Palaestine I think it good to rehearse them first in Latine after in Englishe as they are gathered togither by Augustine And theÌ„ to shewe according to your request what parte of their doctrine which they teache vnder the name of Predestination my selfe and other doe mislyke To the ende that you and other may the better iudge who are in deede worthy to be called Pelagians and whether some parte of their doctrine be not for iust cause misliked Crowley Here Cerberus vseth all his Retorique at once to persuade his dearely beloued friend whose letter he sayth he aunswereth that he and other of his minde be falsely and wrongfully accused to be enimies of Gods holy predestinatioÌ„ c. And to this ende he will in as fewe words as possibly he can set forth what shamefull doctrine is now taught c. But first he will set forth both in Latine and in Englishe those errours which the olde Heritike Pelagius with other did holde and also reuoke c. That men may the better iudge who are in deede worthy the name of Pelagians for he thinketh that he hath proued that we against whom he writeth are those that should be called Pelagians and whether some parte of oure doctrine be not for iuste cause misliked Now let vs sée how he noteth Pelagius errours out of Augustine first in Latine and then in Englishe Which when we haue weighed we shall sée who are moste lyke Pelagius he his or I and mine For this is his purpose I am sure for that he toucheth me first by name and setteth himself and such as he is against al such as I am affirming that whereas we accuse them as enimies of Gods Predestination they are in déede y e most intire louers and we the enimies therof My chief labor therfore in this Apologie shall be to make the truth hereof to appeare playnely to all the indifferent hearers Cerberus The wordes of Austen are these Episto 106. tomo 2. Obiectum est enim eum dicere Quia Adam siue peccaret siue non peccaret moriturus esset 2. Et quod peccatum eius ipsum solum laeserit non genus humanum 3. Et quod infantes in illo statu sunt quo Adam suit ante praeuaricationem 4. Et quod neque per mortem vel praeuaricationem â—de omne genus humanum moriatur neque per resurrectionem Christi omne genus humanum resurgat 5. Et diuites baptizatos nisi omnibus abrenuntient si quid boni visi fuerint facere non reputari illis nec eos habere posse regnum Dei 6. Et gratiam Dei atque adiutorium non ad singulos actus dari sed in libero arbitrio esse vel in lege atque in doctrina 7. Et dei gratiam secundum merit a nostra dari 8. Et silios Dei non posse vocari nisi omnino absque peccato fuerint effecti 9. Et non esse liberum arbitrium si Dei indiget auxilio quoniam in propria voluntate habet vnusquisque facere aliquid vel non facere 10. Et victoriam nostram non ex Dei adiutorio esse sed ex libero arbitrio 11. Et quod poenitentibus veni a noÌ„ detur secuÌ„dum gratiam misericordiam Dei sed secundum moritum laborem eorum qui per poenitentiam digni suerint misericordia Haec omnia Pelagius anathematizauit The first of Pelagius errours which Augustine here citeth is that Adam shoulde haue died whether he had sinned or not sinned This is as you heare one of Pelagius wicked errours that sinne is not the cause of Reprobation or casting away death sprong out of Gods ordinance or some other way came not of mans sinne saith he whether man had sinned or not sinned yet should he haue dyed contrary to the manifest Scripture which sayeth that by one man sinne entred into the worlde death by the meanes of sinne Roma 5. b. And the wyse man sayth that God created maÌ„ to be vndestroyed And againe he saith God hath not made death neither hath he pleasure in the destruction of the liuing he created al things that they might haue their being yea all the people of the earth hath he made that they shoulde haue health that there should be no destruction in them and that the Kingdome of Hell should not be vpon earth for righteousnesse is euerlasting and immortall but vnrighteousenesse bringeth death Wicked and abhominable therfore was this errour of Pelagius which affirmeth that whether man had sinned or not sinned he shoulde haue dyed And here in the very beginning of Pelagius errours I reporte me to themselues euen to themselues I saye that blowe the trumpet of defamation against other with the termes of pestilent Pelagians whether those whome they so accuse nowe to be Pelagians holde this errour or whether they themselues which woulde take some mote of errour out of other mens eyes haue not this Pelagius beame sticking fast in their owne let they themselues be iudges or let their owne doctrine iudge both in print and preaching whereof some parte shall be hereafter rehearsed Yea let all the worlde iudge which haue hearde the doctrine of both parties who they are that in this point ought worthily to be called Pelagians Crowley After Cerberus hath set downe in Latine