all our trespasses but not from the punishment due to our trespasses Considering that he did not otherwise beare our sins and offences but by bearing the paine due to them if he did beare the paine did he not beare it to the end to discharge vs from it Si tulit abstulit He hath borne our infirmities carryed our sorrowes saith Esay 53.4 To what end Even to discharge vs from them And this is it that S. Austin saith in his 37 sermon vpon the words of the Lord. Iesus Christ taking vpon him the punishment but not the sinne hath abolished both the sinne and the punishment 5 Throughout all this discourse this is to be noted that all our speech concerneth such paines as are paimeÌ„ts redemptions and satisfactions to the iustice of God for these our Doctours do tearme Purgatory a paymeÌ„t satisfaction to the Iustice of God These be the punishments which we say to be in compatible with a full pardon There is an other kinde of punishment which is tearmed castigatory and this is inflicted for amendment of the sinner and hath great affinity with the full pardon for God doth chastise his children even after he hath pardoned them Such chastisements are not payments and satisfactions to content the Iustice of God but fatherly corrections to bring the sinner to amendment They are not executions of his iustice but testimonies of his fatherly loue care not wouÌ„ds but salues and these can in no wise concurre with the tormenrs of Purgatory wherein it is said that the soules are already iust and can amend no more As therefore we vse to strike a man fallen into an Apoplexy not to get any satisfactioÌ„ at his hands but to awaken him so God smiteth his children when they sleep in their sinnes to make them feel their negligence He that otherwise interpreteth the afflictions that God sendeth and taketh them not for corrections health some to his soule but for satisfactions necessary to the iustice of God he maketh his afflictions bitter dippeth their edges in gall taking from them the spirituall consolations glory and ioy that supporteth the children of God in this combat Necessitie is a miserable consolation It hardneth the sore but healeth it not It raiseth the courage against the paine but asswageth it not For what mitigation is it to the afflicted to tell him that his sore is past cure and that of necessitie hee must satisfie the iustice of God Or how could S. Paule haue so boasted of his tribulations had hee beleeued they had beene payments which God did exact of him for his sinnes This doctrine being so healthfull so full of consolation and so evidently laid downe in the holy Scripture namely that God chastiseth vs for our amendment yet this frier Minor with a desperate presumptioÌ„ dareth avouch it to be a reason forged in our owne braine without the word of God without autoritie Pag. 78. and without reason Herevpon therefore let vs heare the word of God herein The Apostle to the Hebrews cap. 12. saith God chastneth vs for our profit to the end we may be partakers of his holinesse Againe Discipline bringeth the quiet fruit of righteousnesse to those that are exercised therein How often doth God say that he chastneth those whom he loveth Apoc. 3.19 Heb. 12.6 Iob 5.17 Prov. 3.11 David in the 119. Psalme confesseth that before he was
Jesus Christ are a sufficient satisfaction The father that punisheth his children to take satisfaction putteth of his naturall affections correcteth them not for their amendment but to satisfie his owne content Now if this bee an Inhumane iustice in a father what shall wee thinke of our heavenly father who is bounty it selfe And who in his worde assureth vs that albeit the mother shoulde forsake the fruit of her wombe yet will hee never forsake vs Never shall wee serue God with a filial obedience vnlesse we bee fully perswaded of his fatherly loue toward vs. The Fryer alleadgeth yet two examples more Pag. 76. yet both false according to his custome The one in the 14. of Numbers where God having forgiven his people their sin doth neverthelesse depriue them from entring into the land of promise for by the 4. of the Apostle to the Hebrewes it appeareth that euen they that were excluded frō the land of promise were also shut out out of the caelestiall rest The pardon therefore that God graunted was only the grant of Moses petition who desired God that he would not vtterly root out the people of Israell But heare we are not in hand with any such kinde of pardō In an other place he produceth the example of Baptisme and saith in Baptisme God pardoneth Original sin but not the paines thereof as subiection to death the fire of concupiscence with other calamities Concerning the death of the faithfull we haue spoken before and proved that it is no calamity vnto them Pag. 100. The Counsell of Trent Ses 5. saith that Paul calleth cōcupiscence a sinne but it is no sinne neither any satisfaction to the Iustice of God And as for the fire of concupiscence the frier is mistaken in bringing that for an example of the punishment for sin which in it selfe is a sinne and in the law forbidden This maine thus overthrown which made the body and principal of our adversaries reasons let vs now thrust forward and yeelde the truth an absolute victorie 12 God commanding vs to pray that he would forgiue vs our trespasses as we forgiue them that trespasse against vs sheweth that wee are to attend from him forgiuenesse in like manner