is the estate of the godly soule departing without acknowledging any mid place or condition that when it is absent from the body by corporall death it is straightway present with the Lord in life euerlasting Bellarmine likewise in his first Booke of the Beatitude of the Saints to shew the conformitie that is betweene Christ and his members in their estate immediately after death brings in That as he was not after death immediately blessed in his bodie which rested three dayes in the graue till his resurrection but that in his soule notwithstanding he was immediately blessed and in Paradise according to his owne speech to the Thiefe on the crosse This day thou shalt bee with mee in Paradise Therefore likewise the Saints to be conformed with Christ saith he while they rest in their graues according to their bodies yet according to their soules they are happy and blessed in Paradise Which conformitie then wee see will clearely euince that there is no going to Purgatorie but that as Christs soule immediately after death went vnto Paradise and was blessed there so doth the soules of the godly that are Christs members goe thither immediately after death and are blessed likewise else if immediatly they went any where else in place of a conformitie there should bee a disconformitie and as his bodie abode in the graue till his resurrection notwithstanding of the present beatification of his soule after death So that their bodies shall in like manner abide in the graue till their resurrection notwithstanding of the present beatification of their soules likewise after death 3. Fathers adduced by Bellarmine himselfe to proue that the Saints presently inioye the vision of God and making expressely for vs against the dotage of Purgatorie And first Dyonisius Areopagita Dyonisius Areopagita saith thus the Saints in their death knowe surely that that wholly they shall attaine rest and a full conformitie with Christ when they come to the end of this present life in cleerely beholding the way to immortalitie hard at hand they praise the Lords bountie and with a heauenly mirth reioyce speaking so of all the Godly in common Whereupon Belarmine doth will vs to remarke this Nota saith he dicere Dyonisium animas Sanctorum statim a morte hominis consequi immortalitatem which they could not doe nor so exceedingly reioyce in death if â— vicino or hard at hand they saw the tormenting fire of Purgatorie rather then a glorious rest to abide them Iustin Martyr saith thus But after the departure of the soule from the body statim or instantly there is made a distinction betweene the good and the euill for they are carried to the places that they are worthy of the soules of the godly by the Angels being carried to Paradise where the company and sight of the Angels and Archangels is as also the sight of Christ our Sauiour according to these words while we are absent from the body we are present with the Lord but the soules of the wicked are carried into Hell Cyprian saith excluding no godly soule O what dignity and security is it in a moment to close thy eies whereby men in the world are seene and to open them instantly that God and Christ may be seene Oh what great happinesse is it to bee suddenly pulled from the earth that thou mayest presently be placed in heauen Augustine saith thus speaking of all the godly O happy soule who how soone it is loosed from the body being set at liberty presently goeth to heauen and is secure and at rest And againe he saith surely the good that are faithfull since that time that they are redeemed by that price which Christ by his blood-shedde powred forth doe no wise know any infernall place after death Prosper saith thus because according to the speech of Scripture the whole life of man is a temptation vpon earth then is the temptation ended when the fight is ended and then is the fight ended when to the same secure victory succeeds at the very end of this life that so all the Souldiers of Christ who euen to the end of this their present life by diuine aide haue valiantly resisted their enemies hauing ended their painefull pilgrimage may presently thenceforth raigne happy in their natiue Countrey Anselmus thus speaketh the Preachers of the Church after that they haue departed out of the body they are no wise delayed of the present possession of their Heauenly Countrey but instantly as they depart from the flesh whereunto the soule was formerly tyed so soone are they made to rest in the heauenly seate 4. Reasons adduced by Bellarmine to proue the Saints present fruition of ioy and making directly for vs against Purgatorie God saith he is no readier or more inclinde to punish then he is to reward wherefore it followes that if the wicked be presently cast in torment as we see the example of the rich Glutton teaches vs that by a like equitie that the godly instantly after death likewise receiue their owne reward As Basilius notes saith he before Christs comming the death of the Godly was lamented but since that time the same is celebrated with mirth and why so but because to die then it was a misery but now death is the beginning of happinesse which surely it could not be say we if the soule went to a tormenting fire in Purgatorie but a greater miserie then when the soule went before as they say to a painelesse Limbo Leuit. 19.13 Thou shalt not retaine the wages of the hireling beside thee all night till the morning therefore lest God should seeme lesse iust or pitifull at the very end of the day of his life much more wil he giue glory to the godly according to that Parable Mat. 20. and consequently say we he will not delay them of that reward not only one night but many hundreds of yeares as the Papists hold tormenting their soules in Purgatorie Bellarmines Arguments for Purgatory answered 1. Out of the Old Testament 2 Maccab. 12.45 It was a holy and good thought saith the Authour to pray for the dead that they might bee absolued from their sinnes Whence it followeth saith Bellarmine that the dead after this life may be absolued and may haue sinnes to satisfie for whereof before their death they were not absolued And this is done in Purgatorie 1. Our generall reply to all such Arguments brought out of Apocripha is that no disputation can bee but out of principles mutually by both parties receiued such as these Bookes are not by vs as Canonicall And therefore it is that wee argue not with a Iew out of the New Testament 2. Our reason of reiecting them as not Canonicall is beside the consent of the Primitiue Church with vs confessed by Bellarmine and testified by Ierome the proofe which wee haue out of Canonicall Scripture and out of themselues For all Scripture saith Paul is by immediate and by diuine