certaine of Pelagius errors to y e number of .xi. he repeteth y e first in Englishe that is that Adam should haue dyed though he had not sinned And bycause his purpose is to proue that we are those that holde this Pelagian heresie he vnderstandeth Pelagius meaning to be that sinne was not the cause of Reprobation or casting away but that heath sprong out of Gods ordinaunce And so at the last he concludeth that Pelagius and we are all one in thys point for we teache the same doctrine What moued Pelagius to teache that doctrine I knowe not neyther did I at any time so much as once thinke to holde or desende it And I thinke I may be bolde to say in the name of all that haue written or preached the doctrine that Cerberus misliketh that not one eyther hath or will teache it Although Cerberus doe boast that hereafter some parte of our doctrine shall be shewed whereby all men may be able to iudge that we are al one with Pelagius in this point For mine owne parte I will put all men out of doubt that I beleue and haue doe and will if God permit wache that if Adam had not sinned he had neuer dyed And that God did create man to be vndestroyed And that God made not death as the wise man writeth But by one man sinne entred into the the worlde and by sinne death And I can not sée that any of my breathren haue or doe teache any otherwise either in writing or preaching Wherefore Cerberus doth vs open wrong to ioyne vs with Pelagius in thys errour As for the doctrine that I haue written and
Cerberus wresteth top his purpose against me and my brethren shall by Gods helpe be defended in the place where it is produced against vs. Cerberus The seconde errour which Austen rehearseth is that Adams sinne did onely hurt himselfe and not the whole generation of man This is an other vile and detestable errour which Pelagius helde that the sinne of Adam brought not miserie and death vpon all his posteritie contrarye to the open Scripture which sayth that by the sinne of one condemnation came vpon all men And the holy man Esdras sayth O Adam what hast thou done for though it was thou that sinned yet thou arte not fallen alone but all we that come of thee The thirde depending also vpon the seconde is this That Infantes being newe borne are in that state that Adam was in before his transgression which errour semeth onely or chiefly to extende to the innocencie of children For if his minde were that in all pointes infantes were in Adames estate then shoulde it be ouer brutishe For who seeth not that babes newe borne suffer of tentimes payne and griefe which Adam did not before his transgression But to affirme that Infants are not borne and conceiued in sinne is to denie Originall sinne which is an olde and a diuelish errour and vtterly against the Scripture which sayth plainely Beholde I was borne in wickednesse and in sinne hath my mother conceyued mee Crowley In these two Articles can Cerberus finde nothing to burden vs withall For we teache that by their first byrth all Infants are enheritours of that possession that our common father Adam purchased by his first transgression or sinne That is of bodily trauaile and miserie in this lyfe and euerlasting death after this lyfe And that euen as the children of bonde slaues can enioy none other thing by birth than that bondage which their parents are in so the children of Adam can by nature enioy none other thing but that which belonged to their first father who by his first transgression made bath himselfe and all his posteritie bonde slaues to death hell the diuell and damnation Well therefore we shall not be Pelagians in this point But if I woulde deale as straightly with Cerberus as he doth with Samuell I coulde charge him with breaking of Priscians heade in the seconde Article where he writeth leseret for leserit Which though it be but a small fault yet is it as great a fault as that which Cerberus maketh so much of in Samuels rymes And the printers were to blame for both I am sure And therfore I woulde not y ◠eyther Samuell or Cerberus should beare any blame with them Who so Iusteth to conferre the copie of this aunswere which was first cast about in the streates of Londō with this y ◠is written in this Apologie shall easely sée that I haue amended many such faultes without noting of them to any mans reproche Cerberus The fourth errour is that neither by the death transgressiō of Adā all the generation of mā dyeth nor that by the Resurrection of Christ all the generation of man doth rise againe I doe not vnderstande that Pelagius did here speake of the last Refurrection at the day of iudgement as though he had after the maner of the Saduceis denied the Resurrection of our soules and bodies in the last daye for then were all them disputation in vaine of the maner how we shoulde be saued whether by the grace of God or by the deseruing of man if saluation or Rosurrection had on either