Originall sinne is that in which we are borne and it commeth vnto vs by succession frō our first father Adam For you haue to know that when God made the first man and the first woman called Adam and Eue he gaue them seuen gifts First he gaue them his grace by which they were iuste and the friends of God his adopted children Secondly he gaue them great knowledge how to doe well and to shunne euill Thirdly he gaue them obedience of the flesh to the spirite that it should not be mooued to vnlawful desires against reasō Fourthly hee gaue them promptnes and great facilitie to do well and to flie euill and but one most easie commandement to obserue Fiftly hee freed them from all labour and feare For the earth brought foorth fruites sufficient for mans life of it self neither was there any thing that could hurt man Sixtly hee made them immortall that is that they should neuer haue dyed if they had not sinned Seauenthly hee would after some time haue translated thē into Heauen to such an eternal and glorious life as Angels haue But the first man and woman inueigled by the Diuell did not obserue that commandement and so they sinned against God and thereby lost those seuen giftes which I spoke of And because God gaue them those giftes not only for them selues but also for all their posteritie therefore they lost them for themselues and for vs all and made vs partakers of their sinne and of all their miseries as we should haue bene of all their graces and other benefites if they had not sinned This then is Original sinne an emnitie with God and a priuation of his grace with which priuation wee are borne Whereof proceedeth ignorance euil inclinations difficultie to do well and facilitie to do euill the paine trauel to prouide to liue the feares and periles in which we remaine most certaine death of the bodie also eternall death in hell if before we dye we be not deliuered of sinne returne not into the sauour of God S What remedie haue wee against this Originall sinne M It is already saide before that the remedie is the Passion death of Christ our Lorde For so God would that hee that should satisfie for the sinne of Adam should bee himselfe without sin and the same was God and man and so hee was infinitely acceptable to God and did obey not in an easie thing as that was which was commanded to Adam but in a most hard thing as was the ignominious death of the Crosse And this remedie is applyed to vs by holie Baptisme as hath bin saide And albeit God doth not straight-waies render vnto vs all those seauen gifts yet he hath restored to vs the most principall which is his grace by meanes whereof we are made iust the friends and children of God and heires of Heauen The other gifts shal be restored vnto vs hereafter with great increase in the other life if we behaue our selues well in this Cap. XVIII Of mortal and veniall sinne S DEclare vnto me now what is actuall sinne and how one is mortall and an other veniall M Actuall sinne is that which wee commit by our owne will when wee are come to the vse of reason As to steale to kill to sweare falsely and such like things contrarie to the law of God And it is mortal sinne when it depriueth vs of the grace of God which is the life of the soule maketh one worthie of eternal death in hell It is veniall sinne when it displeaseth God but not so much that it depriueth vs of his grace and meriteth punishment but not eternall S How shall I know whether the sin be mortal or venial M To know when a sinne is mortall you must obserue two rules one is that the sinne be contrarie to the charitie or loue of God or of our neighbour The other that it bee with full consent of the will For when either of these two things is wanting it is not mortall but veniall And a sinne is then said to bee a-against charitie when it is against the lawe in a matter of weight as when it is a sufficient offence to breake friendship but when it is in a small matter such as ordinarilie breaketh not friendship It is not then against charitie but is said not to be according to charitie And so such as commonly breaketh friendship is against the law because it is against charitie which is the end of the law such as commonly breaketh not frendship is not against the law but not acording to the law because it is not against charitie but not according to charitie Take an exāple to steale a great quantitie of money is a mortal sinne because it is against the law of God being in a matter of weight and in the iudgement of most men sufficient to breake frendship and so is against charitie but to steale a farthing or a pinne or a like thing is not a mortall sinne but a venial because it is in a small matter which although it be not according to charitie yet it is not against charitie because it is not a thing that in reason can breake frendship In like manner we may say of being voluntarie For when a thing is against the law in a matter of weight and fully voluntarie it is a mortall sinne but if it be not fully voluntarie as if one haue a thought or a sodaine desire to steale or to kill or to blaspheme and presently perceiueth his error before he fully consent with his will it is only a veniall sin Therefore a man must stand vpon his gard and presently