can bee no part of the labour for that is in the Vineyard nor no part of the day for in the last houre thereof some are called and hyred such as none are in Purgatory nor no part of the hyre which is desired in the amplest measure and giuen of bountie for well doing and so Purgatory is not of all Also Iohn 9.4 The night comes saith Christ when no man can worke Whence we argue If none can worke or doe that after this life which is required of them in it for attaining to their saluation then none can satisfie for their sins in Purgatory But the supposition is true Therefore the sequell 2 Corinth 4.17 18. For our light affliction for a moment worketh for vs a farre more exceeding and eternall weight of glory while wee looke not at things seene but vnseene for the things seene are temporall but the things that are not seene are eternall Hence we reason If temporall sufferings go not beyond the limits of this life to the godly and that these things that are temporall and seene are included within the bounds thereof that which is thereafter and vnseene being euer called eternall whether the same be ioy or paine then surely it will follow that the godly after this life indure no temporall paines in Purgatory the same being vnseene and going beyond the limits of this life But the Hypothesis is true and therefore the Sequell Now because on the distinction of Poena culpa as the maine pillar whereon Dagons house stood Purgatory relies let vs pull this down that all this fiery fabricke may fall into ashes Marke 11.25 As wee are commanded to forgiue others so will God himselfe forgiue vs in like manner But we are commanded to forgiue others from our heart fully without retaining the least grudge or meanest purpose of the smallest reuenge as Math. 18.35 is euident Ergo according to Christs promise so will God himselfe forgiue vs in like manner else it should follow which is blasphemously absurd that God would haue man more good and mercifull then himselfe and by his example should teach men that are too prone to vice of themselues hollow-hearted and fraudulent reconciliations Col. 2.13 God hath freely forgiuen all our trespasses Whence we reason That which God hath freely pardoned for that which he can no wise punish seeing to pardon and to punish one and the same thing are alwaies incoÌ„patible neither is any man iustly punished but for his fault which by free pardon being taken away as the cause any satisfactory punishment must cease as the effect except they would make God double vniust both in punishing wher no fault is as also by taking twise paiment for one debt from Christ and from vs. But so it is that God hath freely pardoned all our trespasses whatsoeuer whether they call them veniall or mortall and as he is soueraignly mercifull so is he likewise iust Ergo for these hee can no wise satisfactorily punish Math. 6.12 Our sinnes there are called Debts which we desire to be remitted Whence out of this and the former place we argue If our sinnes be our debts and that all our sinns are freely remitted therfore all our debts are freely discharged consequently all their paiment or satisfaction of them it were altogether against very sense to affirme the contrary that the whole debt should be discharged but not the whole payment and contrary to Math. 18.27 where debt payment and punishment are all quit together But our sinnes are our debts and they are all freely remitted Ergo all the payment of them or satisfaction whatsoeuer As this errour fights with that Petition of the Lords prayer Math. 6. as also with that Article of our faith Col. 2.13 whereby we beleeue not our owne satisfaction for our sinnes but Gods free remission of our sinnes so is it against that part of the Decalogue where God shewes that he will shew mercy vpon the thousand generation of them that loue him and therefore much more will he not scantle his mercy to themselues in remitting the guilt of their sinnes but retaining their temporall punishment Iohn 10.18 All satisfaction for sinne to the iustice of God must be voluntary if it be acceptable to him as all other things whatsoeuer we doe to 〈◊〉 in his seruice which if it be otherwise he acâ—â—pts it not But the satisfaction that is in Purgatory to the Iustice of God is not voluntary for none but would chuse rather to go straightway to heauen as also ineuitably they going there God satisfies rather himselfe by punishing them then they satisfie God by suffering Therefore the paines of Purgatory are either no satisfaction at all to God of ours or else no wayes acceptable to him Besides that all satisfaction is meritorious else the creditor were not bound to giue a discharge vpon satisfaction to the debtor But the Soules merits not in Purgatory as Bellarmine proues Lib 2. de Purg. c. 2. Ergo they satisfie not there Galat. 