from the church of Rome yet their faith and belefe touching such articles as the Lutherans haue swarued in from the Catholike churche is in moste pointes agreable to the Catholike doctrine If therefore o true and vertuous Germans we liste to put out this greate blotte of our good name to auoide the vtter destruction and desolation of our dere countre and purchase the eternall saluation of our soules this is the onely waie for it to seke after againe the steppes and pathes off our dere forefathers to ioyne our selues with the whole corps off Christendome and to call backe againe and restore that doctrine that faith that church and that ghospell by the which we were first made Christen men and haue continewed so many a hundred yeare For what so euer the Lutherans bable of their newe forged religion howe so euer the protestants pratle in pulpits of the primitiue church yet they can not denie but that this their doctrine their trade of ecclesiasticall gouuernement their maner of common prayer and all other ordinaunces was neuer yet sene nor heard of in Germany sence it was first Christned vntell Luther Charlemain the first Germain Emperour with his successours brought the Saxons to Christen religion founded amonge them their chefe bishoprickes churches and Colledges planted in Germany the very same doctrine the very same religion the very same cerimonies the selfe same Masse and seruice of god as it is at this daye vsed amonge all Catholikes and so left it to all Emperours after him Likewise those holy bishops and Martirs the Apostles of higher Germany which first brought Christendome in to it instructed it not with that doctrine or ecclesiasticall gouuernement as the Lutherans vse but with the very same vnderstanding of holy scripture with the same religion and gouuernement of the church whiche the Catholikes euen to this daye do practise S. Seuerin Archebishop of Rauenna conuerted Austriche to Christendome S. Eleutherius and Quirinus the countre aboute Anisus S. Maximinus and Rupertus the bishoprick off Salispurg S. Valentin and VVolfgang the cyte off Passau S. Paulinus and after him S. Emeranus Regenspurg S. Corbinianus Frising S. Richard and Vilibaldus the cyte of Eystat S. Narcissus and Viricus Augspurg and Algouia S. Kiliaenus and Burchaerdus Virtzbourg S. Columbinus and Gallus Suethelande S. Maternus and Valerius the inhabitants of Rhene S. Paternus and Laudo Costnitz S. Amandus and Argobastus Strasbourg S. Victor and Seruatius Wormes S. Crescens the disciple of S. Paule and Maximus Ments Whiche all beside many other blessed Martirs and lerned bishops in other countres where they planted Christes religion and instituted gods seruice taught no other doctrine preached no other ghospell practised no other religion saide no other Masse vsed no other clergy then suche as from the Apostles time through out all Christendome hath ben hetherto kept and vsed In this religion we germans were traded first to Christendome With this religion our godly and vertuous forefathers attained to euerlasting life By this religion the Romain Empire hath ben translated to the Nobilite of Germany Through this religion the auÌ„cient germans haue had greate victories haue dilated their dominion hath brought infidels to the Christen faythe as Hungary Bohem Pole Vandale Slavony Prussia LiflaÌ„de Denmarke and Swetheland which partly by force of armes they haue constrained partly by instruction of holy bishops they haue persuaded to receaue Christendome All this maye be sene in our Chronicles and awncient foundations But now we see to our greate grefe and shame that within the space of fourty yeares all these countres are all moste come to destruction The hainous heresies the sundry schismes and the horrible blasphemies euery where practised proue it to clerely Farder the greate decaie of the German Empire the contempt off our nation being nowe in obloquy with all the worlde whom before all nations other loued or feared testifie this abundantly Where is nowe become Thiethmarsh whiche belonged before to the diosece of the Archebishop of Breme The Danes haue taken it Where is LifelaÌ„de the olde soiourne and retire of the Saxon Nobilite The Moscouite by maine force hathe wronged it out of our handes Prussia what is come of it whiche was wonte to be the receite and soiourne of higher germany The Polonians haue chalenged it and enioye it And these two countres of Liflande and Prussia be no smal territories but two riche and large Realmes especially Prussia which hathe in length aboue threscore miles and in bredth fourtye and containeth diuers cytes portes and villages greate and small so riche and full of commodites as no place of Germany beside And although Lifâ—lande be not comparable to Prussia either in riches or in power yet is it a goodly beawtifull and large countre from whence not onely the Nobles of Saxony and townes of the seacoste drawe sundry commodites but all the state of the Empire also and many foren countres And these two countres Prussia and Liflande are as two sure feete of the Germain Empire which nowe by our dissension being bothe cut from the Empire it is easye to coniecture howe hansomly and surely it is like to stande And howe haue we loste these