parte bene denied altogither Neither doth the Scripture attribute the last Resurrection vnto Christ as though the soules and bodies of men shoulde haue died lyke beastes and not haue risen againe vnto iudgement if Christ had not come Yea no doubt all men shoulde haue risen againe and that to the iudgement of euerlasting damnation if Christ had not come But I vnderstande that Pelagius in this Article denied the generalitie of Redemption by the death of Christ by which we doe as it were arise from death bycause of the state of lyfe and saluation wherevnto we are bought in Christ by Redemption lyke as we were in the state of death and damnation in Adam by sinne Not that any man is purged from the corruption of sinne vnto the innocencie of Adam but bycause the sinne is couered in Christ and pardoned for his sake And further here is to be noted that the first parte of this errour is manifestly the very same which is in the seconde and thirde errour before rehersed and by the same Scriptures plainly condemned But to make the latter part of this errour more aparant it was necessarie and thought good of Augustine to rehearse the first againe that by the comparison of condemnation in Adam and Redemptiō in Christ it might the more plainely be perceiued that Christ was not inferiour to Adam nor grace inferiour to sinne And that as all the generation of man is condemned in Adam euen so is all the generation of man Redemed in Christ And as generall a Sauiour is Christ by redemption as Adam is a condemner by transgression Which comparison is taken out of S. Paule his Epistle to the Romanes where he saith Likewise then as by the sinne of one condemnation came vpon all men euen so by the iustifying of one commeth the righteousnesse that bringeth lyfe vpon all men Yet shall not all men be cōdemned by Adam eternally for there is ordained of God againe away vnto lyfe which way is Christ Neyther shall all be eternallye saued by Christ for there is of God declared a waye againe vnto death which waye is sinne and the wilfull contempt of Gods mercy in Christ But this appeareth to be one of Pelagius damnable errours That Christ was not a generall Sauiour that Christ offered not vp the sacrifice of redemtiō for al the whole world contrarye to the manifest Scripture which sayeth He it is that obtayned grace for our sinnes and not for our sinnes onely but also for the sinnes of the whole world The same is also manifestly declared in these Scriptures folowing and many other Iohn 1. a. 6. f. 12. g. Ro. 5. d. 14. c. 1. Cor. 8. d. 2. Cor. 5. c. Hebr. 2. c. 2. d. 2. Pet. 2. a. And here it is worthy to be noted againe how iustly this errour of Pelagius reboundeth into the bosome of those which so falsely accuse other to be giltie in the Pelagians errours Be indifferent dearely beloued in the Lorde I beseche thee and way the matter as it is I desire no more Crowley When Cerberus hath framed this fourth Article of Pelagius to his purpose and persuaded himselfe that it reboundeth into the bosomes of those that accuse him his sort to be giltie of Pelagius errours he concludeth that he desireth no more but that his dearely beloued whose letter he aunswereth woulde be indifferent and woulde waighe the matter as it is Surely
lawes and doctrine For therfore that I may vse agayne the wordes of Austen thyngs are forbidden to be done bicause they might be done but ought not to be done And thys necessitie groweth vpon former causes graunted or wrought As it is of necessitie or needes must be that sectes and heresies shall growe in the Church bicause the wycked seeke their owne glorie and Sathan stirreth theyr heartes to imagine set forth abhominable errors wherin they serue the Diuell wyth all the diligence of their power Wherefore it must follow that sects and heresies shall grow Neyther doth this necessitie proue that they could not choose but commit such euilles but seeing they do refuse the light and embrace the darkenesse thys must necessarily follow thys must needes be the end that heresie much mischief shal spring Or as when a man presently beholdeth with his eyes murder theft druÌ„kennesse or any other wickednesse it must nedes be true that such things are committed according to that whych a man doth see plainly before hys eyes Yet doeth it not follow that those wicked doers coulde not choose but commit those outragious crimes But seeyng that they do commit such thyngs it must needes be true by the necessitie of consequence that such things are committed of them These two kindes of necessitie doeth Austen notably declare how after what sort they spring out of Gods predestination Lib. De Praedest Dei Cap. 2. First of all sayth Austen it is horrible iniquitie to say that God doeth predestinate anie thing sauing only that whych is good But of predestinations some be of bynding or of bondage and other be of condition These are of iustice