5.22 and Psal. 23.4 The fruites of the Spirit are ioy and peacâ— which specially kiths in the godlies death and their courage there in is that although they walke thorow the valley of death they feare no ill That doctrine then that takes away these happy fruits and that comfortable courage and on the contrary fills the soule with such panicke terrours and torments the conscience with the apprehension of so long lying euen hundreds of yeares in so fell a fire where to auoyd a farre gentler fire here but one houres burning a man would giue all that hee had That doctrine I say is to bee abhorred and damnable and not without cause these Locusts that are the broachers thereof are said to haue stings to torment and lyons teeth to deuoure their prey But so it is that the doctrine of Purgatory doth all the former Ergo the same is to be abhorred and damnable In Scripture wee haue sundry Examples of soules after receiued into heauen but neuer one sent vnto Purgatory as Lazarus carried straightwayes by Angels into Abrahams bosome where he was comforted and consequently Abraham also himselfe before Christs death behooued to be in the same place of comfort And this Example Bellarmine himselfe against the Greeke Church affirmes peremptorily to be 〈◊〉 Parable but a true Storie So to the conuerted Thiefe that same night Paradise is promised which before Bellarmine proue as hee alledgeth to haue been extraordinary he must prooue the going of soules to Purgatory first to bee ordinary As also vpon one extraordinary Example no common Article of Faith could bee grounded as Bellarmine doth on this saying De fide est mox a morte impios descendere ad aeterna supplicia vt patet Luc. 16. de diuite iustos ad aeterna gaudia vt patet Lucae 23. de Latrone Hodie eris mecum in Paradiso So Simeon desired to depart in peace and Paul to bee dissolued which neither the one had desired
if his departure had been to enter him in so fierce a fire nor the other if his dissolution had not been straightway to ioyne him to Christ. Neither doth hee say that at the finishing of his course or ending of his fight a crowne onely is laid vp for him which should bee giuen him in that day to wit of his departure as verse 6. but likewise that in the very like manner it abode all them that loue the Lord Iesus Now to close vp our Arguments out of their owne distinction of Culpa Poena thus wee reason If Purgatory purge away ought either it purgeth the fault or the punishment But it purges not away the fault or guilt of mortall sinnes by the Papists owne confession nor the eternall punishment of them both being before remitted Neither purgeth it away the temporall punishment because out of the definition of purging which is taking away as Iohn 1.29 is euident the same is not taken away but on the contrary is inflicted non aufertur enim sed infertur Therefore of mortall sinnes it purgeth nothing and so in that respect it cannot bee called Purgatorie And as for veniall sinnes which Bellarmine saith Quoad culpam poenam intrant Purgatorium we prooue thus that it purges them not away No transient actions can enter into Purgatorie to bee burnt vp or purged away which are Bellarmines owne words saying Ignis Purgatory que verus realis est non potest opera combur â—râ— quae sunt actiones transeuntes iam transierunt But to subsume Veniall sinnes are transient actions which none can deny Therefore they enter no wise into Purgatorie to bee burnt vp or purged away and consequently seeing neither mortall nor veniall sinnes guilt nor punishment is purged away from the Soule in Purgatory there is no such thing at all Nam Purgatorium as is said est semper alicuius rei purganda Purgatorium As also that is not remitted which wholly is punished saith Bellarmine Remissio enim sonat condonationem But the Scripture and Fathers expressely teach saith hee that light or veniall sinnes are remitted after this life Therefore say wee they are not totally punished nor enter into Purgatorie quoad culpam poenam as hee said before nor are they punished at all seeing their temporall punishment is their totall punishment Arguments against Purgatory and for our Assertion out of Bellarmin and our Aduersaries themselues 1. Their Confession and arguments of their owne Doctors for vs. Bellarmine saith Fatemur Christum pro nobis pro toto mundo integre imo plenissime deo patri satisfecisse And againe Christ passions saith he omnem culpam originalem actualem lethalem venialem omnem poenam tam sempiternam quam temporariam expiare valent idque totum per se etiam si nullae admiscerentur passiones sanctorum Whence it followes 1 That the satisfaction of men for them selues are superfluous at least and that he who relyes only on Christs satisfaction relyes on that which for saluation is alwayes al-sufficient 2 That to exact that punishment of man which Christ hath already satisfied to his Fathers iustice is to make God vniust by taking two payments for one debt as also in not accepting Christ satisfaction for as much as it is worth to the Godly being of value to free them as well from Purgatory which is the lesse as from Hell which is the greater 3 To say that Christs satisfaction serues to make our satisfaction acceptable is against common sense as who would say that a cautioner had payed the debt thereby to inable the principall debtor being vnresponsall to pay it ouer againe to the Creditor and much more absurd is it to say that this second payment is a grace as after a free and full pardon of all punishment whatsoeuer it should bee a fauour done to a malefactor to bee cast so long in prison and cruelly whipped Dignitas satisfactionis saith Bellarmine mensuram accipit a dignitate persona satisfacientis quemadmodum grauitas offensionis a dignitate personae laesae Now betweene finite man who is the offendor and the infinite God who is offended there is no equalitie of comparison or correspondence therefore neither of the finite satisfaction of the one to the infinite Iustice of the other for which cause it behooued him to bee of an infinite nature who was our Redeemer Againe Christs satisfaction is infinite saith Durand and Mairâ—â—es therefore it is altogether needlesse to ioyne to Christs satisfaction say they any satisfaction of the sufferings of men which without being so ioyned to Christs wants not their owne fruits nor are in vaine being indured heere both in respect of the sufferers their owne reformation and conformitie with Christ wrought and the confirmation of the godly and good example to others that redounds thereby If by the sufferings of the godly sinnes may be expiate saye the same men cited by Bellarmine then it would not be absurd for them to bee called Redeemers of themselues in a part But it is absurd for them to bee called redeemers of themselues because Christ is the sole and onely Redeemer of mankind of whom saith the Apostle Who is made vnto vs righteousnesse and redemption 1 Cor. 1.30 Therefore by the sufferings of the godly sinnes cannot bee expiate neither veniall nor other in regard of punishment or otherwise To this argument of their owne Doctors Bellarmine no wise answeres but blasphemously affirming That it is no absurditie to say that wee are our owne redeemers in a part seeing the Councell of Trent hath decreed no lesse Sess. 14. Cap. 8. Can. 13. 