as hee willeth vs to forgiue our neighbours that is to say without revenging our selues or taking any satisfaction or amends in all or in part After therefore that hee hath forgiven vs all our offences as S. Paule witnesseth shall hee yet draw one payment out of so tedious burning a fire 13 Farther yet to vrge this matter presupposing that there is a purgatory I demand whether Iesus Christ doth in heaven intercede for the soules there tormented Rom. 8.27 and pray for their deliverance for S. Paul teacheth vs that Iesus Christ sitteth at the right hand of God making intercession for vs. Dare they say that he intercedeth no more for those souls and that in their behalfes he hath given over the office of a mediatour But if he pray for them no doubt but God heareth him Iohn 11.22 and so they come forth at his intercession to what ende then do now serue those offerings and suffrages of the liuing with the Popes Indulgences but to that which Iesus Christ hath already done 14 Againe sith the death of Iesus Christ is sufficient to redeeme vs even out of Purgatory why may it not serue to that vse Iesus Christ hauing paid all the paine and penaltie that we did owe will not God receaue this payment ransome for so much as it is worth God who saved vs when wee were his enemies envieth not our good neither abateth any part of the price of the death of his sonne neither will hee ever permit that Iesus Christ hauing paid enough wholly to satisfie his iustice and to exempt vs from Purgatory that in this case the benefit of his sonne should be shortned vnto vs. Also the Apostle to the Hebrewes cap. 7. v. 15. saith He is able perfectly to saue them that come to God by him seeing hee ever liveth to make intercession for them If hee then can perfectly saue vs why will hee not doe it and being able fully to acquit vs towards God shall his power to doe it be greater then his willingnesse Can he be content to see his brethren his members his spouse for one sinne tormented seaven yeares in a fire like to that of hell To such forcible reasons my adversaries doe answer very coldly or rather not at all For they answere themselues not my obiections They labour to shew how our satisfactions and the paines of their Purgatory may no way derogatfrō the merits of Iesus Christ but they answer nothing to my demand what the reason is that Iesus Christ hauing paid enough wholly to satisfie the Iustice of God to exempt vs from Purgatory they will not suffer that his benefite should stead vs so much Yet doe we shew them that they doe not only fly but also in flying doe blaspheame blemish the brightnesse and curtal the perfection of the merits and satisfaction of Iesus Christ Then say they that the merit of Iesus Christ is indeed sufficient but it must be applied vnto vs and that cannot be but by meanes then among other meanes they come in with our satisfactions and paines and the tormēts of Purgatory 1. Hereto wee say Rom. 10.17 1. Cor 10. Gal. 3.27 Ephes 3.17 that it belongeth to the word of God and not to them to prescribe vnto vs the means to enioy the benefit of Iesus Christ and the meanes that that doth set vs down is faith the word and the sacraments but but in no wise any roasting of souls of any fire after this life 2. Next let any man of vnderstanding bee iudge whether the meanes to enioy the benefit of Iesus Christ ought to bee contrary to the benefit it selfe The meanes of taking profit by physicke consisteth not in taking of poison The meanes to enioy the light of the sunne resteth not in shutting vp the windows of the house or the windowes of the body that is the eies Sith therefore that the benefit of Iesus Christ and his satisfaction is the soveraigne pledge of the mercy o◠God what likelihood is there that the meanes to enioy it can consist in the execution of the iustice of God An◠sith the satisfaction of Iesus Christ i◠our acquittance towards God what appearance is there that the meanes to attaine to it can rest in forcing vs to pay and tormenting vs in a fire some hundreds or thousands of yeares Wee are not to omit that the meanes to apprehend the grace offered vnto vs in Iesu◠Christ ought to be actiue and tending to the enioying thereof and not a passion or torment 4. That the meanes to apply to our selues or to apprehend a thing ought to be of another kind then the thing apprehended or applied as we cannot apply one medicine by another one plaister by another or the satisfaction
vides quotidie Meretricius nitor c intestina insanab est plaga Ecclesiae Hereof read the complaints of Petrarch in his Epistles and sonnets The Epigrams of Zanazarus the complaints of St. Bernard who tearmeth the traine of the Court of Rome the traine of the whore of Babylon and of Antichrist And after all this must these people with a Romish Catholike zeale come and preach to vs the necessitie of good workes and complaine that wee open â—he gate to all vice Faelicia saecula quaevos â—oribus opponunt habeas iam Roma puâ—orem But what if we shall proue that the â—octrine of the Church of Rome is a â—octrine of Licentiousnesse and openâ—th vnto men a large gate to escape at â—ow much people feeling the approch â—f the Iubile do emboldeÌ„ theÌ„selues vnâ—er the assurance of plenary pardon â—hat a gate of liceÌ„tiousnes do they opeÌ„â—o the rich who assure theÌ„selus that by â—iving to the Church after their deaths â—hey may haue masses enough song for â—hem