ende that by them you shoulde satisfie for your sinnes or that you shoulde merite the kingdome of heauen and bée iustyfied For the faythfull man hath obteyned alreadye all that by the fayth of Iesus Christe whiche is our wisedome ryghteousnesse sanctification thorowe whose merite Paradise is gyuen vnto vs For that cause the holye Apostle calleth the eternall lyfe the gift of god Wherefore wée maye vnderstande that we meryte it not thorowe our good déedes but it is gyuen vs froelye thorowe Gods lyberalytie Euen as the Fathers enheritaunce is gyuen vnto the sonne not for that he hath deserued it but bycause that hée pleased hym so for that hee loued him and that hée is hys chylde and wyll gyue hym his goodes fróely Otherwyse grace shoulde bée no more grace but debte On the contrary when Saynct Paul did speako of the eternall death hée calleth it the wages of sinne declaringe thereby that man hathe well deserued it and that hée can deserue none other thinge but that that wages is due vnto hym for a recompence of the seruice that hée hathe done vnto the Diuell the Prince of this worlde euen as the wages which is payde vnto a souldyer for bearynge of weapons vnder hys Capitayne Wee 〈◊〉 then sée that the woorkes done by the chyldren of God and the seruice that the Angelles dooâ— vnto hym doe tende all vnto one ende to witte to glorifie GOD and to sanctyfie his name Euen as then the Angelles serue not GOD for to merite Paradyse of whiche they are alreadye in possession neyther for satisfaction of theire sinnes of whithe they are not entangled But onelye for the loue that they haue in GOD and the desyre of hys glorye so Gods electe doe regarde none other thinge for they are alreadye washed and purged from theire sinnes by the bloudâ— of Iesus Christ and they re hearte puryfied by the faythe in hym and thorowe the woorde that they haue hearde of hym And are already possessors of the kingdome of heaueÌ„ in hope the which is no lesse sure and certeine then if the thinge were present and that the Angels are assured of that that they haue Therefore the holy Apostle sayth that wee are saued thorowe hope and that Iesus Christ doth make vs sitte in the heauenly places And therefore when God doth chastise and cortect vs in this worlde that is as the Apostle also writeth vnto the Corinthians for to correct and chastise vs that we should not be damned wyth the worlde and the Infidels bicause that we are yet in the waye and capable of chastisment and ainendement But there is an other reason after thys lyfe héere when wee are out of the waye and néede and that wee cannot any more empayre nor amend And therefore the Lorde doth chasten vs héere as the good Father who beateth not his sonne for to haue any recompence thereby for the faulte that hée hath committed For the paine of the childe bringeth no profite vnto the Father Also he doth not beat him through rigor nor throughe mallice that hée hath to take vengeaunce of him For hée loueth him as his childe and the fatherly affection maketh him soone forget the faultes and iniuries that he hath done vnto him As it is cleerely shewed vnto vs in the Father of the prodigall childe Eusebius What hath the father then to do to chastise him Theophilus If hée knewe that he woulde neuer doe any more fault he would soone pardon him without any punishment But fearing least thorow his great patience â— gentlenesse shoulde fall agayne hee is constrained to beate and chastise him although that he doe it not willingly but it to that ende to make hym more prudent and wyse and to better aduise himselfe in time to come and that he take diligent heede not to sall againe in y fault or in any other greater The which is no more to be feared in those whome GOD hath called from this worlde Wherefore they cannot anye more rectius punishment whiche shoulde be to câ—nâ—en them as is y same of the father towards his child for to amend him But if there hée a punishment it is rather to declare the iudgement the seuerity of God towards the wicked and reprobates and to manyfest his goodnes and mercy towardes his elect As the Iudge doth condemne the traytor murtherer and other malefactors that haue deserued death not for to haue any recompence nor those vnto whom they haue done wronge and iniury For what recompence can they haue by their deathes neyther do they it for to cause them to walke in time to come more vprightly sith that they take from them their life But for to satisfie righteousnes and to mayntaine it to that end that other may take example and that they may know how auayleable it is to haue followed vertue and eschewed vice Eusebius To what purpose then doth Sainct Iohn in his reuelation say Their works do follow them what workes do follow them but the good déedes that men doe for them after their death For those that they haue done whilest they lyued went before not after Wherefore it followeth that there are some other which do profit them Theophilus Sainct Iohn speaketh it bycause that their workes do beare witnes that they are the children of god He sayth not other mens workes but theyr owne workes For as man lyueth of his owne soule and not of the soule of an other mans euen so doth the righteous man of his faith And as the righteous man lyueth of his faith not of the faith of an other euen so shal euery one be iudged according to his workes and not after those that other men shall doe For it is written Euery one shall beare his owne burthen And therefore Iesus Christ sayth by thy worde thou shalt bee iustified and by thy wordes thou shalt be condemned That is so saye thy wordes and thy workes shal beare witnes of thy heart and by them thou shalt bée iuslified that is to saye absolued declared and pronounced iust and righteous Oâ— by them thou shalt be condemâ—ned knowen and iudged worthy of death and condemnation Not that God néedeth any witnes of our workes for to know whether we are worthy of absolution or condeÌ„nation For he knoweth y hearts néedeth none other witnes but his owne But y scripture vseth such maÌ„ner of speaking for to apply it to our capacitie for to manifest declare vnto vs better the Iust IudgemeÌ„t of god which wil shew foorth y hâ—pecriâ—e of maÌ„ heart For maÌ„ how wicked soeuer his heart be he wold alwaies hide it if one put it to his own coÌ„â—câ—éce although y he do condemne it he wil not for y leaue off to aduasice brag he y le an honest man vntil such time as he he také with his wicked déed as y theefe with his steaâ—ing For he is so peruers wicked