2. Scriptures adduced by Bellarmine to proue that the Saints presently inioy the vision of God making directly for vs against Purgatory Ecclus. 11.26 It is an easie thing to the Lord in the very day of death without longer delay to reward a man according to his wayes and consequently to giue glory to the godly Et illud facile est Domino non significat saith Bellarmine posset si vellet sed reddit Deus facile reddit vnicuique secundum opera sua in die obitus aloquisi posset non redderet frustra nos hoc argumento hortaretur sapiens Also he brings that saying of Paul 2 Cor. 5.1 where the Apostle saith in the very instant and present time after the laying downe of our earthly bodies in death wee haue an eternall habitation in the heauens and so the soule remaines no time without a house but as soone as it goes out of the earthly it presently enters into the heauenly and therefore Bellarmine sayes Apostoli argumentatio optima est nimirum ista Si vita haec mortalis perit habemus statim aliam longe meliorem in coelo speaking so of all the godly indifferently To the same purpose is that which he adduceth out of the 8. verse where the Apostle setteth downe that this
IGNIS FATVVS OR THE ELF-FIRE OF PVRGATORIE Wherein Bellarmine is confuted by Arguments both out of the Old and New Testament and by his owne Proofes out of Scriptures and Fathers Also an Annexe to this Treatise of Purgatorie concerning the distinction of Sinne in Mortall and Veniall By M. WILLIAM GVILD Minister at KING-EDVVARD LONDON Printed by AVGVSTINE MATHEVVES and are to bee sold at Britaines Burse 1625. TO THE TRVELY Noble Right Honourable and Religious IOHN Earle of Laderdail Lord Thirlestane c. one of his Maiesties most Honorable Priuie Counsell c. and to his most Religious Countesse and Ladie RIGHT HONOVRABLE THat inueterate-enâ—mie of Gods glory mans good hath neuer ceased from the beginning to intermiâ—e in the Lords field his pesâ—â—ent popple amongst the good seed setting a worke the Mysterie of iniquitie euen then when the Mysterie of mans redemption was begun to be published and by force or fraud either as a redde Dragon or as a counterfeite of the Lambe with implacable malice but limitâ—ed power hee hath euer assaulted the Church both in head and members Sometimes prouoking to sinne as Balak 〈…〉 did the people in Ahabs time as in sinnes oâ— opinion contra verum This later is of two sorts either hereticall against the 〈…〉 against the Body 〈…〉 The two preceding were old heresies who long ago hath receiued their iust condemnation the later carry the 〈…〉 of their grosse guiltinesse and clear conuiction specially such as are against the Priesthood of Christ consisting in full satisfaction until sole inter 〈…〉 sufferings with Christs all-sufficient oblation making that glorious worke to be as a Linsey-wolsey garment and man to share in the glory of that in the grace whereof he hath onely 〈◊〉 By which impious assertion and illicit coniunction Christ is degraded his blood vilified his merit maimed his crosse curtailed his death debased and his sufferings stained by those who of godlinesse haue made gaine but not made their gaine to bee godlinesse turning Gods Temple againe into a denne of theeues and therein making Merchandise not of Doues but of Soules as is fore-prophesied of them and haue raised againe the tables of Money-changers which Christ once ouerthrew As no more plainely their owne Mantuan affirmes saying Omnia venalia Romae then their owne Pope Pius confirmes saying Nil absque argentâ— Romana curia donat Nam peccatorum venia Spiritus dona venduntur And indeed though these Subterranean Vulcans and fire-worke men build vpon straw stubble and hay their light assertion without any more solid foundation then the groundlesse conceit of a brainesicke head and couetous heart can afford yet they draw in from the seduced simple most solid substance of gold siluer and large revenewes by a strange sort of Alchymie Manus porrigentes indultrices solùm manus porrigentibus adiutrices but No pennie no Pater noster being better seene as is truely said in the Golden number of actuall reset nor in the Dominicall letter of sacred and holy Writ Neither without cause does these Locusts that came from the bottomlesse pit smell of fire or is it a wonder that these that came out of the smoke of a great furnace doe yet speak to poore soules of a fiery furnace neither can any iustly admire that they torment the conscience whose power giuen them is as the power of Scorpions not to kill outright by simply damning soules for so they should get no profit nor prey but to torment them with the sure expecting of a Purgatory fire out of which there is no release but by the Suffrages and Soule masses and so like Beniamin they rauen as a Wolfe and as the name of the Prophets sonne was they become speedie robbers and swift to the prey neuer resting cruelly to sting and like Iobs miserable comforters to propine to the dying soule in the greatest agony and thirst for cooling comfort such a bitter potion as Christ got on the Crosse while the Lions teeth by some bootie be baited The zeale then which we all owe to Gods glorie and loue which we owe to our fellow members as yet perhaps vncome out of Babell hath moued me at this time to take some paines in this argument to partie the seducers and pitie the seduced and by the sword of the Spirit and Lampe of the Word to conuince the one and conduct the other into the path of truth if they may be cured Which paines â—ight Honourable with no lesse affectionate heart then an officious hand I offer to your view and dedicate to your Name beseeching God that in all honour it may flourish your soule by grace and your estate with prosperitie and