and so abridge the paines of Purâ—atory And doth not the custome of â—uying other mens praiers make a man â—egligent in praying for himselfe Yea â—nd which is more by enioining the sin â—er for his penance to fast and pray do â—hey not make that a punishmeÌ„t which â—ught to be a consolation Also when â—hey make but seaven mortal sinnes calâ—ing the rest venial and easie sins such as may be blotted out with an Aue oâ— a little holy water do they not entertaine the sinner in wickednes and sow cushions vnder his elbowes to lul him the faster a sleepe in his vice Or terrifying the consciences with the feare oâ— Purgatory do they not therby corrupt piety vnder the colour of establishing it Making it not a filiall and voluntary obedience but a servile feare Led oâ— not for the loue of God but for fear oâ— punishment not for hate to the sin buâ— for terror of the torment Rom. 12. The Apostlâ— exhorteth vs by the mercies of God to consecrate and offer our selues to God yet not for fear of his iustice PropouÌ„â— to the sinner the loue and excellenciâ— of the son of God shewing him that iâ— was our sin that crucified him that oâ—â— offences are the very nailes that pieâ—ced him what is there of greater forâ—â— to plant in his hart both a loue of Iesuâ— Christ and a hatred of sin which waâ— the cause of the torments of the son oâ— God Especially when he shal consideâ— that by this death himselfe shal obtaine â—ife that from a bondman of Satan he is bought to bee the sonne of God also that in beleeving in him he shal not perish but haue life everlasting Shal hee not feele himselfe moved to loue God and in acknowledgement of so great a grace to consecrate himselfe to God and after the rule of his worde to â—spire to the reward that God hath pitched him at the end of his course these men therefore by their traficke doe but subvert religion and in the fire of Purgatory in liew of true piety forge an â—dea and fantastical forme of the feare of God 15 The same fire blasteth and abaâ—eth the mercy of God as not pardoâ—ing vs at the full sith our selues must â—n a fire beare part of the punishment Wherefore shall we limit the mercies of God in matters wherein hee will bee pleased and glorified by doing vs good 16 The iustice of God is likewise â—iolated therein in that they make it to exact two payments for one debt The first which it receaved of Iesus Christ and was sufficient for all the punishments due to our sinnes what interest therefore haue these people that they are so willing to enter into this fire aâ—â— the charge of the glory of God whoâ— could be content freely to pardon thâ—â— through Iesus Christ 17 Againe every payment and satisfaction that is acceptable to Goâ— must be voluntary and not forced otherwise he accepteth it not But thâ— paine of Purgatory say our people 〈◊〉 vnto those that haue not sufficientâ— satisfied in this life inevitable and whether they will or no they must of necâ—â—sitie passe that way Then is it not a paâ—ment acceptable with God And albeâ—â— these men say that the poore soules dâ— patiently beare those paines yet câ—â— we hardly beleeue but that they had other presently be in Paradice then to â—bide a thousand or two thousand yeaâ—â— broiling in a fire 18 Hereof ariseth another reason namely that those soules do not satisfie God but that God rather satisfieth him selfe in punishing them against their wills 19 By the same doctrine also the consciences are in perpetuall torment through the apprehension of this fire for what would not we giue to avoid a fire of an houre long how much more if it should last a moneth Yet what were this in regard of many hundreds and thousands of yeares and that in a fire as hot as the fire of of hell saith our frier Ioh. 14.27 where is that peace promised by Iesus Christ or how in our death shall we haue these effects of the spirit of God dwelling in the hearts of the faithfull namely ioy and peace as saith Saint Paul Galat. 5.22 My adversaries doe contradict theÌ„selues in their answers which indeed are no answers but recriminations Pag. 106. A slaunder The frier saith that we doe preach liberty of conscience without apprehension of the iudgements of God which is false and slanderous Wee preach neither libertie nor licentiousnesse but peace of conscience to such as repent beleeue in Iesus Christ but to the impenitent we denounce the iudgements of God Thus this frier accuseth vs of flattering and lulling mens consciences asleepe But the fire of Helie contrariwise accuseth vs of holding them in torment because we account all sinnes both mortall and veniall equall Whereto I answer that albeit wee should hold those which they tearme veniall equall with the mortall yet in as much as we teach that both mortall and veniall are forgiven by Iesus Christ A slaunder wee doe no whit astonish the consciences But in truth it is a slander of our adversaries Wee acknowledge the inequalitie of sinnes In some God is more offended grieved then in other some yea even amoÌ„g the sinnes that they call mortall some are more hainous then other some To overskip a leafe or two at mattins or vnder color of shrift to talke of loue are smaller sins theÌ„ to slay his own king Sacrilege is more hainous then simple theft Incest then whoredome only we smile at their folly in distinguishing sins into veniall and mortall because this word veniall signifieth pardonable And we knowe that the sinnes which they cal mortall as murder and whoredome doe growe pardonable in such as doe convert and truly repent as in David who was defiled in both these sinnes But in the impenitent these sinnes are indeed mortall and punished with eternall death And so through ImpeniteÌ„cy that sinne which is