noble countres and prouinces by the force and power of oure enemies No truly For the knightes of the Order in Alemaigne forced the Prussians being yet heatheÌ„ to receaue the olde Christen religion whiche they had lerned off their Apostles and forefathers and vntell oure daies haue stoutely kept them in the same And as longe as that worshipfull Order continued in this godly purpose that countre flourished and encreased in all wealth But as soone as that Order receaued the newe ghospell of Luther abandoning the true ghospell off Christ and forsoke the spirituall Crosse of that Order folowing the fleshly doctrine of Luthers crosse incontinently that whole countre being gotte and kept so many yeares vnder the olde ghospell was sodenly loste through the newe ghospell of Luther the Nobilite of Germany thereof berefted and yelded to the prince of Pole so that nowe they rule ouer the germans whiche in times paste paied tribut to the Emperours of germany The like happened of Liflande for as longe as the knightes of the Order in Lifelande kepte and maintained the Catholike faith whereby they first subdued that countre ten thousand of them coulde in open filde put to flighte fourescore thousand of the Moscouites but sens that the same worshipfull Order put downe the awncient religion whereby they obtained such victories planting in the place of it heresie all the victory hathe enclined to our aduersaries and the Moscouites haue obtained the countre For so it is By agrement small thinges encrease by discord greate thinges fall awaye The olde Catholike faith worketh by charite which is the bonde of perfection and all prosperite The Lutheran fayth abideth not charite with it but will iustifie man
the broode of that fonde frier sing the same song Beza and his companions at the late Synod of Poissy in FrauÌ„ce were stiff in that opinion aloÌ„g time but at the leÌ„gth were driuen from it whereupoÌ„ they chaunged the tenour of their supplication calling them selues Les esleus de Dieu the chosen of God This wilde persuasion is allmost receiued of all protestants It is the very heresy of the Pelagians condemned therefore in S. Augustins time as in his booke De heresibus he reciteth at large What a great corrupter of holy Scripture Luther hath ben in the second part of this Apologie it is at large declared by Fridericus Staphylus How our protestants also haue folowed his example therein and how manifoldly they haue peruerted the very text of holy Scripture I haue in part touched to geue good warning in the rest Who list to see how this hath ben the guiâ—e and maner of olde heretikes Let him reade Tertullian in his praescriptions S. Ambrose vpon the epistle of S. Paul to Titus Iraeneus also and S. Augustin writing against Adimantus the manichee cap. 12. 14. 16. What should I procede farder in declaring how Luther and his scholers folowe rhe race of olde heretikes bothe in their doctrine and in the maner and setting forthe thereof The very refusall of the auncient fathers in Christes church pronouÌ„ced as you haue heard so impudently of Luther and folowed with no lesse impudence of his scholers is no new point but euen the very shift of their forefathers cursed heretikes of olde time This appeareth well by the disputations of Athanasius with Arrius by the counsell of Sisinnius to the Emperour Theodosius by the maner of Eutyches in the Councell of Chalcedon by the writings of Cirillus touching Nestorius and of S. Basil coÌ„cerning Eunonius For all these lerned fathers could not drawe those vnruly heretikes to the rule of the auncient and holy writers in the Church of Christ. They appealed to only Scripture and would be tried only by that as Luther would and the protestants of our time wil though many heretikes receiued not the whole corps of Scripture but such partes only as liked them reiecting all that made against them euen as now a daies also Luther and his scholers reiect the bookes of Machabees and the epistle of S. Iames the one bicause it praieth for the dead the other bicause it writeth directly against their only faith Of what heretikes they lerned this shift we haue already declared defending the Machabees against M. Grindall Aduise your selues now good Christen readers whether you thinke the surer waie to saluatioÌ„ to for lowe the steppes of these fathers of Luther and all new ghospellers all condemned heretikes aboue a thousand yeares past or embrace the doctrine of the holy Fathers and lerned approued writers in Christes church May we not wel iudge and assuredly persuade our selues that the very sprit of heresy spake in Luther and speaketh in all new ghospellers preaching and defending olde condemned heresies Why haue protestants departed from the olde Catholike religion and embraced the new doctrine of Luther they saie forsothe bicause all thinges are reformed after the paterne and practise of the primitiue Church What meane they trow ye herein truly I do not otherwise thinke but that a great numbre the vnlerned and deceiued sorte take them to meane wel and that all is reduced to the doctrine and religion approued and generally receiued in the primitiue church for the espace of fiue or six hundred yeares after Christ. But vndoubtedly the lerned