and those of power And that it may be the more manifest it shal be declared sayth he by example which are of binding and power and whych are of condition and iustice God created heauen and earth sunne and moone Furder he did foreordeyne or predestinate that the heauen should euer be turned and the vnmoueable earth should be in place of a center vnto the turning heauen The Sunne and Moone should rule the day and night The day night should succede one another in certain times appoynted These predestinations are of power and of bynding For euerie one of those thyngs aforesayd is so bounde vnto hys worke by the predestination of God that it can not be moued from the same But God created man and did predestinate him that if he were obedient and did absteyn from the tast of the forbidden apple he should liue but if he were disobedient he should abide the sentence of death Thys predestination is of condition and of iustice For God before the fall of man dyd not by the power of binding so predestinate him to die that of necessitie he must nedes die but vnder that coÌ„dition if he sinned Bicause therfore maÌ„ did sin it was a righteous thing that he should die If he sinned not he should not be bouÌ„d to death by any chayn of Gods predestinatioÌ„ All these are the wordes of Austen And thys diuision is often repeated and commended by the best learned of the Protestantes Crowley Now Cerberus will shortly come to an ende For he will conclude with one note in this matter of can not choose or necessitie c. And this note is of the two sortes of necessitie one absolute and the other of consequence Or méere necessitie and necessitie vpon condition c. And to make men beleue that all that we doe is to persuade meÌ„ that al things do come to passe of méere necessitie he putteth for example the damnation of the Diuell the immortalitie of mans soule and the mortalitie of the brute beastes As though the thoughts words and déedes of men were like vnto these And therfore it should as little auaile to vsexeason law counsell doctrine faire promises or threatnings to pull men from euil thought words or déedes and so from damnation which doth necessarily follow vpoÌ„ those doings as it were by the same meanes to goe about to make the Diuell a saued spirite mans soule mortal the life of a brute beast euerlasting But we speake not of that necessitie which is méere or absolute but we speake of the other which is of consequence or condition And therefore his Austens wordes are cited out of place I saye his Austens wordes bicause they are the words of the same Austen that I haue noted before not to be the Bishop of Hippoe for these wordes of this Austen are spoken of the thoughtes wordes and déedes of men which though they do come to passe by a certaine necessitie as God dyd without beginning foresee that they should yet doth man vse the libertie of his wil therein For he doth neyther thinke speake nor doe anie thing without the consent of his will And there is no impossibilitie in man but that his thoughtes wordes and déedes may be contrarie to that they are As for example There was no impossibilitie in Cerberus but that he might haue refrayned both y â— weiting and publishing and casting abroade of this aunswere to his friendes letter Neyther was it impossible for me to refraine from writing this Apologie And Cerberus and I both haue herein vsed the libertie of our will And yet did God foresée predestinate both his doings herein and mine And as he did foresée that we should choose to do as we haue done so did he also predestinate oure doings herein So that choosing to doe as God did foresée and predestinate that we should choose to doe we haue done it by that necessitie that all learned Authours do call the necessitie of consequence or condition And God doeth foresee whether this Apologie shall persuade Cerberus to be of one minde with vs or not And if it shall be so then hath God predestinated my labours so that end If not then shall my labours serue to some other purpose that God knew before And yet do I herein vse the libertie of my wiâ—â— and so shall Cerberus vse his For neyther of vs is or shalbe enforced to do that which our will would not haue vs do This is all the matter that the wordes of Cerberus his Austen do conteine when they be truly weighed As for the sentence of Pelancthon it maketh nothing against vs for we speake of the same necessitie that he speaketh of and we affirme with him that it taketh not away the libertie of mans will The same Melancthon writing De necessario in hys booke which he doth entitle Erotematum dialectices sayeth that there be foure sortes of necessities One absolute As that God is true liberall iust c. Another of desinitions or demonstrations as a thrée cornered stone must of necessitie haue thrée corners and vertue must néedes be a thing that agréeth with the rule of Gods will The third is natural in things which are so ordered in nature that they can not otherwise be in and by that order But this necessitie may be