hee should rather come with lamentation and sorrow yea even with execration What shall God entreat the wicked with more gentlenes And shall my horse or my mony exēpt me out of a burning fire of many hundred yeares continuance Shall God shew favour to a soule not after the stedfast faith or burning charitie thereof but according to the time when it shall depart whether in the yeare 1599 or in the yeare 1601 And yet we must with silēce adore that which crieth for vengeance before God and which testifieth how farre covetise hath enchroched vpon religion Shall Romish pollutions be given vs for rellickes blasphemies for oracles and the same compared with the misteries of God election and healthsome vocation Indeed if of two wicked ones God will pardon the worst no man can accuse him yet surely he will not pardon any such before he giue him repentance and grace to become an honest man But to say that of two elect and children of God he will in a tedious and hot horrible fire roast him that hath beene the most vertuous and bring the worst strait into Paradice because hee had money or a horse to carry him to the Iubile or for that he died soone after the Iubile it is as much as to spit God in the face to paint out prophane toies in his temple for God will iudge every man according to his workes not according to his wealth his horse or his aboade Now as one absurditie once set downe a thousand will ensue so the whole discourse of the doctor vpō this place is even a web of blasphemies For soone after he saith The mercy of God is in al places to be found Pag. 76. but not alike for in the Temple God giueth better eare to our prayers then elsewhere Is it for that God is neerer to the Temple or because in those places God hath his hearing better Mat. 6.6 How then doth Iesus Christ counsell vs to enter into our closets to pray if God doth better heare our prayers in a Temple then in a closet Yet put the case it were so still the inconvenience that we haue propoūded doth remain For why should God pardon sinnes in one Temple rather then in another When throughout the world there was but one Temple where the true God was served it was no marvail that the faithfull were bound to goe to it but in the Gospell where doe wee finde that ever God subiected vs to goe to seeke remission of sinnes in a Temple farre of and to leaue those Churches that bee at hand Who seeth not that this is done for gaine because the sum dispearsed in many places and passing through many hands would insensibly vanish and weare away and so could not serue those purposes which the Pope and his Prelats had before set downe In all the premises it appeareth that the Doctor doth but mocke and beleeueth nothing of all that hee hath said neither is this the first tract wherin he discovereth himselfe Pag. 60. for whereas Beda Dionise the Charterhouse Monk Bellarmine and with them Cayer the fire of Helie do place a floured sweet field at the end of Purgatory I asked him how these flowers grewe vnder earth without sun or raine this venerable Doctor answered that in me it was meere doltishnesse to aske such a question for saith he these flowers are not really vnder the earth but the Lord by an Analogie instructeth vs of things in the other world Let vs beare with his rusticall Philosophy this licence to call Purgatory the other world which neverthelesse hee placeth vnder earth sometime in Bathes sometime in Rivers sometime in Ice sometime vnder the leaues of trees But who can endure that the dreames of a few Monks should bee tearmed the word of God Either that when they tell vs these fables it is God that instructeth vs All this the frier passeth over without any answer but meerely excuseth himselfe saying that he will speak more thereof the next Lent in his lenten sermons The like answere hee might haue made to the whole booke never troubled the Iesuits of Tournon for their helpe 23 Finally admit Purgatory should breed none of these mischiefes yet surely it cannot bring any good for what benefit can grow of being tormented in the fire To say it purgeth our sinnes that matter is already answered convicted not only of impietie but of contradiction and impossibilitie for themselues doe also say that the sinnes bee not purged but the paines And S. Iohn telleth vs that the blood of Iesus Christ doth purge vs from all sinne And the punishment or torment for a sinne is no purgation from that sinne nether were the whip or gibbet ever tearmed a purgation 24 To the same purpose It seemeth that all punishment is either for satisfaction and his revenge that punisheth or causeth to bee punished Aul. Gel. lib. 6. cap. 14. Clem. Alexand lib. 4. stromatum versus finem or else for the correction and punishment of him that is punished either else for an example to others But the fire of Purgatory yeldeth no satisfaction or revenge to God considering that hee hath already taken satisfaction and revenge for our sinnes in the death of his sonne Iesus Christ neither for the amendment or correction of the soules that are in this fire for they are already iust and without sinne neither for any