that those singular gifts wherewith your God hath indued you may still receiue a happy growth for your better acquitall in that eminent station wherein his wise dispensation hath set you that his Name may bee glorified his Church comforted your Countrey benefited your posteritie blessed and your owne selfe eternally may bee saued in that great day Your Honours in all humble and heartie duetie W. GVILD To the READER COVRTEOVS READER COnsidering the grossenesse of this vnwarrantable cruell and couetous conceit of Purgatorie so that many who in other poynts rests yet in Babell yet in this confesses the vanitie of this prop of Bethauen And perceiuing notwithstanding how peremptorie the Aduersary is not onely against all opposers to this their fatning Kitchin by their thundring Sentence but also against all those who giues not full assent vnto it by their condemnatory Decree adiudging all such to Hells fire for euer So that Bellarmine spares not as vsurping Gods chaire determinatly to afflirme that it is such an article of faith adeo vt qui non credit Purgatorium esse ad illud nunquam sit peruenturus sed in Gehenna sempiterno incendio sit cruciandus I thought my paines should not bee bestowed nor my Penne imployed amisse if according to my penury I should contribute somewhat heerein to the Lords Treasurie that they who stand in the olde way of trueth may bee strengthened and these who are any one footstep come out of Babell may be helped forward and if it were no more but as Augustine sayes that heretikes may vnderstand that there are not onely one or two but many in the campes of orthodox Catholikes who dare with open face meet them As they then who coupled an Oxe and an Asse together against that command of God to the Iewes and sowe their field with diuers seeds or as the children of those of the Captiuitie spake partly in the Iewish Language and partly in the Language of Ammon and Ashdoa Euen so how that false Prophet who hath borrowed likewise the semblance of the Lambs hornes calling him his Vicar that vnder that he might the more craftily vent the speech of the Dragons tongue whose mouth hee is and whose priuiledge he claimes How he I say hath vnequally yoked monstrously mixed vniustly coupled
other creatures in part nor whole here nor hence therefore notably saith the Apostle By grace yee are saued by faith and not of your selues it is the gift of God then not by workes least any man should boast and so to conclude by the like reason then neither also by sufferings as Rom. 8.18 least any man should boast and consequently not by Purgatory Rom. 8.33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of the godly that are justified saith the Apostle or who shall condemne seeing Christ hath dyed for them Whence we argue If nothing can bee laid to the godlies charge that are reconciled or iustified and that there is no condemnation to them that are in Christ as verse 1. because Christs death hath taken away all then there remaines not any guilt of whatsoeuer sinne or condemnation to any temporall fire after this life differing only from hells fire not in acrimony of paine but only in length of indurance But the Hypothesis is true and proued by the Apostle Ergo so is also the sequel that followeth thereon To the same purpose is it said Rom. 5.1 Being iustified we haue peace with God Whence we infer If the godly who depart being iustified haue peace with God through Christ then they are not by God adiudged to a fiery torment with the damned differing onely in indurance for these two are contraries to bee agreed and at peace and yet be cast in such a painfull prison as Math. 5.25 is most euident But the godly who depart being iustified haue peace with God through Christ as is said Ergo they are not cast in such a fiery prison to satisfie for themselues Reuel 14.13 Blessed are they who dye in the Lord for they rest from hence from their labours and their workes follow them Hence we reason If all these who die not onely for the Lord as well as in him as Martyrs but they also who only die in the Lord as all the godly doe who liue in him if they inioy present blessednesse after death consisting of rest and remuneration then presently after death they are not sent to restlesse torment and a long time delayed of their happinesse and reward euen till the last day as Bellarmine would haue the sense of the word amodo But all those who die in the Lord are pronounced presently blessed and straightway they rest and are rewarded Ergo they are not delaied of their blessed estate nor sent to any restlesse torment in Purgatory To the same purpose is that which is said 2 Timothie 4.7 I haue finished my course saith Paul and from hencefoorth is layde vp for mee a Crowne which the Lord shall giue mee in that day and not onely for mee but to all that loue the comming of Christ. 2. Corinth 5.1 If our earthly habitation bee destroyed wee haue an eternall in the Heauens In which place wee must first consider the meaning of this eternall habitation in the Heauens euen by our Aduersaries exposition that our Argument may be the stronger Bellarmine saith That thereby the Fathers either meane the immortall body which we shall haue at the last day or else eternall life and the present vision of God after death and of these he saith Sine dubio verior est haec posterior expositio and he giues his reason because the Apostle speaks in the present time after the bodies dissolution saying Habemus wee haue which if he had spoken of the immortall body after the resurrection and not of eternall life presently after death hee could not haue said habeâ—â—â— sed habebimus Therefore he saith Apostoli ergo argumentio est optima nimirum ista si vita haec mortalis perit habemus statim aliam longe meliorem in coelo ergo bonum est cito mori in hoc mundo vt cito vinamus in coelo Whence with Bellarmine we conclude If after the dissolution of the godly they in the very present thereafter haue statim or incontinently and possesse eternall life in the heauens then after their dissolution they are not a long time delayed thereof and sent to torment in Purgatory But by our aduersaries exposition and concession after dissolution the godly presently haue and instantly possesse eternall life in the Heauens Ergo they are not delayed thereof nor sent to the torment of Purgatory To the same purpose is that speech of the Apostle I desire to bee dissolued ioyning and to bee with Christ. Coloss. 