as he is aware of an euil thought or desire he must driue it away before they geue consent Chap. XIX Of the seuen Capitall sinnes S I Desire now to know which be the most principall sinnes to the end I may flie them with more diligence M Some sinnes are more principal because they are as fountaines or roots of others and therefore called capital and these are seuen Others are more principall for that they are more hard to be pardoned and are called sins against the Holie Ghost and they are six Finally there are others more principall because they are more manifestly enormious and against all reason and therfore it is said that they crie for reuenge to Heauen and they are foure S Which are the Capitall sinnes M They are these Pride or as others call it Vainglorie Couetousnes Lecherie Enuie Glutonie Anger and Sloath. S Wherefore are they called capitall M They are not called capitall because they are mortal for many sins are mortall and are not capitall as blasphemie and murder and many capital which are not alwaies mortal as gluttony anger sloath But they are called capitall because they are heads of many others which proceed from them as branches from the roote and riuers from the fountaines S What is Pride what sinnes doth it bring forth and what is the remedie
easely beleeue his going vp into heauen S I would know the cause wherefore it is said that Christ went vp into heauen and of his most holie Mother it is said that she was assumpted or taken vp into heauen not that she ascended or went vp M The reason is easie For that Christ being God and man went vp into heauen by his owne powre as he also rose by his owne powre But his Mother who is a meere creature though most worthie amongst all others was raysed from death and assumpted vnto the kingdome of heauen not by her owne power but by the power of God S What meaneth He sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almightie M You must not imagine that the Father is on the left-hande of the Sonne nor that the Father is in middest hauing his Sonne on the right-hand and the Holie-Ghost on the left corporally For as well the Father as the Sonne according to his God-head and the Holie Ghost are euery where Neither can it be properly said that one is on the right-hand of an other but to bee at the right hand in this article signifieth to be in equal height glorie and maiestie because when one is side by side of an other one is not higher nor lower then the other And to vnderstand this maner of speach the holie Scripture in the Psalme 109. which beginneth Dixit Dominus Domino meo c. doth once saye that the Sonne doeth sitte at the right hand of the Father and an other time saith that the Father is at the right hand of the Sonne instructing vs that they are in deed in equal height as we haue said So that Christ when he went vp into heauen ascended aboue all the Quyars and orders of the Angels of the blessed soules which he caried with him ariued vnto the high throne of God and there stayed not going aboue his Father neither remayning vnder him but resting as we may say side by his father as equal with him in glory greatnes S Seeing Christ is God and man I would know if he sit at the right hand of the Father as he is God onlie or as he is also man M Christ as he is God is equal to the Father as he is man he is lesse then the Father yet for so much as Christ God and man are not two Christes nor two persons but one Christ onelie and one person onlie therefore it is saide that Christ God and man sitteth at the right hand of the Father And so the humanitie of our Lord to wit his flesh and soule â—re in the throne of God on the right hand of God the father Not by their proper worthines but because they are vnited to the person of the true and natural Son of God S I would haue some similitude to vnderstande this M Take the similitude of a kings robe wheÌ„ the king being vested with his purple robe sitteth in his royal throne al the Princes of his kingdome sit below him the kings robe is in a more eminent place then the Nobles them selues are because it is in the selfe same throne with the King And this is done not because the robe is of equal dignitie with the king but because it is ioyned to the King as his proper garment So the flesh and the soule of Christ do sitte aboue al the Cherubims and Seraphims in the same seat with God not by the dignitie of their owne nature but because they are vnited vnto God not onely as the garment is vnto the king but in much nearer sorte to wit by personal vnion As hath bene said Of the seuenth Article S FRom thence he shal come to iudge the quicke the dead When shall this comming of our Lord be M It shal be at the end of the world For you are to vnderstand that this world is to haue an end and to bee destroied with an inundation of fire which wil burne all thinges vpon the earth And there shal be no more dayes nor nights nor Mariages nor marchandise or anie of these things which you now see So that in the last day of this world which no man can know how neere it is nor how long hence Christ wil come downe from heauen to make the general Iudgment And these words From thence he shal come do forewarne vs not to beleeue anie that shal cal him