wée sée it by experience in young children merchants gentlemen damoisels and courtiers who after that they haue tasted of such bookes are cleane out of taste cannot away with all other which are not like vnto them Wherfore I would gladly counsaile such men of so good a minde and spirite which giue themselues to make such bookes and I desire and pray them in the name of Iesus Christe and so much as they loue his honour and theirs to applie that goodly wit and vnderstanding which GOD hath giuen vnto them and that rhetoricke and gift of eloquence wherewith they are indued into some better study matter more profitable to the ende they bée not rebuked and blamed to haue abused the gyft of God against his honour and glorie For that cause I haue purposed to write after a sort which peraduenture will séeme very euilly to agrée with a Theologian to wit vnto one which wil speake of diuine letters But I thincke that when men shal vnderstand my reasons they will take my aduice and deliberation in good parte and I will leaue vnto none any iuste occasion to accuse and rebuke mée in that I rebuke others except that men loue rather to serue to their affections and to vse slaunders then to iudge of thinges accordinge to truth and equitie I haue already touched some reasons which haue induced mée to do that besides yet I wyl adde too many others The first is that I would assay to make those learne by my example which haue a better wyt then I to doe that which I my selfe cannot the whiche thinge ought not to séeme to straunge For a whetstone a whéele doe sharpen well the Iron and maketh it to cut and yet neuerthelesse it is not sharpe nor cutteth of it selfe And at the least wise I indeuour my selfe to shewe vnto those good wittes and spirites which delyght themselues in pleasaunt thinges and which occupie themselues to such vanities and matters in the which they maye exercise their vnderstanding and cloquence more to their honour before GOD and good people and to more greater profit then they doe if they will not apply themselues vnto matters to high and waightie as many haue done as well amonge the olde as the newe And if I my selfe cannot doe that which I would teach vnto others at the leaste wise I will serue them in stéede of a patterne wherein they may finde some thing for to followe Or at the leaste wise the fault y they shal finde in my manner of procéeding wyll admonishe them of the vices that they ought to auoyde in their writinges the which if they finde in my stile or in my inuention or disposition I am sure that they shall not finde in the sentence and substaunce of the matters any thing vnworthy for a Christian man For whatsoeuer thinge that it bée I beléeue that one shall finde nothing which may induce to heresie except those who of themselues doe pretende therevnto and who as the Spiders doe drawe the venym from all places and heresies out of the holy Scriptures which are gyuen vnto vs to kéepe vs from all heresie Although that I doe mocke and iest at the abuses errours heresies superstitions and Idolatryes of the Churche of Antechriste Yet neuerthelesse whosoeuer shal wel marke and consider the matter and shall haue patience to reade all the tenoure of the sentence and of the Argument vnto the ende excepte hée be of a peruerse iudgement shall bée constrayned and compelled to acknowledge and confesse that I doe not mocke or scorne of thinges which are worthy not onely of mockery but also of hatred and abhomination of all mankinde And that I doe not onely vncouer the abuses without shewing by and by the true vse of y thinges nor I doe not condempne the errours and the lyinges without shewinge the trueth that wée muste followe and wherein the faithfull ought to stay themselues And I doe not manifest Antechrist for to auoyde and to flée from him without shewing Iesus Christe for to followe him Wherefore me thinckes that those which haue their eares so delicate and cannot onely abide one lyttle woorde against the Idolatry superstition the great abuses which leade all the worlde into ruine are not rightfull Iudges but of a corrupt and peruerse iudgement For what iudgement is this to heare and sée the name of God the death and passion of Iesus Christ to bée blasphemed dayly so horribly and not to speake a woorde And to bée such an vniust and sharpe rebuker and seuere Iudge agaynst those who onely in scoffing and iesting will admonish rebuke such blasphemers They doe willingly suffer that suche men doe mocke God openly that they doe blaspheme hym without any shame That they doe tourne vpside downe all Religion the truth of Iesus Christ That they make frustrate and of none effect the vertue and efficacie of his death and passion That they doe eate vp and deuoure his poore shéepe before their eyes That they doe leade the poore soules vnto perdition eternall dampnation doe holde all the world in errour Idolatry for to destroie them altogether And cannot we suffer that vnto such mockers blasphemers of God and of men one should onely giue a little holy water of the court and that one should sprinckle them with the least thing of y world onely with some little word or saying or with some pleasant word the which can hurt no man and which is no dishonour vnto God but serueth to discouer the abuses and to bring the mouths of y faithful out of fast with the idolatry and superstition and to manifest vnto them the seducers for the health of their soules I dóe greatly meruaile of those great louers of the honour of Hipocrites Sedusers false Prophets rauishers deuourers of the poore widdowes and fatherlesse mockers contemners blasphemers of the word of God haue so little regard or care of the honour of God of Iesus Christ our Lord whom they sée daily to be crucified before their eyes and to bée spurned and trodden vnderfoote the bloud of his testament and couenaunt and yet dare not speak a woord But which is worse they wil not yet suffer that others vnto whom God hath giuen the meanes and boldneess should speake and rebuke such abuses and sacrileges importable to all good Christian hearts Mée thinkes that such people haue no iust occasion to condempne vs in that behalfe For if they are too wise and doe thincke that such things agrée not with the grauitie of their persons then let them leaue them to be spoken of the fooles sith that as men doe say they haue the priuiledge to speake all things For as for my part I would be very well contented that God would giue me the grace that I might say vnto them as the Apostles sayd vnto the Corinthians Ye are wise and we are fooles for the loue of Christ If