example to the living for no man seeth any thing neither to make vs the more honest by holding vs in feare for God desireth not to be served for feare of punishment but in loue and voluntary obedience besides if it were a matter that stood vpō feare hell were sufficient to terrifie vs. Pag 80. Pag. 109. The fire of Helie the frier impute to mee that I should say that I beleeue not Purgatory because I see nothing but where said I so but I say I beleeue none because I so find it in the word of God and therefore the Monkes amplifications to this purpose are cold and grounded vpon a slander Bellarmine with him my adversaries doe imagine that they haue found a commoditie in Purgatory for say they It is profitable to the glory of God that the secundary causes should worke that is to say that our soules should contribute sōewhat towards the purchasing of salvation God then belike honoureth his creatures in making them to be tormēted sith that to bee tormented is the way to contribute towardes the purchase of salvation They then that doe longest abide in torments do cōtribute most and God sheweth more favor to them then to those whom hee tormenteth lesse or whom by the Popes Indulgences hee fetcheth soonest out of the fire As for this principle it is a point in natural Philosophy but not alwaies true in Divinity wherein it were better to receiue supernaturall graces from God then to put forth our forces and so to worke naturally Howbeit let vs accept of this
from eternall life To the ende also that our adversaries should not make cursing a mortall sinne by their glosses and consequences their owne decree distinct 25. maketh a long list of veniall sinnes among which cursing hath his place saying Si cum omni facilitate vel temeritate maledicimus quoniam scriptū est nec Maledici possidebunt regnum Dei By the iudgement therefore of their own Canōs cursing is of two natures The one that it is veniall the other that it is excluded out of the kingdome of heauen and consequently deserveth eternall death Whereas our frier doth coniecture granteth that the calling of a mans brother foole draweth with it the sinne of wrath consummate hee shall hold vs excused although we admit not his coniectures for rules besids I will returne him to Cayer Caier p. 20 who will haue Gehenna here to signifie Purgatory not hel as the Frier would haue it Ioh. 8.11 6 Our Saviour Christ said to the woman taken in adultery Goe and sinne no more Dismissing her hee did not impose vpon her any satisfactory paines no more then S. Paul when hee pardoned the incestuous man That which particularly maketh against Purgatory is this That if neither Iesus Christ not S. Paul imposed any satisfactory paines vpon the sinners even when in apparance they might haue beene profitable for amendment howe much lesse will God impose satisfactory paines vp on his children in a burning fire when there is no farther place for amēdmēt Here doth our Monk come forth with such an answer as hitteth himselfe and his fellowes on the knuckles saying The griefe may ly so heauie on the sinner that it may satisfie for the whole obligation of the paine For besides that hee doth thus coniecture of the womās cogitation he also evidētly accuseth the Popes and Priests of manifest iniustice rashnesse in that they impose satisfactory paines vpon the sinner that protesteth sorrow and repentance For what know they whether the sinner bee so oppressed with sorrow as that heauinesse may serue for satisfaction Or what knowe they whether she hath sufficiently satisfied sith they wot not how grievous her sorrow was 7 Againe who hath givē the Pope or his Priests auctority to impose corporal or pecuniary punishments vpon sinners Let them shew vs any cōmandemēt from God or his Apostles The Primitiue Church indeed reproved sin by excluding men for a time from the communion of the faithful and that after the example of S. Paule who for a time cut of the incestuous person from the Church of Corinth but after absolution to impose Corporal or pecuniary punishment or to enioine men to pilgrimages or scourgings we find no example The old Testament doth indeed furnish vs of some examples of such as haue fasted and wept for their sins because weeping proceedeth from sorrow and fasting is a helpe to devotion and freedome of minde but as I said after forgiuenes to impose punishments vpon the sinner whereby to redeeme the paines of Purgatory and so to satisfie the Iustice of God I finde no example 8 And it seemeth that these our masters haue compounded with God that they are assured that God wil be content with any summe of mony or any pilgrimage and so wil bee appeased toward the sinner But if this seem hard to be beleeved how can mens consciences be at quiet How shal they be assured that God wil be cōtent with such satisfactions imposed by the Priest Whosoever vndertaketh to pay his debts must first inquire what he oweth as also consider of the valew of coines that he giveth to his creditor but the sinner knoweth not howe much temporal paine he oweth to God neither the value of every of his satisfactions How shal he then know when he hath sufficiently satisfied What knoweth he how neere every fast bringeth him to Paradice every pilgrimage every scourging and indeed we see how these consciences whom they haue captivated are in perpetual disquiet and so haue recourse to the satisfactions of others to buy Masses for