and ringleaders of this new fangled faith if they meane truly must nedes meane the renewing of such heresies as were in that time condemned For thus and no otherwise do they folow doctrine practised in that time that is of heretikes as in a numbre of particular assertions you haue sene But to returne to Luther what point of a right heretike is there that hath not in him ben verified He condemneth the Church and holy Fathers appointed of the holy Ghoste to gouuerne and direct his church as you see by his owne wordes before alleaged He corrupteth holy scripture by false translations as the secoÌ„de part of this Apologie hath declared you He denied partes hereof at his pleasure after the acustomed maner of al heretikes He holdeth teacheth and defendeth olde cursed and loÌ„ge condeÌ„ned heresies as we haue before deducted vnto you He hath bredd diuers sectes by his owne doctrine repugnaÌ„t and coÌ„trary one to an other to wit the Anabaptistes the SacrameÌ„taries the S weÌ„ck feldiaÌ„s and diuers other as it appeareth clerely by the Table of his Ofspring in the thrid part of this Apologie Finally bicause al heretikes are knoweÌ„ by their frutes what the frutes of this maÌ„s doctrine haue beÌ„ it is in this Apologie of Staphylus in diuers places expresly set forth as wel for the great decaye of deuotion and spirituall vertus as for the temporall waste and misery that of this heresy hath ensued Of his terrible arrogancy and pride the most euident token of a wilfull heretiken and voide of all grace and goodnes all that haue read his writings can testifie abundantly None more complaine thereof then his felowe protestants the Sacramentaries of Zurich as partly by their wordes in the thirde parte of this boke alleaged it maye well appeare Neuer baude in bridwell nor scolde in the stewes so railed as this man doth beinge comptrolled of his doctrine His awnswers against all such as wrote againste him abundantly declare the same For hereupon the ciuill Lutherans do swarue in many pointes from such doctrine as he was wonte to vtter in the vehemency of sprit as they cal it and in his cholere He wrote him selfe an Euangelist off Christ euen as Manicheus called him selfe an Apostle of Christ as S. Augustin witnesseth And off his scholers he is called the thirde Helias as in the story of his deathe we reade writen by Melanchthon Ionas and Pomeranus Euen as Manicheus was of his scolers called the holy ghost and Montanus of his secte also He writeth that he is sure and certain he hath his doctrine from heaueÌ„ eueÌ„ as Aetius sayde also of him selfe I knowe God moste clerely and euen as perfitly as I knowe my selfe The cause and original of Luthers departure from the church was ambitioÌ„ as all the ecclesiasticall histories of our time FoÌ„tanus Rouerus and other do testifie to witt bicause he was not preferred to the publishing of the famous pardon of the croisad The same ambition made Aerius an heretike bicause Eustathius was preferred before him in a certain bishoprike as Epiphanius recordeth The like writeth Tertullian of ValeÌ„tinus and Nicephorus reporteth of Montanus lib. 4 cap. 2. of Nouatus libro 6. capite 3. of Florinus libro 4. capite 20. and of Thebutes one of the firste heretikes in the Apostles time the very same cause of falling in
at the oblation and distributiō thereof For after the ghospel they we re all by the deacōs excluded And to this daie at Rome where Turkes sometime resort and Iewes alwaies cōtinewe some infidels and some Catechumeni at the solēne festes when most resort of people is at the high masse after the ghospel a staie is made and a serch whether any Catechumeni other of the Iewes or of the grekes be present Notwithstanding these Catechumeni beleued in Christ some off them no lesse then the Christiās S Ambrose was a Catechumin and a beleuer in Christ though not baptised euē when he was elected bishop of Millain S. Augustin being yet a Catechumin wrote diuers litle bookes wherein he declared him selfe not only a true beleuer in Christ but an excellent diuin as it appereth especially by his Soliloquia which he made in that time Nowe if Caluin had liued in those daies and sene S. Ambrose and S. Augustin not yet baptised notwithstanding the faith and lerning they had to be thrust out of the churches after the ghospel and not to haue bē suffred so much as to be present at the sacring time and the residew of the Masse he woulde of al likelihood comforted thē with the faith of his ghospell and whistred them in the eare that they receaued and did eate the fleshe off Christ no lesse thē the other that receaued at the aultar seing they beleued no lesse then the other He might also haue checked S. Ambrose for keping the Emperour Theodosius so longe out of the church for the greate murdre he had caused to be done at Thessaelonica For the Emperour notwithstanding remained in his faith as it well appeareth by the greate lamentations he made at home in his house when he sente Ruffinus one of his Nobles to S. Ambrose to be admitted in to the churche And in very dede Caluin by this his doctrine not onely comptrolleth S. Ambrose and S. Augustin but condemneth all the primitiue church excluding the Catechumeni from receauing the blessed Sacrament