y thou hast not forgotten it That followeth afterwards which thou hast said of y menseruaunts maidseruaunts which haue gone before vs with the signe of faith do rest in the sléep of peace Theophilus Thou séest already Eusebius for whoÌ„ they pray to wit for those of whoÌ„ S. Iohn speaketh off in the Apocalips which are dead in our Lord rest froÌ„ their labours For to dye in our Lord to go with y signe of faith to rest from their labours to rest in the sléepe of peace is all one And Clithoue himselfe is constrained to expounde those woordes by the same of Saint Iohn Wherefore thou maist know that they doe praye but for those which are already in Paradise For there are none other whiche doo rest in the sléepe of peace but those It followeth then that they doe also pray for y virgin Mary and for all the Saintes of Paradise Now let vs heare what thing they require for them Wée beséech thée that it would please thoe to graunt vnto them and vnto all those that rest in Christ place of comfort lyghte and peace If they rest in Iesus Christ are they not already in place of comfort lyght and peace Otherwyse I know not what it is to rest in Iesus Christe seeinge that it is written That although that the righteous be ouertaken wyth death yet shall he be in reste If they be in a fire as the wycked rich man of whom thou hast spoken that they doe burne as they make vs beléeue what difference is there betwéene them and the dampned Thou knowest very well that Lazarus who was in Abrahams bosome and who rested in the sléepe of peace bicause that he was departed from this world with the signe of faith that he had in the promises made vnto Abraham of the séede of blessednesse was in a place far differing from the other in which he rested in ioy pleasures and delights For if after that the faythfull be called fâ—oÌ„ this world he wero kept in the fire in what rest should he be froÌ„ his laboures Should he not be in worse estate then he was before Hillarius After that I haue laboured al the day haue much sweated it I must go into a furnase when I should go to bed for to rest my selfe in y same al night I woulde neuer go to bed Theophilus But where should be the promise of Iesus Christ who hath said so oftentimes Hée y beléeueth in me hath euerlasting life and shall not come into condempnation but hath passed from death vnto life And that which S. Paul saide now then there is no condempnation to thé that are in Christ Iesus which walke not after y flesh but after the spirit Eusebius That is not repugnant For those which are in purgatory are alredy assured that they shall not be dampned But they shal haue eternal life after y they haue satisfieâ— for their sins Theophilus Sith that there is such punishment it must néedes bée that it hath iudgement and condemnation For God punisheth not without iudgeing And I knowe not how wée can make y opinion agree with so many goodly promises which God hath made vnto vs by his Prophetes and by all the holy Scriptures nor yet with that whiche the Priests themselues doe singe in the prose of the deade which beginneth Dies irae dies illa soluet seculum c. They doe say in a little verse O king of reuerent maiesty which sauest all soules freely From euill Lord deliuer me thou fountaine of all clemencie They céerely and plainely confesse that wée are saued through grace and doe vse thys aduerbe Gratis which signifieth froely and franckly Wherein they doe very well agrée to that which Sainct Paul witnesseth saying You are iustified fréely by his grace That is not then by our woorkes and satisfactions For then were grace no more grace I doe much meruayle how that good woorde escaped them Hillarius I thincke that the same chaunsed bicause of the rime for to make all rime in Atis. For in the first verse there is Rex tremende maiestatis And for to make all to be in Atis they haue sayd Qui saluandos saluas gratis Salua me sons pietatis Theophilus Now do those satisfactions agrée with that that the Lorde promised sayinge if the vngodlye will tourne away from all his sinnes that hée hath done they shall not be thought vppon any more Also though our sins shal be as red as scarlet purple or y worme that coÌ„meth out of the earth he will make them as white as woll the snow and will caste all our sinnes behinde his backe and wyll putte them as farre as Dauid witnesseth as the East is from the West and wyll cast them in the bottome of the sea Eusebius Wherefore then reserued he yet paines vnto Dauid after that the faulte was pardoned him insomuch that he was driuen from his kingdome by his owne sonne Absalom Wherefore punished chastised he him after that the Prophet Nathan had declared vnto him the remission of his sinne Theophilus When God chastised Dauid when he chastiseth vs euery day bicause of our sinnes he doth it not so much for the sinne which hath bene committed as for to aouertise and admonish vs that we do not sinne heereafter And the paine that we beare is not for to satisfie god For ther is none other satisfaction then the death passion of Iesus Christ that he can allow to be sufficient For if we must satisfie for our selues we must beare cary all the importable burthen of the wrath and iudgement of god Now if we must beare them there is none of vs but should haue his shoulders broken and should be plunged drowned in the goulfe bottome of hell with the Diuels For if the Angels could not beare it which of vs shall be sufficient which are but wormes of the earth And wherfore did God our good father send vs Iesus Christ to helpe vs but to that end that he would beare it satisfie for vs that thorow his satisfaction we should be reconciled vnto God deliuered from his iudgement Seing then that God our father hath the satisâ—action of Iesus Christ his sonne which is more then sufficient for vs all he requireth for vs none other satisfaction And if hee require good woorkes of vs he requireth them not for satisfaction for they are too insufficient But for prayses and giuing of thanckes and wytnesses of our faith of the remembraunce that wee haue of the benefites that hoe hathe gyuen vnto vs in his sonne Iesus Christ and for to incite our bretheren for to prayse and magniste hym Therefore sayde Iesus Christe vnto hys Dysciples Let your lyght so shine before men that they maye sée your good woorkes and glorifie your Father which is in heauen Hée sayde not to the