after their decease to depart hence in marveilous feare anguish A iust punishment for choosing for the foundation of their hope other props and stayes then the only satisfaction of Iesus Christ 9 Againe in as much as some condemned to corporal pennances can exchange them into pecuniary how shall we be assured that God in liew of corporal punishments will be cōtent with money Penitent Ro. Tit. 9. c. 29. The Romane penitentiall telleth vs that A rich man may redeeme one fasting day for two shillings but an extreame poore mā must giue at the lest foure pence Thus may the poore man when he hath paid his money fast for more 10 If in absolution they pretende to loosen the sinner how doe they in loosing his bonds entangle him farther and by pardoning him condemne him to greater paines 11 I would farther demand whether the satisfactions that they impose be good works or no. If they bee not good why do they enioine thē If they bee good why doeth the Pope release them and by his Indulgences dispense with them Can we without horrour read that which Bellarmine hath writtē in his booke De poenitentia Bellar. de Penit l. 4. c. 13. Indulg faciunt vt pro iis poenis quae nobis per Indul condonantur non teneamur praecepto illo de faci endis dignis paenitentiae fructibus Bellar. de paenit l. 1. c. 4. That Indulgences do dispense with obedience to this cōmandement in the third of Matthew Bring forth fruits worthy repentāce for sith they will needes haue it so that this saying Bring forth fruits worthy repentance to signifie to chastise a mans owne selfe and the Pope doth dispense with this chastisement it plainly appeareth that the Pope dispenseth with Gods Commandements 12 And here I beseech you consideratly to way howe farre superstition hath encroached vpon the auctority of the Gospel Our enemies do make a ceremony and a sacrament of Penance which indeed is of it selfe a vertue Being demaunded whether Penance were a sacrament before the comming of Christ they say no Cons Trid. Sess 4. c. 1. Even the prelates assembled in the Councell of Trent doe acknowledge that the pennāce which Iesus Christ before his passion and resurrection and Iohn the Baptist preached was no sacramēt for they wil haue it to be made a sacramēt since the resolution of Jesus Christ and that without any other proofe then their owne authority for they wil be beleeved vpon their owne words But wee haue one passage in the Revelation written since the ascention of Jesus Christ that expoūdeth vnto vs the signification of Agere poenitentiam to doe penance or to repent In the second of the Revelation God complaining of the Ephesians who were fallen from their first loue commandeth them to Repent and to do their first works therby shewing that Repentance consisteth in amendment of life At the least thus much we
purchase great liberty with Princes Princesses whose most secret affaires they doe by shrift discover By this such as make any proiects of Civill warres doe find the particular affections of the people and vnderstand of whom and how many they may make account hauing the Priests trustie to them and feede for that purpose By this doe the Priests make way to their covetous desires for hauing by shrift discovered such as bee of a good temper they can soone knowe where to find but easie resistance In this shrift they also sport themselues with strange questions for they never aske the sinner whether hee loue God withall his heart whether he preferreth the glory of God before worldly goods whether he loueth his neighbour as himselfe whether he trusteth in the promises of the Gospell and hath a stedfast faith in Christ whether he bestoweth his time in the daily reading and meditating vpon Gods word which are the first points of pietie but he asketh him whether he doth obserue Lent whether he had the company of his wife in the weeke before Easter called the great week whether hee hath paid his duties to the Church whether hee hath beene troubled with any fowle cogitations of licentious handlings voluntary or not voluntary pollutions c. Looke vpon their mirrour of confessions the comment of Anthony Augustin Bishop of Aragon vpon the poenitentiall Canons of the Roman Poenitential and namely Benedictus Summe of sinnes which is in every shop Also the 19. book of Burchard Bishop of Wormes which entreateth of confessions and then call mee a deceauer a beast the spirit of Satan as the Frier doth if you finde not all kinde of abominatioÌ„s curiously set forthwith the vices against nature the secrets of religious houses and the subtil sleights of Nunnes exactly taught vnder the shaddow of Reprehension These matters will I leaue to such as are past shaÌ„e yet can I not forbeare but must of necessitie touch some of the most tollerable that by them you may iudge of the rest The Roman Penitentiall demandeth of the sinner in his shrift Fecisti fornicationem cum equa velasina If hee haue so done the pennance is to fast with bread and water fortie daies In Burchard the Priest saith to the woman Feâ—isti quod quaedam Multeres facere solent Prosternunt se in faciem discoopertis natibus iubent vt super nudas nates confiotatur panis eo decocto tradunt maritis ad comedendum hoc ideo faciunt vt plus in amorem earum exardescantisi fecisti duos annos per legitimas ferias poeniteas Againe he asketh Fecisti quod Mulieres quaedam facere solent Tollunt piscem vivum eum ponunt in c. Againe