selfe Christ or that would deceiue vs as Antichrist wil endeuour to do towards the end of the world For that the true Christ wil not come forth of anie desert or obscure place but wil come from the highest heauen with so much glorie and maiestie as no man can doubt whether it be he or no. Like as when the Sun riseth it commeth with so much light as no man can doubt whether lt be the Sun or no. S Wherefore do we say that he shal iudge the quicke and the dead shall not al men be dead at that time and all then rise againe M By the quick and the dead may be vnderstood the good which liue with the spirituall life of grace and the bad which are spiritually dead by sin But it is true also that Christ will come to iudge the quicke and the dead corporally because at that day many shal be dead and manie shall be found aliue Who though they be liuing in that last daye and some also shall bee young or children yet all shall die in an instant and suddenly rise againe thereby to pay the debt of death S I haue heard many times that whosoeuer dyeth in mortall sinne goeth presently vnto hell and whosoeuer dyeth in the grace of God goeth presently to Purgatorie or to heauen how then are all to be judged the sentence being already giueÌ„ M At the death of euery one the particular judgement is giuen of that soule which departed from the bodie but after at the last day there shall be an vniuersall judgement of the whole world And this for manny causes First for Gods honour because manie nowe seeing bad-men in prosperitie and good-men afflicted imagine that God doeth not gouerne the world well But at that time it shall be cleerly seen how God hath seene noted all things and how with great justice he hath giuen vnto the bad some temporall prosperitie in recompence of some good works of theirs of smal momeÌ„t intending afterwards to giue them eternall paine for their mortall sins And contrariwise vnto the good he hath geuen temporal affliction for punishmeÌ„t of some veniall sinnes or to geue them occasion to make them do penance intending afterwards to reward them with an infinite treasure of glorie for their good workes Secondly for the glorie of Christ because he being vniustly condemned and by manie not knowne nor honored as he ought to be it is reason there should be a day when al the world shal know him honour him either by force or for loue as their true king Lord of al.
of the holie Apostles when being filled with the holie Ghost they began to preach the Gospel through the whole world and so begane the conuersion of the Gentils Of the Sacrament of Penance S THERE followeth nowe the fourth Sacrament which is called Penance declare therefore I pray you what this Sacrament is M Penance signifieth three things First it signifieth a certaine vertue by which a man repenteth himselfe of his sinnes and the contrarie vice is called impenitence to wit when a man wil not repent but wil perseuer in sinne Secondly we cal penance the paine affliction which a man taketh to satisfie to God for the euil he hath done And so we say that one doth great penance because he afflicteth himselfe much with fastings and other austeritie Thirdly penance signifieth a Sacrament instituted by Christ to remit sinnes of those who after Baptisme haue lost the grace of God and do againe repent the same and desire to returne into his fauour S Wherein doth this Sacrament principally consist M In two things in the confession of the sinner and the absolution of the Priest For that christ hath made the Priest judges of sinnes committed after Baptisme and giuen them authoritie in his place to remitte them so the sinner confesse them and bee otherwise disposed as hee ought to be So in this consisteth the Sacrament that like as the sinner confesseth his sinnes exteriorly and the Priest exteriorly pronounceth absolution so God inwardly by meanes of those words of the Priest looseth that soule from the band of sinne with which it was tyed and restored it to grace and deliuereth it from that it had deserued to haue been cast head-long into hell S What is necessarie for the receiuing of this Sacrament M Three things are necessary Contrition Confession and Satisfaction Which are three parts of Penance S What meaneth Contrition M That the hard-hart of the sinner become soft and in a certaine manner breake it selfe with sorrowe for that it hath offended God But in particular Contrition contayneth two things the one sufficeth not without the other First that the sinner be earnestly sorie for all his sins committed after Baptisme therefore it is necessarie to examine well and to consider all his actions and to be sorrowfull that he hath not done them according to the law of God Secondly that the sinner haue firme purpose to sinne no more S What meaneth confession M The sinner must not be content with only contrition but he must go to the feet of the Priest as Magdalen went vnto the feete of Christ and confesse his sins with truth not adding nor diminishing nor mixing any lye with simplicitie not excusing himself nor laying the fault on others neither multiplying superfluous words with integritie vttering them all not leauing any thing for shamfastnes telling the number of euery sorte and the