heare Theophilus I beléeue that that God of the Priestes defendeth hymselfe as well from the fire as hée defendeth himselfe from the myce wormes spiders when they doe eate him and that euen as they lyue of the accidents wythout the substaunce so hath the fyre burned the accidents wythout the substaunce And accordinge to the Philosophy of the scholasticall Diuines agaynst the senâ—ence of Aristotle and of all the olde Philosophers one may easely finde accidents qualities and quantities without substaunce wythout body and subiecte Yet neuerthelesse if they dyd well consider the vertue of the fyre they should be contrained to allowe mine opynion And I woulde to God that they woulde worshyppe the fire which hath the onely vertue to purge sinnes to wytte the same with which Iesus Christ baptised which is the holy Ghost Hillarius I doe also desire that they would worship that water of lyfe the which Iesus Christ hath promysed which is the same holy Ghost But they had rather make the materiall water a God of which wée may lawfully say as wée haue sayde of the fire For if they do make a God of the fire they muste in lyke manner make a Goddesse of the water to the ende they maye haue Gods and Goddesses a Vulcan a Vesta Thetis or Amphittite Leucothea or Naiades Nymphes goddesses of the waters as wel as the Panims had for many times they attribute vnto it as much vertue as to the fire sometimes more For if their water do quench put out y fire of purgatory it hath as much vertue more theÌ„ God Canopus furthermore what dyfference is there betwéene theire Aquaticall Theologye and the same of the Ibolatrous Greekes the which the Romaines haue learned of them euen as the Papistes of the auncient Romaines As wée maye iudge by that whiche Ouid hath wrytten saying Our olde men thought and did beleeue and in that hope did dwell That sinne by purging losed was and so let not to tell Greece was the first this order gaue and therewith did suppose Offenders to be rid from sinne and so let not to glose Theophilus That doctrine shoulde hée good if it referred it selfe to the purgation of our sinnes made or done by Iesus Christ and that it extended vnto his bloud But their thought is altogether otherwise Hillarius They vnderstande that of their purgations of whiche we haue spoken off and chiefly of the water Of which superstition the Panims themselues doe mocke and haue well had the iudgement to know that the same was but vanitie as wee haue already declared by the Apothegine of Diogenes And the verses of Persius a boue alledged pretend to the same as well as those héere of Ouid which I will now rehearse Ah too light credite doe they giue which doe suppose and thincke That that same fault of murther should by water be extinct Eusebius Wée are of an opinion altogether differinge from the same For wée dooe not beleeue that thorow the sprinckling of the holy water the mortall sinnes are put away but onely the veniall sinnes Theophilus They are not then defaced and taken away by the same For the sinnes are not mortall but vnto those whiche sinne vnto death and agaynste the holy Ghost and which perseuer in their sinnes withour dooing repentaunce and running vnto the mercye of god But vnto Gods elect all sinnes are veniall not by their nature but by the grace of Iesus Christ For there is no sinne be it neuer so little which of his nature is not mortall and worthy of eternall death if Iesus Christe make them not veniall and capable of pardon to those which beléeue in hym to whome there is no more condempnation Wherefore I am abaÌ„shed of your Doctors which take so much paines to purge the veniall sinnes And amongest others the sprincklyng of the holy water and that they doe allowe so muche the exorcismes and coniurations namely of Thomas of Aquin whiche yet neuerthelesse doe nothing dyffer from charmes and sorceryes But I am yet more abashed of that Canon so full of blasphemye which is taken of Pope Alexander the fift whome you accompte to bée the firste finder out and inuentour of holy water who sayth after thys manner Wée doe blesse the water sprinckled or myngled wyth salt amonge the people to this ende that all béeing sprinckled therewyth shoulde bée sanctified and puryfied the which thinge wée commaunde all Priestes to doe so For it the asshes of a younge Heyfer béeinge sprinckeled vppon the people doe sanctifie and make them cleane by a stronger reason the water béeinge mingled wyth salte and hallowed wyth diuine praiers doth sanctifie and make them cleane And if the salte béeinge cast in the water by the Prophet Eliseus hath healed and hoplen the barrennesse thereoff howe much more the water béeinge hallowed wyth diuine prayers doth take awaye the sterrilitie of hamayne thynges and sanctyfieth and purgeth the filthinesse and multiplyeth and encreaseth the other goodes and putteth awaye the assaultes of the Diuell and defendeth men from fantasies O Lorde God what greater blasphemye can one heare is not that to tourne all the worde of God vpsyde downe and to ouerthrowe all the vertue of the death and passion of Iesus Christ That which the holy Apostle attributeth vnto the death and bloud of Iesus Christe is it not héere altogether most euidentlye giuen vnto the salte and water For in stéede that the Apostle sayth If the bloude of Dren and of Goats and the asshes of an Heyfer when it was sprinckeled puryfied the vncleane as touching the purifying of the flesh Nowe much more shall the bloud of Christe whiche thorowe the eternall spyrite offered himselfe wythout spotte to GOD purge your consciences from dead woorks for to serue the liuing God In stéede that the Apostle sayth the bloud of Iesus Christ those héere doe put the salt the water But I wyll argue and reason after an other sorte agaynst Alexander If the asshes of an Heyfer and the holy water that they doe make by the ordinaunce and commaundement of God cannot purge the conscience and can scrue but for a certeyne carnall purification for to kéepe certeyne discipline in the Iewish Churche and to prefigurate the true purgation which by the bloud of Iesus Christe ought to be in the Christian Churche but it was necessary that the onely sonne of God shoulde shed out his owne bloud which onely hath that vertue how the salt the salted water coniured by the priests without hauing either law commaundement or promise of God do it better Hillarius I should haue ben greatly ashamed to haue stayed so long vpon those vaine chidish ceremonies but that I did sée that the most wisest and the most greatest Doctors haue bene abused and deceiued are fallen into so many execrable blasphemies Thomas How hath y ben possible If it be so as you say I am greatly abashed how y