Fecisti quod quaedam Mulieres facere solent vt cum filiolo tuo parcuùlo fornicationem faceres Let the reader seeke the rest if he list but by my counsell he shall never goe about it for if it be lawfull to speak of that a man hath not seene I thinke the discipline of Tiberius in his secrets of Capreae the Sibariticall bookes and Aretins tables for the which hee was surnamed Il Divino Aretino are in regard of these but modesty and simplicity But this mischiefe is not so done for after shrift they giue absolution and do pardon after the manner of Iudges that pronounce sentence of remission wheras they ought to pronounce pardon as herehaughts of the grace of God preaching to the penitent sinner that God is recoÌ„ciled vnto him through the blood of Iesus Christ and as ministers loosen the sinner not as Iudges but as preachers of the grace of God which is purchased for them through the death of Iesus Christ for it lieth not in mee to pardon offences committed against another but the party against whome they be committed is to pardon them much lesse then can man that is vile perverse pardon sinnes committed against God who is righteousnes it selfe If a sinner doe earnestly and hartely repent God will forgiue him although the Priest will not but if he doe not repent God will not forgiue him albeit the Pope himselfe should Now doe I leaue it to your consideration in what manner the Pope can giue pardons by his letters patents sealed in forme of Decrees coÌ„sidering that himselfe knoweth not whether his pardons be acceptable with God and may stand the sinner in any stead neither is hee sure that the sinner haue true repentance without the which there is no forgiuenesse saith God in Esay cap. 43. for it is God only that can pardon sinne as saith St. Cyprian Cyprian ser de lapsis Nemo se fallat Nemo decipiat solus Dominus miserere potest Veniam peccatis soius potestille largâ— riquâ— pâ—ecata nostra portavit c. nec remittere Indulgentia sua potest quod in Domâ—num delicto graviori commissuÌ„ est Let no man deceaue himselfe there is but one God only that can forgiue sinne And Tertullian in his booke of shamefastnesse cap. 21. saith Who forgiveth sinne but God only This absolution thus giveÌ„ the priest imposeth vpon him satisfactory paines either corporal or pecuniary herein lieth the tyranny for by this meanes albeit vnder other titles they haue encroached a civil dominion over al people yea even so far forth as to cut theÌ„ off from some sorts of meates to enioine them abstinence from the duties of marriage to condemne them to pilgrimages to girt a cord vpon their bare flesh to giue some portion of mony to some Church or religious house TheÌ„ having thus imposed corporall paines either vpon favour or vpon covetize they convert the same into pecuniary or peradventure they wil licence them to hire some other to perfourme their penance or to be scourged for them as at Rome in the passion weeke which they call the great weeke you may see whole troopes of hired persons who masked and disguised with their faces hiddeÌ„ do publikely mangle their backs with scourgings See Apuleiê° in his eight book of the golden asse where hee painteth the Priests of Diana the Syrien scourging themselus in the same manner with a mercenary cruelty and ambitious penance But wherfore is not all this performed in secret Why still vpon one day Is sorrow and repentance ordered after the course of the sunne Or is penitent affliction become an ordinary ceremony What example in all antiquity of so cruell a iest And indeed they are people but of meane calling If there be any of accoÌ„pt vndoubtedly they be frenchmen for the Italians will never do it without great pay and as men better advised do mocke our simplicity They may peradventure finde some lazy company who can be coÌ„tent that his back should feed his belly like a porter but in other manner Rhenanus a very learned man in his annotations vpon Tertullian ad Martyres saith that this maÌ„ner of scourging is taken from the Lacedemonians who customably vsed such whippings Now as the Pope is the
his word cleere the peoples minds from all doubts or difficulties withal cut of the pathes that lead to this trafficke How vniustly the Frier and his fellowes doe make vse of the example of the primitiue Church in matter of Indulgences In the times of persecutions the primitiue Church sought all meanes possible to honour martyrdome and to encourage the Christians thereto Amōg other meanes they had taken vp a custome that such as for any notorious offence were cut of from the Church for some long time did resort to the prisons wherein such as suffered for the gospel were detained there besought these Martyres to make intercession to the Church that the time of their pennance and excommunication might be abridged and thus did the Bishops vse at the intercessions of these prisoners appointed to martyrdome to readmit the penitent into the Congregation S. Cyprian in his sermon of the fallen also in the second Epistle of his fourth booke and Tertullian in his booke De pudicitia doe disallow this custome thinke thay they yeeld too much to these imprisoned Martyrs Yea Tertullian speaketh thereof in his book of the Martyrs cap. 1. Our adversaries like the Israelites that gathered straw vnder the bondage of Pharao for want of more substantiall proofes doe make vse of this custome in their establishing of the Popes Indulgences