by sinne he made himself a reprobate and was not refused before he sinned But let vs sée how this place of the wise man maketh for his purpose The words are these as Cerberus citeth them Et cum qui nullam poenam commeritus sit condemnasse a tua potentia iudicas alienum And thou Lorde estemest it a thing contrarie to thy power to haue condemned him that hath not deserued punishment All the Scripture is nowe by Cerberus brought into a short summe For it is knit vp in lesse than two lines written in the .xij. Chapter of the booke of wisdome Of what authoritie that booke hath awayes bene thought to be I thinke Cerberus is not ignorant And how diuers readings there be of that place which he cyteth I suppose he knoweth The Tygurine Bible is it that Cerberus followeth Other translations there be that differ from that and from the olde also The olde translation hath it thus Cum ergo sis iustus iustè omnia disponis ipsum quoque qui nòn debet puniri condemnas exterum aestimas à tua virtute That is Forasmuch as thou thy selfe art iust thou doest dispose all things iustly him also that ought not to be punished thou doest condemne and doest esteeme him as one exiled from thy power or dominion Bylike when Cerberus cited this place he supposed that no mā should sée his booke but such as were not able to discerne Chalk from Chéese What place can make more manifestly against him and for vs than this place doeth For by these wordes it is plaine that though God do condemne him that hath not by any déedes deserued to be condemned yet is God neuer the latter iust and doth dispose all things iustly Yea and the circumstance of the Text doth shew that this translation is more nigh the meaning of the writer thā is that which Cerberus followeth For the sentence going immediatly before is thus Neque Rex neque tyrannus in conspectu tuo inquirent de hijs quos perdidisti That is Neyther King nor tyrant will in thy presence make inquisition for them that thou hast destroyed And the sētence that doth immediatly follow is thus Virtus enim tua iustitiae initium est ab hoc quod omnium Dominus es omnibus te parcere facis That is For thy power is the beginning of iustice and bycause thou art Lord of all thou doest make thy selfe to spare all But bicause there is such diuersitie of translations in the Latine and peraduenture Cerberus wyll saye he hath loked in the Gréeke and findeth that the Tygurine translation which he followeth is most agréeable to the Gréeke Text out of which all our Latine translations are taken It shall not be amisse therfore to set downe the Gréeke Text that suche as haue any skill therein may iudge betwixt vs. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That is to say so far as I am able to vnderstād it Thou being iust doest dispose all things iustly cōmaunding to condemne straunge from the land of thy power him y t is not to be iudged ignominious If any cā sée any other meaning in this Gréeke text I wil not contende for I sée that many men of great learning haue varied in opinion about the translation therof But graunt that Cerberus haue cited that translation that is according to the true meaning of the Text what hath he wonne thereby Shall all the Scripture be on his side bicause it is written in y e booke of wisdom that God estemeth it a thing contrarie to hys power or more truly after the Latine Text that Cerberus citeth a thing straunge from his power to condemne him that hath not deserued punishment I thinke not For the booke of wisedome is of that sort of bookes that must be made to agrée with y e Canonical bookes the Canonicall bookes must not be enforced to agree with it For it is Apokryphe that is a booke permitted to be read priuatly but not of such authoritie that we may builde our fayth vpon euerie sentence in it But graunt that this booke were of as great authoritie as any other booke of Scripture is should we thinke that God might not iustly refuse such of his creatures as it pleaseth him not to choose vnlesse the same creatures had first by sinne made them selues vnworthie to be chosen We must not restraine God of his libertie to doe wyth his creatures what he himselfe will Neyther must we say or thinke that any thing that he doth is or can be other than iust albeit that we can not vnderstand howe the same shoulde be iust We must therefore wyth reuerend seare seeke another meaning of thys place than Cerberus doth teach vs let vs thinke therefore that God speaketh here of therecution of his iudgement and not of election And it shalbe good for vs to say always wyth S. Austen that the cause of Gods doings may be secrete so that we can not know them but vniust they can not be But Cerberus séemeth to himselfe to haue gotten a great aduauntage by the example of