Christian people to beleeue confesse as an artycle of saith that which they haue dreamed and inuented iudgeing and condemning for hereticks all those which do speak against it in such sort that it is more daungerous to speake against withstand their decrées decretals then the commaundement of god For our Lord Iesus Christ sayth that all sinne committed by men may be pardened except the sinne and blasphemy against the holy ghost But it is written in the decroes and Canons woe do commauÌ„d that all decretall constitutions of all the Popes should boe kept in such sort that if any doe commit any thinge contrary vnto them that he doe know that pardon is denied vnto him and that he shall not haue it Hillarius I do then conclude by that Canon that sinne against the Pope is sinne against the holy ghost bicause there is no pardon We must not iest with them I will compare them to the Academians but I had a great deale rather that they were like vnto them then suche as they are Theophilus It should be a greate deale better to define nothing rashly of that whereoff they cannot be certeyne and to followe the Counsell of Sainct Augustin speaking of the riche man of whom mention is made in S. Luke It is better to doubt of secret things then to pleade of vncerteine things I doubt not but that we must vnder stand that the riche man is in moste extroeme hot paines and torments and that poore Lazarus in ioy and comfort But in what sort one ought to vnderstand that flame and fire of hell that bosome of Abraham that tongue of the ryche man that finger of poore Lazarus that thirst of torment that droppe of refressing with much a doe we can finde of those which doe séeke it with meekenes and modesty but of those which do debate of it with contention and strife many Hillariu If Sainct Auguslin had alwayes followed that whiche he teached here his doctrine would haue bene more pure and would haue spoken yet more soberly then he hath done of the suffrages for the dead sith that he had no sure nor certeine witnes in the worde of God. Theophilus Iesus Christ hath not fore spoken without cause that if it were possible the very elect shoulde boe seduced and deceiued by the false Prophets false Christs Wherefore wee ought not to meruaile although Sainct Augustâ—n and such as he was haue sometime bene ouercome But for vs we ought rather to be more confirmed in the doctrine of the Gospell seeing it fulfilled before ouâ— eyes we ought well to learne by the example of others to walke in the feare of God without straying or wandring any thing after our opinions and fantasies For if already from the time of the Apesties Antechrist did béeâ—in his raigne and worke his secret of iniquitie we muste 〈◊〉 doubt but that he was muche aduanced in the time of Sainct Augustin And the Apostle calleth not without cause his worke and busines the mistery of iniquity For he hath proceeded and gone forwarde so secretly craftely and subtilly that the most holyest and best learned haue bene ouercome vse hath of a long time hatched his Cockatrice and Basilikes eggs before hee could bee perceiued and hath practised his matters so subtilly vnder the earth that scant one could know to what ende he tendeth vntill such time as he hath ended and finished his worke and that Iesus Christ by his Gospel hath opened and reuealed it to his electe as wée doe sée by experience at this present time And as I trust shal doe yet more hereafter Wherefore we knowing into what inconueniences our fathers are fallen into yea the wisest and moste persect in attributing to much to the authoritie of men and to their opinions and traditions Let vs take heede to affirme and propound vnto the christians as an article of faith and doctrine necessary to saluation any thing of whiche wee haue no certeine witnes by the holy scripture of which by them wee are not cleerely resolued For that commeth thorow to greate temeritie and presumption the which God will not leaue vnpunished But whiche is more although the thing shoulde be very true and so as it hath bene preached vnto vs yet neuerthelesse sith that the worde of God doth not make anye expresse mention of it nor doth cléerely shew forth of whiche wee can drawe anye certeine consequence and of whiche wée haue no commaundement of GOD wee maye safelye bée ignoraunt of it without daunger of our saluation For sith that the Scripture is giuen vnto vs for our instruction not for vs to inquire of the estate of the dead but for to learne vs the way for to come vnto the place of that holy eternall rest and true felicity wée ought to content our selues to know that whiche is commaunded vs and whiche to the same is necessary for vs and wee may not bee ignoraunt of them without dammage and hurte of our saluation And therefore wée haue no néede but to holde vs to Iesus Christe and to assure our selues vpon his promises béeing certeine and sure that that whiche hée hath promised vnto that poore théefe hanging vppon the Crosse with him saying This daye shalt thou bée with mée in Paradise toucheth and concerneth euery one of vs as muche as him if we be true faithfull Behold the limittes whiche the Scripture appointeth vnto vs within which wée must dwell without tormenting our selues after the estate of the dead and Purgatory of which it maketh not mention of it one word Eusebius I know very well that although I shoulde alledge all the Doctors which haue bene sithens the death and passion of Iesus Christ vntill this present time that I shall profitte nothinge with you For when you perceiue that they are contrarye vnto your opinions you will not receiue them but when you thinke that they doe make for you But you will runile to the Scripture as the pleaders whiche haue an euill matter doe séeke and finde out all the delayes that they canne and do call alwayes from sentence to sentence what soeuer wrong it be or for to delaye theyr condempnation or vnder hope that they haue to finde out some practise or shyfte for to deceiue and ouercome theyr party and to corrupte the Iudges Wherefore I doe well perceiue that I shal be nothing with you if by the cleere and plaine texte of the Scripture I doe â—ot sloppe your mouth Theophilus If thou cansl do it theu hast gotten y victory For vnto the same doe apperteine the extreame or latter appellations And therefore it seemeth to mée that you do greater wrong then we without any comparison For we doe not put our selues out of reason nor from the ordinary of iustice sith that we doe appeale to none other then to our ordinary Iudge For what wrong to we vnto men if from them we doe appeale before