1.20 For it pleased the Father by him to reconcile all things to himselfe whether they bee on earth or in heauen Whence we argue If the Apostle speaking of the Church expressely comprehends the same in these two only to wit that part which is on earth and that which is in heauen or militant and triumphant in via in patria then he knew no third part such as the Romanists put in their diuision and make to bee in torment and labouring in Purgatory But the Apostle comprehends the whole Church in these two parts onely to wit that which is on earth and that which is in heauen Ergo he knew no such tripartition as the triple crowned Pope and the Papists make and consequently that there is no such place nor any part of the Church therein As also to backe this Argument with our Aduersaries testimony of the ancient Churches beleefe Bellarmine relates While it was vpbraided to the ancient Catholikes by the Donatists that they made two Churches one consisting of good and euill on earth and another of good onely in the heauens The Catholikes answered That they made not two Churches but distinguished the two times onely of the Church Whence we inferre If the ancient Catholikes had then beleeued Purgatory and made any such tripartition as the new Romane Catholikes doe then the Donatists had vpbraided them not onely with making two Churches but with making three and the Orthodox Catholikes had answered them that they made not three Churches but distinguished the three times of the Church But this they did not Ergo the ancient Catholikes beleeued no such thing Galatians 6.8 Hee that soweth to the Spirit shall reape of the Spirit life eternall So Iob 7.2 2 Tim. 4.7 Reuel 14.13 Out of all which places thus we reason If in Scripture there bee a twofold time onely of sowing on earth and reaping in heauen of working in this life and reward in the next of fighting here and triumph hereafter of finishing our course at death and thenceforth getting the Crowne of life and of labouring now and immediately resting after our departure then surely there is no mid time nor place for the godly to feare or expect But there is a twofold time onely as is said and as Scripture proues Ergo there is no mid time of torment nor mid place of Purgatory The truth of which Argument most clearely doth that Parable Math. 20.1 illustrate where straightway at the end of the day the Labourers receiue their hyre Now Purgatory
Purgatorie Act. 2.24 Whom God raised hauing loosed the dolours of Hell that is deliuered soules out of Purgatory 1. The words are the dolours of death and not of Hell by which what is meant is cleare out of Psalm 18.4.5 calling the dolours of death the snares of death and by the dolours of the graue meaning the same and by both vnderstanding so the captiuating of death and the detayning power of the Graue wherein our Sauiour by his buriall as Deaths prisoner was inclosed and both which powers by his resurrection hee overcame as by his triumph Hose 13. is euident and as Bellarmine grants Lib. 4. de Christo. cap. 8. and that with Chrysostome and Oecumenius is meant thereby either that by Christ resurrection God loosed the dolours of death that was pained in holding him so long in the graue or else that by his resurrection he destroyed death and all the stinging dolours thereof which accompanied the same And so he makes him do that by the raysing vp of his body there which by the discense of his soule he would haue him to doe here Next if by such words Purgatory were meant then it would follow that Christ should haue suffered in Purgatory seing as is euident Peter speakes of the dolours which his humane nature suffered and his diuine loosed And therefore it was himselfe that was loosed from them as Sampson from his cords at first because it was impossible that he saith the Apostle and not others in Purgatorie should be holden by them And to vse retortion of this place against themselues if they meane Purgatory by these dolours as Bellarmine doth the same is quite vndone because Christ is said not to haue loosed any soules out of these dolours but the dolours themselues whereof it will follow either that there is no Purgatorie left at all or else such a one as is quite dolourlesse and without paine Philip 2.10 At the Name of Iesus euery knee shall bow of things in Heauen on earth and vnder the earth Which last sort seeing it is not the deuils nor the damned that giue voluntary obedience it must be the soules in Purgatory 1. Bellarmine himselfe answeres for vs and shewes that this speech borrowed from Isai. is expounded by the Apostle Rom. 10.14 of Christ comming to iudge all men before whom all the wicked sore against their wils shal compeare and yeeld subiection whereof the bowing of the knee among men is a signe Neither by bowing of the knee could be meant a voluntary subiection for this reason because then it would follow that all the wicked euen in this life gaue voluntary subiection to Christ because it is said That euery knee on earth shall bow As for 1 Pet. 3.20 Bellarmine prooues Limbus patrum thereby Therefore it cannot be adduced likewise to prooue Purgatory neither doth the word Prison in Scripture signifie but only the hell of the damned when it speaks of the imprisoning of Spirits And therefore it is the wicked and disobedient that are said to bee there and so neither the Fathers not the godly whom Christ is not said to haue deliuered the 〈◊〉 but to whom he is said to haue preached by that Spirit whereby hee was quickened which was not therefore his Soule but by his diuine Spirit in the dayes of Noah while they had time then to repent by the meanes of preaching and not after this life when there is no conuersion And for which exposition we haue not onely the clearnesse of the Text but Augustine also plainly with vs and after him Beda as 〈◊〉 grants