and in the distribution of the overplus workes and superabundant satisfactions of the Saints collected into the Popes treasurie and converted into paimentes for others Tertullian calleth thē appointed Martyrs wherein I suppose they haue no intent that men should beleeue them so farre from all apparance doe they speake 1. These Martyrs that S. Cyprian spak of were yet aliue those that our adversaries spake of are dead 2. Wee cannot finde that ever the paine of any sinner was abridged by the merits and superabundant sufferings of these Martyres who would never haue vndergon those torments had they not beleeved that God called them thereto and consequently that they were bound to endure them so it followeth that they neither did nor suffered any thing supererogatory for they could not doe otherwise vnlesse they would haue denied the Gospell 3. These imprisoned Martyrs commended to the Church this or that penitent and besought that they might be receaued into the Communion but they neither paid for them nor redeemed them as our adversaries doe say that the Saints by their sufferings are in some sort our redeemers 4. These Martyrs entreated only that the sinner might bee admitted to the Communion not that he might be exempt from Purgatory 5. In those daies there was no speech of this worthie treasure of the Church composed of the superabundant satisfactions of Iesus Christ and his Saints 6. Every Bishop imposed or abridged the pains or excommunications in his owne flocke without expecting either advice or buls from the Bishop of Rome 7. In those daies men knew not the meaning of pardons hanged vpon certain Churches by his holinesse autoritie O what a goodly sight it would haue beene in those daies to haue seene such buls set vp and fixed vpon the Church dores or some one that might haue instructed the people in this new Gospell namely that his Papall holinesse having in his treasury all the superabundant satisfactions of Iesus Christ his Saints doth giue ten thousande or fiftie thousande yeares of plenary pardon and as many quarentines with the third of all their sinnes or even full Indulgence to every one that shall say a stinted number of Paters or Avees or his rosary or beads or weare or kisse some halowed grains or contribute some peece of mony or that shall ioine himselfe to the fraternitie of the Corde likewise that such a stinted number of Masses said vpon a certaine priviledged altar shal fetch out of Purgatory any one soule even such a one as he shall chuse that must pay for it also that such venerable pardons are to be purchased in such a Church vpon such a day even vntill sun set besides that he that shall buy these pardōs may chuse him a ghostly father such a one as in the houre of death shall absolue him from all his sinnes both frō the paine and from the fault Surely I say if any man in the primitiue Church should shaue preached so prodigious a doctrine even the little children would haue hissed after him or the Phisitians would haue felt his pulse so to haue learned the cause of his frensey and to purge his hypochondriall humour for as yet it was not the custome to burne any man for heresie Now in our enterview the Frier alleaged vnto me this intercession of the Martyrs for the penitent to defend papall Indulgences I answered that that intercession had no resemblance with the Popes Indulgences besides that that custome did Tertullian condemne Then did he take me vp in a most impudent manner saying that I was deceaued also that I tooke Tertullian for S. Cyprian but I told him that both the one and the other condemned this custome howbeit wee wanted bookes to satisfie the assistants vpon this point This did not the Frier forget in his booke and therefore marke his words pag. 12. The Minister should remember what a Novice be shewd himselfe in the reading of the fathers how hee mistooke himselfe in citing them quoting Tertullian for S. Cyprian But let him nowe learne that which he yet knewe not so confesse himselfe to be the Novice Tertullian in his book de Pudicitia cap. 22 complaineth of this custome at large even so farre forth as to say That diverse procured their own imprisonment that so they might be Intercessors for some of their friends or that they might commit folly with women detained in the same prison Violantur viri feminae in tenebris plane ex vsu libidinum notis Et pacem ab his quaerunt paenitentes qui de sua periclitantur In the end hee concludeth thus Sufficiat Martyri propria delicta purgasse Ingrati vel superbi est in alios quoque spargere quod pro magno fuerit consequutus Quis alienam mortem sua soluit nisi solus Dei filius c. that is to say Let it suffise the Martyr that hee hath purged his owne sinnes It is the part of an vnthankfull and proud person to seeke to impart to others that which hath beene granted to himselfe for a great grace What man did ever by his owne death satisfie for anothers death but the only sonne of God In al this appeareth both the Monks ignorance in commō matters as also his assurāce in speaking that which he knoweth not besides his childish waunting of prevailing in so slight a cause For had I named Tertullian for Cyprian can the weakenesse of my braine amend his cause but it is memory that fayleth him or rather knowledge but especially conscience Note in the meane time how well these Indulgences are vnderpropped with antiquitie for my adversaries in