you but the opinions of the Doctors Wherfore I would gladly Eusebius that you would follow that matter and I desire that thou wouldest proue by the holy Scriptures that which thou affirmest of the yoūg children dead without circumcision baptisme Eusebius Doest thou thinke that I speake without the Scripture the which I wil not yet alledge with my gloses and expositions But for to giue more weight and credite vnto my probations I would thou shouldest beare the witnesse of them by the mouth of the auncient Doctors namely of the worshipful Beda speaking after this manner Hée which now cryeth terribly healthfully by his Gopell except a man be borne of water the holy spirite he cannot enter into the kingdome of god The very same he cryed by his lawe the soule of him whose foreskinne of his flesh is not circumcifed shal perish from his people bicause he hath broken my testament Beholde a cléere probation as wel for the children of the Iewes as for those of the Christians Theophilus How vnderstandest thou that threatning against those which were not circumcised For God hath prefired eight dayes for to circumcise the young children Nowe if they doe dye before the eight day and the terme prescribed of God doest thou thinke that the saluation of those children be in daunger Eusebius The word of God excepteth neither little nor great but speaketh generally to all men Theophilus But there could haue bene no fault but in the transgressiō of the cōmaundement of god Sith then that God had determined for them the viij day wherefore ought the young children to perish which died before that terme For sith that God had lymitted the day I doubte not but that those who should haue circumcised them before the day prefired should do contrary vnto the cōmaundement of God. Eusebius I accorde vnto thée therein in those which should haue done that without necessitie and without the daunger of the death of the young childe But I beléeue that when there should haue bene any daunger they might circumeise them before that terme Theophilus And I beléeue the contrary For I can proue my reason by the Scripture the which thou canst not doo thine If it were so then as y sayst it should follow y god was not well aduised when he made that ordinaunce and that the Isralites shoulde be wiser by right and that hée should doe great wrong vnto them sith that he hath not aduertised them of that doing and that he gaue none exception It followeth in lyke manner if the circumcision had bene so necessary vnto saluation that all the woemen children and woemen should perish fith that they dyed all without circumcision the which yet neuerthelesse no man dareth to affirme sith that there hath bene so many holy women of whom the holy Scripture beareth vs witnes Eusebius It is easie to reproue thy consequence For in the institution of the circumcision it is spoken expressely of the males not of the females Theophilus The law yet neuerthelesse sayth euery soule euery person Wherefore if we must take the wordes by rigor without a fitte interpretation wée must comprehend the females if there had bene none other places which doe giue vnto vs the intelligence vnderstanding of the lawe besides that the institution of the same doth sufficiently declare that it extendeth not vnto the women Thē if the womē be exempt bicause that the lawe bindeth them not so are the Infants which dye before the eight day For they are not bound by the law before the terme or otherwise God would not haue held his peace sooner then of ther thinges which were not of so great importance But when the eight day was come I doubt not that if thorow contempning negligence and dispising the circumcision had bene omitted but y the Lord would haue bene greatlye offended not by reason of the signe but thorowe the rebellion and dispisinge of his woorde the which hee taketh in greate displeasure as he hath shewed the example of him that gathered sticks on the sabboth day It seemed that y fault was not great nor such as though he had committed a murther And yet neuertheles god punished him with a cruel death as though he had cōmitted the greatest crime in the world It is then an other thing to haue omitted any ceremony cōmanded of God thorow negligence dispising rebellion or to haue left it vndone thorow necessitie or bicause that it was not possible For when there is let such that man cannot auoyde it and that this minde and will was good and hath trauayled as much as hée can for to execute it I doe not beléene that god imputeth the fault vnto him vnto whom hée was not bounde For the saluation of men consisteth in the alliaunce which the Lord hath made with vs by the which doth the small and greate are receiued and ioyned together in the company and fellowshippe of the people of god We doe not denye but that that alliaunce is signed and sealed by the sacramēts and that the baptisme is but the signe and seals among the Christians as the circumcision was amonge the Iewes But it followeth not therefore that it is firme and certeine inough without that signe and seale Wherfore there is no doubt but that those which do shut vp the kingdome of heauen vnto the infants for want and lack of the signe do vnto them great wrong and do béely the promises of God which by them haue pronounced them to be his before y they were borne saying that he is our God and the God of our children And therfore those which do make that outward baptisme so necessary vnto saluation what other thing do they make of it but a witchcraft and Magical enchauntments attributing vnto the material corruptible elements that which apperteineth vnto the only vertue of God wherto serueth it Wherefore we may wel know the error and ignorance of the scholastical doctors which haue iudged that baptisme necessary vnto saluation For which cause they haue also permitted and establyshed that the woemen might and ought to baptise in tyme of necessitie But the auncient Patriarches an holy Prophetes were not in that superstition and were not ignoraunt of the vertue and efficacie of gods promise and allyaunce nor of the reasons by mée alledged or otherwise the Israelites should haue greatly fayled and chiefely Moses which was the Prophet and conductor of the people of God to haue dwelled at the least the space of fourty yeres sithens the departing from Aegypt vntil the entring into the land of Chanaan without circumcising y children Yet it is to be beléeued that during that time many dyed without being circumcysed and although none had dyed did it not séeme rightly that Moses and all the other Israelites did against the ordinance of god sith that they executed it not at the day appointed Thomas Is it true that they haue abode so long