the Cananites and Israelites The Cananites were driuen out for theyr sinnes and this was iustice but the Israelites were put in their place without deseruing and that was mercie Wherefore in refusing God worketh by iustice and in choosing he worketh by mercie As though there were no difference betwene choosing and refusing of creatures and the vsing of them when they be chosen or refused God chooseth and refuseth without respect of good or euill deseruings but he maketh not his refusal knowen vnto men till the refused haue by theyr sinnes shewed them selues worthie to be refused And though the chosen sort neyther do nor can shewe themselues worthie for theyr good workes to be chosen yet before they receyue the great blessing promised they shewe themselues by theyr workes lesse worthie to be refused than the other And to this do the Scriptures that Cerberus hath cited out of Moses Paule O sée and the rest full well agrée But it followeth not hereof that therefore God had not refused the wicked sort before they sinned It is true that death is the rewarde of sinne but it is not true that euerie one that sinneth receyueth that reward for Christ came to saue sinners and the frée gift of euerlasting life is bestowed vpon such sinners as were elected in Christ before the beginning of the world It is true also that man destroyeth himselfe by the frée consent of his will to do contrarie to the commaundement of God that his helpe and succour commeth of God alone yet doth it not therfore follow that no man is refused of God before he haue cōmitted sinne whereby he destroyeth himself For when the elect were chosen in Christ then were the rest refused For otherwise it could not be an election but a generall acceptation As for the saying that Cerberus sayth is ours and would haue his friend to lay it in the one side of
Austens name But bycause I promised before to proue mine affirmation as well by the iudgement of Auncient writers as by Scripture I will adde the iudgement of one or two moe whose autoritie and antiquitie is not to be dispised Of the which Ambrose shall be one Writing vpon the Epistle to the Romans he sayth Sicut per vnius delictum in omnes homines in condemnationem sic per vnius iustitiam in omnes homines in iustificationem vitae Hoc est sicut per vnius delictum omnes condemnationem meruerunt similiter peccantes ita in iustitia vnius omnes iustificabuntur credentes Si qui autem condemnationem hanc generalem esse putant simili modo iustificationem generalem accipient Sed non est verum quia non omnes credunt Sicut enim per inobedientiam vnius hominis peccatores constituti sunt plurimi ita et per vnius obedientiam iusti constituentur multi Quos supra omnes dixit hic plures multos significat Plures enim delictum Adae secuti sunt praeuaricando non omnes multi iusti constituentur non omnes Non ergo in eos regnauit mors qui non peccauerunt in similitudine preuaricationis Adae That is to say Euen as by one mans sinne giltinesse came vpon all men to condemnation so did iustification of lyfe come vpon all mē through the righteousenesse of one man That is euen as by the sinne of one man all men that doe sinne as he dyd haue deserued condemnation euen so all that do beleue shall be iustified in the righteousenesse of one man And if any doe think that this condemnation is general let them in lyke maner take the iustification to be generall But that is not true bycause all men doe not beleue For euen as by the disobedience of one man many were made sinners so by the obedience of one man many shall be made righteous The Apostle doth here call those same many that he did before call all For many haue in sinning folowed the sinne of Adam but not all and many shall be made righteous but not all Death therefore hath not raigned ouer them which haue not sinned in lyke sort as Adam did These be the wordes of Ambrose Which though at the first sight they séeme to incline to the errour of Pelagius yet when they be well weighed they giue a good and sounde meaning That is that sinne neuer raigned in any of Gods elect For although the elect of God in as much as they be the childrē of Adam be partakers of Adams sinne and in Adam condemned yet are they by Christe deliuered from that condemnation so that sinne hath in them no dominion at all Which thing appeareth in them by the fayth in Christ which when they come to knowledge they doe both by wordes and workes declare That this is the meaning of Ambros doth very plainely appeare by that he sayth that all the beleuers shall be iustified For what nedeth iustification where no condemnatiō was Thus much I thought good to write concerning y ◠simple meaning of this auncient Father least any mā of simplicity mistaking his meaning might think y t he should denie y e Elect to be conceyued and borne in originall sinne from which neuer any that was borne Christ only excepted coulde be