Iohn 11.43 and Luke 8.55 The soule of Lazarus Maries brother returned and so did the soules of Iairus daughter and the widowes sonne whom Christ raised Now this was not from hell they being godly nor from heauen for so iniurie should haue been done to them Therefore saith Bellarmine Mortui quos exitarunt Christus Apostoli creduntur fuisse in Purgatorio Besides that the secret things belong onely to God and the things reuealed onely to vs there could bee no iniury heere done to the creature whose priuate good must euer giue place to the manifestation of Gods glorie whereto it was created But more peremptorily let Bellarmine in that same Chapter answere this saying Se igitur aliqui sancti redierunt ad corpus non fuerunt beati sed Deus praevidens eorum excitationem distulit eorum beatificationem interim detinuit eos in optimo aliquo loco such as is no wayes a tormenting Purgatory Yea to shew how desperate their cause is and how impudent themselues are in wresting most cleare parts of Scripture to prooue this fiery furnace of theirs Let vs see that place Ex quo saith Bellarmine insigne habetur argumentum pro Pugatorio Hebr. 10.27 For whom remaines saith the Apostle a certaine fearefull looking for of Iudgement and fiery indignation which shall deuoure the aduersaries speaking there no wayes of the godly that are friends as Bellarmine would haue it that for their sinnes after Baptisme must bee temporally punished in a purging fire but of the Lords aduersaries as the cleare Text sheweth which the fiery indignation of God shall vtterly deuoure and of the fearefull iudgement and finall damnation of those who by wilfull apostasie from the knowne truth as vers 25 26. is euident doe tread the Sonne of God vnder foot and count the blood of the Couenant an vnholy thing and doth despise the Spirit of grace which none of the godly euer either did or doth Next to such places of Scripture Bellarmine brings in examples of Scripture whereby hee intends to prooue that the guilt of sinne being remitted the temporall punishment remaines to be satisfied for and wherin because many are remisse in this life therefore a Purgatorie is appoynted hereafter The first examples are of Dauid and Miriam both pardoned and yet temporally punished but hee should prooue that these punishments were payments and satisfactions to Gods Iustice and redemptions of themselues as Bellarmine calles them where in the contrary the Scripture clearely affirmes that God by such corrections dealeth not as a Iudge with malefactors to satisfie Iustice but as a father with his sonnes to manifest his mercy doing it not for any payment to himselfe but for profit to them and not to free them from any Purgatory hereafter but to make them pertakers of his holinesse here Neither auailes it Bellarmine that the cause of Dauids correction is set downe to bee his sinne begun for wee confesse that the sinnes of the godly are the efficient causes of these corrections that God layes vpon them But all our Controuersie is of the finall cause which wee say is for example to others his children and their owne amendment that are chastised and which they say is for satisfaction to his Iustice and redemption of the sufferer himselfe The next instance that hee brings is of death which is the temporall
mention of Mortall sins any iudicious Reader will finde that thereby they vnderstand Peccata vastantia conscientiam or such great and grossâ— sinnes as vsually exclude penitentiall grace from the presumptuous Actour by which onely our sinnes become veniall Likewise seeing euery sinne name it as yee will if yee graunt it once to bee sinne is mediately at least committed against an infinite obiect who consequently requireth iustly an infinite punishment It followeth necessarily that the same is mortall although it were but as idle word which Bellarmine saith were a foolish thing in man to breake friendship for such light offences and can not bee vnderstood in God how it can deserue eternall punishment although in the contrary Christ hath said that euen of such account shall bee giuen at the day of Iudgement at which time onely eternall punishment shall bee inflicted and not a temporall such as they allot to veniall sinnes Wherefore it was requisite that as our Sauiour should haue our nature that in it sinne might hee punished iustly so this nature was to subsist in an infinite person that by it sinne might bee conquered fully But when 〈…〉 himselfe is to bee punished by God according to the merit of his vnpardoned offence the Lord not hauing meanes to satisfie his Iustice on an infinite person to make proportion betweene his Iustice and mans sinne some way hee chuseth an infinite time because the person punished is no wayes match with the partie offended therefore this punishment is truly called Passion but not Satisfaction whereas the infinitenesse of Christs Nature in person made his Passion to bee a sufficient Satisfaction From whence it followes that nothing can bee done by man either actiuely or passiuely in this life nor after the same that can be reputed a condigne satisfaction to God for any one sinne whatsoeuer committed by vs the guilt and whole punishment whereof is perfectly abrogated by Christ the first being imputed to him and the second inflicted vpon him that so all who are engraft in him may be freed from both the merit of his blood and fire of his spirit and not any other Purgatorie effectuating that to vs. Not that by this ouerthrow of that distinction of sinne into mortall and veniall which at last among the Papists becomes also venall that we denie an inequalitie to be in sinnes and so consequently in their due punishments For first wee hold sinnes to bee vnequall in respect of the obiect against which we sinne and so a sin against God is a greater sin then a sin against man and a sinne against the first Table is greater then a sinne against the second Table being compared in equall and paralell acts Otherwise if we compare a sinne in the least part of a Commandement in the first Table with a sinne in the greatest part of a Commandement in the Second Table the latter is more hainous