perfectly consâ—mated in all blessednesse without vs which are their compaignioâ—s how shal our other bretheren do which are ioyned néerer vnto vs which do yet tâ—â—â—e for the redemption of their bodyes and the consummation of their ioy the which they cannot haue without vs and a great deale lesse then the Angels Thomas Weâ— may also conclude by the contrarie that the torâ—ents of the diuells and reprobate doe increase and that they shal be greater and more grieuous after the latter iudgement then they are at this present Theophilus Saint Péeter doth giue vs most euident witnesse writing of the wicked and reprobate after this manner howe will God spare them if he haue not spared the Angels that haue sinned but hath cast them down into hell deliuered them into chaynes of darkenesse to be kept vnto iudgement And by and by after he saith moreouer the Lorde knoweth howe to deliuer the godly out of temptation and howe to reserue the vniust vnto the day of iudgement We cannot deny but that the diuels and reprobate are alreadie in torment and but that they are alreadie drowned in the bottome of hell sith that they are reiected of God that they are in his wrath â— indignation But yet neuerthelesse by the words of saint Peter we may easely vnderstand that they doe attend and â—ariâ— for yet a certeine more grieuous iudgement gods anger more fearefull then they haue féeled But for to make thée to vnderstand more plainely that which I thinke I will expounde it vnto thée by a similitude and comparison taken of the very words of S. Peter When a malefactor hath coÌ„mitted some certein great cryme worthy of death grieuous punishment there is no doubt but y he féeleth his condempnation in his conscience assone as he hath coÌ„mitted the euil déede He hath his conscience which is his accusor for a witnesse for a iudge and for a hangeman and it can be none otherwise His conscience â—yteth and accuseth him Afterwardes he commeth to be vanquished of hys misdéedes by his owne proper witnesse which avayleth more then a thousand witnesses And after it hath vanquished hym it condempneth him And euen as it constrayneth them to witnesse against themselues so it constrayneth them to condempne themselues insomuch that although all the Angels and all the men of the worlde woulde cleare them and pronounce them to be righteous and iust yet neuerthelesse they cannot absolue and cleare themselues nor auoide their owne iudgement Now after y senteÌ„ce giuen it must be that it be put in execution and that the malefactor be deliuered into the hands of the hangeman the which he néede not to séeke farre nor out of himselfe His conscience with the rest doth yet that office the which whippeth and tormenteth him so cruelly that he cannot haue rest day nor night If he sée any talke together he thinketh they talke of hym If he sée but a leafe of a trée to wagge he thinketh that they are seriants sent for to take and carie him to prison If he thinke to sléepe and take rest he dreameth that he is in the handes of the iudge which sendeth him to the hangeman and that they doe leade him to the gallowes And in waking and sléeping he ceaseth not to imagine and thinke of hangemen â—ortures and Gybettes Wherefore the Prophete hath not saide without a cause That the wicked are like the raging Sea that cannot rest whose water â—ometh with the myre and grauell Euen so the wicked haue no peace saith the Lorde Haue we not the example verie euident in Caine and in Iudas From whence procéeded that violence of mans conscience but from GOD Which maketh hys enimyes to féele hys iudgement and his furour in such sort that they themselues cannot beare it But are constrayned to condempne them selues and despaire whiche is a certeine witnesse that there is a iudgement and â— God vnto whome we must render accompte The which we ought all to vnderstande and knowe although wée should neuer heare speaking of God nor of his holy scriptures and although we shoulde haue none other witnes but the same heré the which God hath naturally printed into the heart of euery one the which ought well to suffice vs For as saint Iohn saith if but hearts condemne vs God is greater then our harts and knoweth all things That is as much as if he had saide if we ourselues doe condemne vs may not God well condemyne vs Sith that we haue such a feare and such a horrour doeth not our heart admonish vs sufficiently that we haue a superiour and gouernour which will not suffer such thinges Sith that there is not so great a Prince not so great a Tyrant which feeleth not that hell in his conscience Although there be not a man vppon the earth aboue him of whome he may be afraide Doest thou nowe see howe the hell of the wicked beginneth alreadie in him here in 〈◊〉 worlde The which our Lorde Iesus Christ woulde not haue vs to be ignorant off saying be that beléeueth in the sonne of God hath eternall life and shall not tast of death For he is alreadie passed from death to life but he that beléeueth not in the sonne of God he is alreadie iudged and condemâ—ned Doth he not shewe vs here with the finger howe the faithfull beginneth alreadie his paradise in this worlde and the infidell and vnfaithfull hys hell Hillarius There is nothing more certeine then that which thou speakest And although we had not the witnesses of the Scriptures wee haue the witnesse of nature printed into the hearts of all which hath constrained the Poets to inuent and finde out that fayning of the furies the which we may call she diuelles They do assigne their habitation in the helles and say that they do torment the wicked and reprobate people most horribly aswell in this worlde as in the other By the which they vnderstand none other thing but the torments and assaltes of the euill conscience and that worme which dyeth not but gnaweth and deuoureth incessauntly Theophilus I doubt not But let vs sée how y â— â—el encreaseth day by day If the malefactor be alredy so much tormented before that the Iudge hath layde his handes vpon him before that he be put in prison before that he hath ben on the racke vanquished iudged and condemâ—ned Let vs thinke what torment he ought to haue beeing in prison after that his processe is made and concluded looking tarying for his sentence cruel death euery houre In what anguish thinkest thou that he is in Doest thou thinke that the horror that he hath of the looking for of the torments which are prepared for him are vnto him a great deale lesse paine then the torments and the death that hée looketh for Eusebius Truely I beléeue that there is no great difference that he dyeth so many times as he liueth houres