circumstances which any way do agrauate the sinne so far as he can remember Finally with shamefastnesse and humilitie not recounting his sinnes as if he tolde an historie but telling them as thinges deseruing shame and vnworthie of a Christian and humbly desiring pardon S What meaneth satisfaction M That the sinner haue purpose to doe penance and therefore he must willingly accept that punishment which his ghostly father shal appoint him and performe it with speede considering that God doth him most high fauour in pardoning him the eternall paine of hell and is contented with a temporal paine much lesse then his sinnes haue deserued S Tell mee now what fruit this Sacrament bringeth M We reape foure very great commodities by this Sacrament The first is that which was saide euen now that God doth pardon vs the sinnes committed after Baptisme and doth change the eternall paine of hell into a temporall paine to bee suffered in this life or in Purgatory The second that the good workes which wee had wrought during the time we were in grace and were lost by sin are restored to vs by meanes of this Sacrament The third is that we bee loosed from the band of Excommunication if perhaps we were tyed therewith For you must knowe that Excommunication is a most grieuous punishment which depriueth vs of the prayers of Holye church of lawfully receiuing the sacraments likewise of conuersing with faithful people finally of holy buriall and from this so terrible a punishmēt wee are deliuered by the Sacrament of penance according to the authority which the Confessors haue of the Bishoppe or of the Pope Albeit this absolution from Excommunication may also be geuen without the Sacrament by the Prelate though he be no Priest The fourth and last fruit is that wee are made capable of the indulgences which the Popes do often geue S. What is meant by indulgences M. Indulgence is a Liberty which God doth vse by meanes of his Vicar with his faithful by pardoning their temporall paine either all or some part which they were to suffer for their sinnes in this life or in purgatory S. What is required for the gaining of Indulgence M. That a man bee in the grace of God and therefore he must confesse himself if he be in sin that he fulfil so much as the Pope appointeth when he granteth the Indulgence S. Howe often is it necessary to receaue the Sacrament of Penance M. Holy Church commaundeth that euery one confesse at the least once in the yeere But it is further necessarie to confesse euerie time that the partie will communicate if hee bee in mortall sinne And likewise when he is in peril of death or goeth about any thinge wherein is danger he may die And besides these it is verie well done to confesse often to keepe cleane a mans conscience especially for that hee that confesseth seldom can hardly do it well S. There remaineth lastly that Idemaund of you what the workes bee that are gratefull to God to satisfie for sinnes M. Al are reduced to three to-wit Prayer Fasting and Almes For so the Angell Raphel taught Tobie The reason whereof is for that a man hauing a soule a body and externall goods by prayer he offereth vnto God the goods of the soule by fasting the goods of the bodie by almes the externall goods By prayer is vnderstoode the hearing of Masse saying of the seuen Psalmes the Offfice of the dead and other like things By fasting is vnderstood all corporall austeritie as wearing of heare-cloth whipping lying on the ground pilgrimages and the like By almes is vnderstood all other works of charitie seruice done to our neighbour for the loue of God S What is required to fast aright M Three thinges are required to eate once only in the day and that about midday and the longer it is deferred the better and to abstaine from flesh and in Lent from egges and whit meates S Whether is it better to make satisfaction our selues to God by these works or to take Indulgence M It is better that our selues satisfie by these wordes
that the holie Ghost did this worke of the Incarnation Did not the Father and the Sonne also concurre therein M That which one Diuine Person worketh the other two worke likewise the same because they haue one and the same power wisdome and goodnesse yet notwithstanding the workes of power be attributed vnto the Father those of wisdome vnto the Son those of loue vnto the Holie Ghost and because this was a worke of the highest loue of God towards mankinde it is therefore attributed vnto the holy ghost S I would haue some example to vnderstand how all the three diuine Persons haue concurred to the Incarnation and yet the Sonne is onlie Incarnate M WheÌ„ one man putteth on a garment two others do help to cloth him three do then concur to the clothing of him yet one only is clothed so all the three diuine Persons concur to worke the Incarnation of the Sonne of God but onely the Sonne is incarnate and made man S Wherefore is it added in the article Borne of the Virgin Marie M Because in this also there is a strange mysterie that is that the Sonne of God came foorth of the wombe of his Mother at the end of the ninth moneth without paine or harme of his said Mother not leauing any signe there at all euen as hee did when rising from death he went out