then the first Likewise as a sinne against God is greater then a sinne against man for the essentiall diuersitie of the obiect so the sinne against one man may bee greater then a sinne against another for the accidentall diuersitie of the obiect as in eminencie of place against a King or propinquitie of blood bond of nature against a Parent for although all men naturally considered are alike and the same yet ciuilly and politickly they are not Secondly in respect of the matter wherein wee sinne there is an inequalitie so Murder is a greater sinne then Theft because life is more precious then goods Likewise if we compare sins in the same matter one may be greater then another according to the extent or quantitatiue measure as to kill three is a greater offence then to kill one and to steale 100. pounds is a greater theft then 10. Thirdly in respect of the manner how we offend there is an inequalitie of sinning and so a sinne of malice is greater then a sinne of infirmitie so is that of knowledge greater then that of ignorance As likewise sinnes that consist only in immanent action or thought of the minde are lesse then these that come to transient action being accomplished by the body euery further addition making the sinne more intense in degree And as sins are vnequall so are their punishments God in his distributiue iustice allotting seuerall portions of paine to the seuerall proportions of sinne The priuatiue punishment or poena damni in time degree is alike to all Depart from me c. The posiâ—iue or poeâ—a sensus is partly from an inward cause which is the gnawing worme of conscience whose life is perpetuated in death or from an outward cause which is such exquisite meanes whereby at last the whole man is afflicted decreed by God in his wisedome executed by his power to demonstrate his iustice and is ordinarily called the fire of Hell And as the outward paine of fire primarily inflicted on the body doth worke effectually to afflict the soule so doth the inward paine of the worme which is in the soule worke effectually to afflict the body that as they were brethren in euill and participated in sinne so they may bee coupled likewise and pertake in torment And as the soule hath one estate in her selfe at death independant vpon the body by her seperation from it and another in the body vpon her revniting with it at the resurrection so in the first she suffereth outward paine immediately and in the second by the body mediately In all which the punishment of all is equall in time because in respect of duration there is neither more nor lesse in that which is eternall but the punishment is vnequall in degree Gods iustice hauing a relatiue respect to mans sinne And so although we denie that any sinnes are veniall by nature yet we affirme some to be lesse then others and in a lesse measure punished and so the vniust slander of our Aduersaries affirming that we make all sinnes and consequently all punishments equall may easily hence appeare FINIS Reuel 18.13 Mant. de colam temp Aeneas Syluius ad 1. pereg Ep. 66. 2 Cor. 3. Bell. l. 1. de Purg. c. 15. Aug. li. de trin c. 3. cont Mend. c. 6. * Math. 4.9 Ephes. 6. Bell. l. 1. de Purg. c. 14. Bell. lib. 1. de Purg. c. 1. Et lib 2. c. 6.9 10. Bell. lib. 1. de Indul. c. 9. Ibidem Bell. lib. 1. de Purg. c. 12. Bell. lib 4. de Pan. c. 13. Bell. lib. 2. de Purg. c. 13. Lomb. l. 4. Sent. dist 18. Chrys. in 4. ad Rom. Hom. 8. Aug. Ser. 27. de verbis Domini Col. 1.19 Bell. lib. 1. de Indul. c. 4. 1 Tim. 2.6 Col. 1.19 Iohn 1.16 Acts 4.12 Bell lib. 4. de Poenit. c. 13. Ephes. 2.8 Bell. l. 1. de Purg. c. 12. Bell. lib. 1. de Sanct. c. 3. Philip. 1.23 2 Tim. 4.7 Bell. lib. 3. de Eccles. c. 9. Iob 7.2 Exod. 20.6 Psal. 110.4 Bell. lib. 1. de Sanct. c. 6. Bell. l. 1. de Purg. c. 5. Bell. lib. 1. de Purg. c. 14. Ibidem Bell. lib. 2. de indul cap. 7. Ibidem cap. 5. Bell. lib. 1. de Indul. c. 2. Bell. lib. 1. de Indul. c. 4. Ibidem Bell. lib. 1. de Sanct. c. 3. Ibidem Ibidem Ibidem Bellar. lib. 1. de Sanct. c. 4. Bell. ibidem Iustin. quosi 75 Bell. l 1. de Sanct. c. 5. Cyprian de exhor Mart. cap. vlt. Aug. med c. 22. et l. 20. de ciuit dei c. 15. Prosp. l. 1. de vita contemp c. 1. Ansel. in 2. ad Cor. Bell. l. 1. de Sanct. c. 6. Bell. Ibidem Bell ibidem Bell. l. 1. de Purg. c. 3. Answere 2 Tim. 3.16 c. 2.23.26.28 Iosh. 7. Bell. lib. 1. de Purg. c. 12. Bell. l. 1. de Purg. c. 3. Aug. Confess lib. 6. c. 2. contra Faust. l. 2. c. 21. 1 Sam. last 31. 2 Sam. 1.12 Bell. lib. 2. de indul cap. 13. 1 Pet. 1.7 4.12 Aug. l. 20. de Ciuit. Dei c. 25 Aug. de Ciuit. Dei l. 18. â— 35. Answere â—o Luk. 10.35 Ephes. 1.21 Marke 3.29 Luke 12.10 Answer Bell. l. 1. de purg C. 6. Answer Rom. 6.6 Answer Bell. lib. 1. de purg ca. 5. Bell. lib. 2. de Purg. c. 13. Bell. lib. 1 de purg ca. 7. Answer Bell. l. 1. de Purg. ca. 7. Bell. lib. 1. de purg ca. 8. Answer Iam. 3.6 1 Ioh. 3.14 Answere Answere Answer Bell. l. 1. de Sanct. c. 6. Isai. 45.23 Bell. l. 1. de Christ. c. 13. Reuel 20.7 Iude 1.6 Aug. Epist. 99. ad Euodium Bell. lib. 2. de Purg. c. â— Answer Deut. 29.29 Bell. lib. 2. de Purg. c. 14. Bell. lib. 1. de purg ca. 11. 2 Sam. 12. Numb 12. Hebr. 12.7 Gen. 2.17 Rom. 5.17 Rom. 6.23 Bell. lib. 2. de Indul. c. 1. Bell. lib. 2. de Indul. c. 4. Bellar. lib. 4. de poenit c. 2. Answer Heb. 3.4 2 Thes. 2.12 1 Tit. 1.15 Bell. lib. 1. de purg ca. 14. Ephes. 3.17 Rom. 10.17 Gal. 3.27 1 Cor. 10.16 Bell. l. 1. de purg c. 9. Aug. l. 21. de ciuit dei c. 27. Bell. lib. 1. de Sanct. c. 2. Lactan. l. 7. cap. 11. Cyp. l. 3. epist. 6. et l. 5. epist. 4. Bell. lib. 2. de Purg. ca. 1. et ibid. ca. 18. Aug. confess l. 9. ca. 13. Aug. l. de ciui dei cap. 16. Bell. l. 1. de purg cap. 10. Aug. lib. 21. de ciuit dei cap. 26.27 Enchirid. c. 69. Aug. c. 1. secundi Serm. de consol super mortuos et l. 5. hypognost Bell. l. 2 de purg cap. 1. 1 Iohn 3.4 Rom. 6.23 Galat. 3.10 Hebr. 9.22 1 Iohn 1.7 Galat. 3.10 Rom. 6.23 Actes 28. Hebr. 6.4 1 Iohn 5.16 Bell. lib. 1. de purg ca. 11. Math. 5. Bell. lib. 4. de Poenit. c. 13. Bell. l. 1. de purg c. 5. Bell. lib. 1. de Purg. c. 11. The inequality of sinne or degrees thereof The inequalitie of punishment or degrees thereof