frée But this is his meaning that in the Elect and chosen Children of God this sinne hath no dominion as it doth appeare by their obedience that they shewe in beleuing the Gospell but in the Reprobates it beareth rule still For Christ hath not killed it in them And to make an ende of this matter Saint Paule sayth thus in his eyght chapter to the Romans Who shall laye any thing to the charge of Gods Elect It is God that doth iustifie who is it that shall condemne If all mankinde then be elected in Christ as Cerberus sayth then shall no sinne be layde to any mans charge For who dare accuse Gods chosen children And so shall Cerberus doctrine be the destruction of all vertue as he hath afore affirmed of the doctrine we teache of Predestination As for that which Cerberus citeth out of the seconde chapter of S. Iohns first Epistle the other places that he sendeth the Reader vnto I doe nowe passe ouer as sufficiently aunswered by that I haue written concerning S. Paules meaning in the fift to the Romans Cerberus The fift of Pelagius errours was that riche men being baptized except they did vtterly renounce and forsake their riches though they seeme to doe some good yet is it not accepted neither can they haue the Kingdome of God A filthy and an abhominable errour directly repugnant both to the state of the common wealth and also to the worde of God which sayth Charge them that be riche in this world that they be not exceding wyse c. And that they doe good and be riche in good workes c. The sixt errour is that the grace of God and the helpe of God is not giuē to euery one of our works but that it is in free choyse in the lawe and in doctrine This errour is exceding wicked and execrable that mā by the law by doctrine and by free choise is able to doe any maner of good worke whatsoeuer it be without the grace and helpe of God For as S. Paule sayeth we are not sufficient of our selues to think any thing as of our selues but our ablenesse cōmeth of God And againe It is God that worketh in vs both the will and the dede euen of good will The seuenth errour is that the grace of God is giuen according to our deseruing Vile and abhominable is this errour also and contrary to the manifest minde and words of the Apostle which sayth If it be of workes then is it no more grace for then were deseruing no more deseruing The eyght errour is that none can be called the children of God except they be all together made without sinne This errour is lyke wicked with the rest directly repugnant to the open Scripture where it is written If we say we haue no sinne we deceiue our selues and the truth is not in vs. For as S. Iames saith of himselfe and of all other In many things we sinne all Crowley In these foure errours Cerberus can finde nothing to charge vs with all and therfore he goeth about to get himselfe credite among the simple Christians by calling these errours filthy and abhominable exceding wicked and execrable vile and abhominable and lyke wycked with the reste But if a man might come to reason with Cerberus I thinke it woulde fall out in the ende that he is not so cleare of the sixt errour as he would séeme to be when he calleth it exceeding wicked and execrable For if he were asked why feared he to translate Saint Paules words according to his meaning when he saide to the Philippians Deus est qui operatur
should say vnto thē Yet fortie dayes and Niniue shalbe destroyed The effect doth declare that his eternall purpose was not to destroy them for they were not destroyed Neyther was this cōmaundement contrarie to his eternall purpose but he did vse it as a meane whereby to bring his eternall purpose to passe which was to shew mercie in forgiuing the sinnes of the Niniuites When Moses was sent to Pharao the open word and commaundement was thus Say vnto Pharao let my people go that they may offer sacrifite vnto me But his eternall purpose was that by the stubbornnesse of Pharao in refusing to do his commaundemēt he might haue iust occasion to shew his power vpon him in pouring out vpon him and his people the manifold plagues that we reade of in the holie Histories and that thereby his name might be made knowen in all partes of the earth So that this cōmaundement was not contrarie to the eternal purpose but did concurre run together with it to that ende that in the eternal purpose was prefixed When Iesus Christ began to preach the open word was Repent and beleue the Gospell but the eternall purpose was that for his doctrine miracles he shoulde be hated of his countriemen and kinsemen for the most part and by them be deliuered to the Heathen to be crucified and made a sacrifice for the sinnes of the world So that this open word was not against the secret purpose of God 〈…〉 as S. Paule doth terme it it was to them that perished the sauor of death vnto death and to them that be saued the sauor of life vnto life For in