of the close Sepulchre and when he entred and went foorth of the chamber where his Disciples were the doores being shut there vpon it is saide that the mother of our Lord Iesus Christ was alwaies a Virgin before his birth in his birth and after his birth Of the fourth Article S VVHat meaneth that which followeth in the fourth article Hee suffered vnder Pontious Pilate was crucified dead buried M This Article conteineth the most profitable mysterie of our redemption and the summe is that Christ after he had conuersed in this world about thirtie three yeares and had taught with his most holy life his doctrine and his miracles the way of saluation was vnjustly caused by Pontius Pilate who was gouernour of Iewrie to be whipped and nayled vpon a Crosse vpon the which hee dyed and by certaine holy men was buried S Concerning this mysterie there do occurre vnto me some doubts I desire by you to be cleered of theÌ„ to the end I may be the more grateful vnto God for so great a benefite by how much I shall the better vnderstand it Tell me then if Christ be the Sonne of God omnipotent how happened it that he was not deliuered by his Father out of the handes of Pilate Or rather if the same Christ be God wherefore did hee not deliuer himselfe M Christ could if hee would haue deliuered himselfe by a thousande meanes out of the handes of Pilate Yea more the whole world had not bin able to do him any euil if he had not bin willing and this is clearely seene because he knew foretolde vnto his Disciples that the Iewes would seeke to put him to death that they would whippe him stone him and finallie kill him Yet he did not hide himselfe but went to meete his enemies And when they sought to take him and knew him not hee said vnto them himselfe hee was that man for whom they sought at which time also they al faling backwards as dead meÌ„ he did not depart thence as he might haue done but expected permitted them to recouer theÌ„selues after he suffred him selfe to be taken bound led like a meeke Lambe where they would S For What cause did Christ being innocent suffer him selfe to be vniustly crucified and slaine M For manie reasons But the principal reason was to satisfie vnto God for our sinnes For you haue to know that the offence is measured according to the dignitie of him who is offended and contrariewise the satisfaction is measured according to the dignitie of him who doth satisfie as for example if a seruant should geue his Prince a blow it should be esteemed a most greeuous offence according to the greatnes of the prince but if a prince should giue his seruant a blowe it were a smal matter according to the base estate of the seruant And contrariwise if a seruant take off his cappe vnto his Prince it is but little esteemed but if the Prince should take off his vnto his seruant it would be a notable fauour according to the rule we speake of Now because the first man and with him al we haue offended God who is of so infinite dignitie the offence did require infinite satisfaction and because there was neither man nor Angel of so great dignitie therefore the Sonne of God came who being God and of infinite dignitie hauing taken mortal flesh in the same flesh he submitted him selfe for the honour of God to the death of the Crosse and so satisfied with his paines for our faults S What other cause is there for which Christ would suffer so bitter a death M To teach vs by his example the vertues of Patience Humilitie Obedience and of Charitie which are foure vertues signified in the foure extreame parts of the Crosse because greater patience can not be found then to suffer vniustly so ignominious a death nor greater humilitie then for the Lord of all Lordes to submit him selfe to be crucified betwixt thieues nor greater obedience then to be willing rather to die then not to fulfil the commandement of his Father nor greater charitie then to yeeld his life to saue his enimies And you must know that Charitie is more shewed in deedes then in wordes more in suffering then in doing And so Christ who would not only bestow vpon vs infinit benifits but suffer also die for vs hath shewed that he loueth vs most ardently S Seeing Christ is God and man as you saied before and it semeth that God can not suffer nor die how do we then say that he suffered and died M Christ being God and man can suffer not suffer die not die for in that he is God could neither suffer nor die but as he is man he could both suffer and die and therefore I â—old you that being God hee was made man to satisfie for our sinnes suffering the paines of death in his most holie flesh which he could not haue done if he had not been man S If Christ haue satisfied his Father for the sinnes of all men whence â—ommeth it that so many are damned that we haue neede to doe penance for our sinnes M Christ hath satisfied for the sins â—f all men but it is necessarie to apâ—lie this satisfaction in particular to â—his man and to that man which is one by faith by the Sacraments by good workes and particularlie by penance therefore we haue neede â—o do penance other good works though Christ haue suffered and wrought for vs And the cause that many are daÌ„ned or remaine enemies to God is for that either they