full resolution they will fall vppon this sence Although that Iesus Christ be dead as touching his flesh body and humanitie yet neuerthelesse he is quickened by the spirite that is to say by his eternall vertue and diuine power by the which hee is not onely risen from death but also hath giuen vnto vs his quickening flesh and hath tourned death into lyfe quickening by the same all those which were dead thorow sinne And to the ende that none should dispise Iesus Christ bicause that he is dead and was crucified as a vyle and an abiect person he declared that he is so dead that there is no lyfe but in his death and that none can lyue but by him and that he is not onely to day but euerlasting and that by the same spirite and diuine and eternall vertue he is already an other time come vnto the worlde and hath iudged and condempned the rebells the proude and peruerse spirits oppressed with wicked spirites which were not vnder their kéeping but did sléepe not thinking on the iudgement of god vntil such time as the floud ouerwhelmed and drowned them as he doth yet at this present by that same spyrite by the which hée Iudgeth an condempneth the world and saueth and quickeneth his elect euen as he did in the time of Noe. Hillarius It seemeth that that exposition is also a little vyolated far fetched neuerthelesse it commeth not euill to purpose but séemeth to agrée well inough to the letter of the text of S. Peter Theophilus Bicause that the place is obscure hard I dare not to define pronounce of it rashly But I would gladly put forth these expositions to that ende you may iudge of theÌ„ for to awake the spirits for to finde out some better thing Neuertheles I thinke that this héere is the simplest that is to say that S. Peter willing to shew foorth the efficacie vertu of Iesus Christ of his death and passion witnesseth that it was so great that the lyuing haue not onely felt perceiued it but the dead also vnto whom it is come But in what manner or after what sort How is it communicated vnto vs and all his giftes and graces but by his spirite and diuine vertue Euen as then by his spirite he hath giuen vnto vs his quickening flesh which is vnto vs spirite and lyfe and hath communicated vnto vs his vertue so hath he manifested himselfe by the same spirite vnto the deade both during their lyse and after their death For it is sayde of Abraham that he did sée the day of the Lord and reioyced If he hath then already during this mortal lyfe felt the efficacie and vertue of Iesus Christ long time before that he didde offer his eternall sacrifice wée cannot doubt but that he and all the others which were in his bosome haue felte it more fully when he did manifest himselfe more fully By this we may well vnderstand whereto this place can serue to proue Purgatory For if the vertue of the death and passion of Iesus Christ be of such efficacie that it goeth vnto the dead what néede haue we then of Masses and Suffrages of the Priests for to comfort the dead and to apply vnto them the merits of Iesus Christ sith that none can do it but he himself by the vertue of his spirite which quickeneth the quicke and the dead Now hée calleth that manifestacion predication not that he hath preached verbally or by mouth towards the dead such as is among the lyuing but bicause that euen as by the preaching and Euangelycall ministring Iesus Christ is manifested vnto vs and doe feele the vertue and efficacie of his death and passion Also the spirits of the dead haue theirs but in their maner and such as apperteineth vnto them euen as we doe vnderstande that God gaue himselfe to his Angells to be knowen and to make them tast of his bountie and goodnesse but by an other meane then vnto vs bicause that their condition was contrary We must not then dreame out a Lymbe and a materiall prison and a locale descending of the spirite of Iesus Christ into hell and a preaching such as wée haue But wée must vnderstande all those things spiritually For as it is not néedfull that Iesus Christ should descend locally from heauen for to make vs feele his vertue so it is not necessary to descend into hell For the vertue of his spirite is such that it filleth heauen and earth and is spread abrode euery where Hillarius As I thinke our dreaming Theologians had very much leasure wheÌ„ they setled themselues to dispute whether the soule of Iesus Christ did suffer in the hell Amongest the which some of them are founde to bée of opinion that he did Theophilus If they had wel vnderstanded that which Iesus Christ sayd vnto the théefe This day shalt thou be with me in Paradise and how Iesus Christ descended into hell when his soule was sorrowfull and in anguish euen vnto the death and that he hath dronken vp the cup of the wrath and furor of God and hath borne his iudgement and our malediction and curse and the dampnation due vnto our sinnes insomuch that he was stroken beaten of God hath suffered death after which he descended into the sepulchre or graue they should not haue néeded againe to make the soule of Iesus Christ to descend from Paradise in which it was for to goe into hell For it is sufficiently giuen vnto the spirites of his elect to vnderstand which haue receiued consolation and vnto those of the reprobate declaringe vnto them from what goodnesse they were depriued without descending or assending Eusebius To what purpose then doth he speake of the prison and what other thing can hée vnderstand but the Lymbe of which it is also spoken in Zachery saying I haue let thy prisoners out of the pit where is no water Theophilus By the Words of Zachery the Lord giueth vs to vnderstand none other thing but that by the bleud of the alliance that he hath made with Syon he will deliuer his people that are captiue kept in the bottom of all miseries By the prisoners he vnderstandeh his people that bée in captiâ—itie by y euils he vnderstandeth a captinitie a goulse and bottome of all miserye from which it is not possible for them to come out by any meanes if God doe not delyuer them himselfe Therefore he calleth it Welles for to declare the depth yea yet without water in which one cannot swimme to the ende they may the better knowe their miserie and the grace and mercy of God towardes them When S. Peter did speake of the prison of the spirits he did it for to amplyfie the better the grace of the Gospell comparing those which wer vnder the seruitude bondage of the law vnder those shadows figures vnto those which shall be in a prison in