the one sort it did worke beliefe and by beliefe saluation and in the other it did manifest and make open the vnbeliefe that was in their heartes before and so make them vtterly without excuse As our Sauiour himselfe sayth Now haue they nothing to pretend for excuse The Law and the Gospell are both written preached and the open word is do this and thou shalt haue this but the eternall purpose of God is that those that haue cares to heare should heare and obey and so enioy the reward promysed and that they which lacke such eares should haue the iust condemnation of their owne consciences These two therefore be not contrarie the one to the other but doe concurre and runne together to one ende Much more might be said to this effect without either faire words or finely framed fetches and so the inconuenience that Cerberus would conclude clearely auoyded But I will content my selfe with one saying of Austen writing vpon the ninth Psalme His wordes be these Non in toto corde consitctur Deo qui de prouidentia eius in aliquo dubitat Sed quia iam cernit occulta sapicutiae Dei quantum sit inuisibile premium cius qui dicit gaud 〈…〉 in tribulationibus quemadmodum omnes cruciatus qui corporaliter inferuntur aut vt exerceant conuersos ad Deum aut vt conuertantur admoneant aut iustè damnationi vltimae praeparent obduratos sic omnia ad diuinae prouidētiae regimen referrantur quae stulti quasi casu temere nulla diuina administratione fieri putant ait Narrabo omnia mirabilia tua c. That is to say That man which doth doubt of the prouidence of God in anye thing doth not shew himselfe thankful or praise God in all his heart But bicause he doth now sée the secretes of the wisedome of God how great the inuisible reward of him is which sayth we reioyce in troubles and how all afflictions which are brought vpon the body eyther to exercyse those y ◠be conuerted vnto God or that they may admonish them to conuert or that they may prepare to the last damnation those that be iustly made hard hearted and that so all those things might be referred vnto the gouernement of Gods prouidence which foolish men do suppose to be wrought by chaunce at aduenture and by no diuine prouidence he sayth I will declare all thy wonderous workes c. We maye be bolde therefore I thinke to say that this which Cerberus hath done in writing this spitefull aunswere to his friendes Letter if any such were was gouerned by Gods prouidence And yet we are not Genethliaci or declarers of mens fortunes or destinies such as were banished out of Rome for we say not y ◠it is Cerberus his fortune or destinie to be hanged or drowned or that he shal die a natural death before he shalbe as great a fauourer of Gods predestination as he doth now shew himself to be a mortall foe therof But we knowe that if God haue predestinated any of these things the same shall vndoubtedly come to passe in such sort as he hath appointed And yet shal not Cerberus his will be enforced But if he hang himselfe it shall be with the full consent of his will And if he shalbe a fauourer of our side it shalbe with the frée choyse of his owne will gouerned by the prouidence of God As there be some yet liuing that can testifie that once they were of the same minde that Cerberus is now and that with consent of will And now they be of one minde with me and that with assent of will also We leaue Cerberus and his fellowes therefore to him that by his prouidence gouerneth al things And yet do we our selues vse the meanes that God in prouidence hath appointed to be vsed and we teach all other to do the same committing the successe to him that knoweth what he hath determined to worke in all his creatures And we conclude this matter with Austen saying Quapropter voluntates nostrae tantum valent quantum Deus eas valere voluit atque praesciuit ideo quicquid valent certissimè valent quod facturae sunt ipsae omninò facturae sunt quia valeturas atque facturas ille praesciuit cuius praescientia falli nòn potest Quapropter si fati nomen alicui rei adhibendum placeret magis dicerē fatum esse infirmioris potentioris voluntatem qui eū habet in potestate quà m illo causarum ordine quem nòn vsitato sed suo more Stoici fatum appellant arbitrium nostrae voluntatis auserri That is to saye Wherefore this is the cause why our willes are able to doe as much as God would did know afore hand that they should do and therefore loke what they are able to do that are they most certainly able to do and what so euer they shall do they shall in déede do bicause he whose prescience or foreknowledge cannot be deceiued did know afore hand that they should do it Wherefore if I could allow the name of destinie to be giuen to any thing I would rather say that destinie were a thing belonging to the weaker and will to the stronger which hath it in his power than that the liberty of our will should by that order of causes which y ◠Stoikes