if as he saie faith only geueth them this foode I beseche here all good Christen men and such as feare God and loue their owne soules diligently to aduise with them selues howe they folowe the Sacramentary doctrine of our preachers of Geneua lest that in folowing them they departe from the Catholike church bothe that nowe is and euer hath ben which in their Crede they professe to beleue Thirdly if when our Sauiour saied to his disciples Take eate this is my body by the worde eating he badde vs beleue what did he bidde vs in the worde taking do we take by faith as we eate by faith why then call they men so earnestly to their table maye I not as wel eate and take by faith at home as at their table doth not my faith serue me as well in the house as in the church they are wonte to saie we maie as well praie at home as in the church and why maie we not also as well beleue at home as in the church Then if bothe taking and eating the body of Christ be but a matter of faith what nede they storme and trouble such as will not receaue at Easter or other times maie not good men tel them that by their owne doctrine they receaue at home beleuing in the passion and resurrection of Christ Againe when Christ bad the Apostles take and eate his body did they looke vpon him beleuing him and receaued nothing outewardely yes they will saie they receaued the bread what was the bread the body of Christe the Lutherans indede would be glad to heare that For so should Caluin be a Lutheran and agree with Westphalus which while he liued he would not do for his life What wil here the Sacramentary saye What shift hath he yet He will perhaps saye that Christ bad thē take bread and eate his body This were in dede to make Christ a very sophister to witt that bidding the Apostles take and eate both together saying withall it was his body he should meane they should take bread and eate his body Brefely this I cōclude Yf Christ in these wordes Take eate this is my body meaned this Take and eate this bread which is my body then Caluin agreeth with Westphalus and is become a Lutheran against his will If he meaned this take bread and eate my body then was it a sophisticatiō For it is a point of sophistry to ioyne two termes together taking one properly and the other improperly As here by this laste meaning Christ bidding them take ment properly they should take in dede and bidding them eate mēt vnproperly that is they should not eate in dede but beleue For as al the worlde knoweth beleuing is a very vnproper signification of eating and suche as neuer was heard of before the daies of Iohn Caluin being ment of sacramentall eating But will you see that by the doctrine of Caluin the Apostles did not eate Christ at all in the last supper I meane by faithe For Caluin as you haue heard by his wordes in his Catechisme meaneth such faith as beleueth that Christ died for our redemption and hath risen for our iustification Nowe what faith the Apostles had when Christ made is maunde touchinge his death I will not nowe dispute Althoughe it may seme they doubted much thereof whē they wōdered so muche at his wordes signifiēg his deathe as that Iudas should betraie him as also S. Peter after denieng him But as touching the resurrection the scripture telleth vs plain that diuers of the Apostles at that time beleued it not For first S. Ihon in his ghospell writeth of him selfe that after he looked in to the graue and sawe nothing but the winding shete lefte Vidit credidit he sawe and he beleued And straight after he writeth of S. Peter and him selfe Nondū enim sciebant scripturā c. for they knewe not yet the scripture that he should rise frō deathe S. Thomas also an other of the Apostles woulde not beleue that Ghrist had risen vntell he put his finger in to his woundes And therefore our Sauiour saide after vnto him Quia vidisti me Thoma credidisti Thomas thou haste beleued bicause thou haste sene me Lo then S. Peter S. Ihon and S. Thomas beleued not in the resurrectiō of Christ whē they receaued the blessed Sacramēt in the laste Supper therefore if Caluins doctrine be true the Apostles did not eate Christ at all in the laste Supper See what godly doctrine ensueth of this ghospel of Geneua But here perhaps some scoler of Caluin will obiect what Sir Will you then conclude that bicause in the laste Supper the Apostles without such especiall faith receaued the body of Christ therefore nowe any man may receaue it without that faith Truly suche maner of reasoning of it selfe were naught But yet inioyning with Caluin it were not amisse For he vseth the like against the doctrine of the
Catholike that nedeth not this eure and instructions to thanke allmighty God therefore to praie for the protestant and all deceiued persons in matters of conscience and soule helth Vt idipsum dicamus omnes noÌ„ sint in nobis schismata simus autem perfecti in eodem sensu in eadem scientia that is that we may say all one thing and that there be no schismes amonge vs but that we be perfit in one self vnderstanding and in one self knowleadg Such perfectnes of vnite and agrement with amendment of life and true repentaunce our Lorde for his tendre mercy graunt our countre and all ChristeÌ„dom through the merites of his dere SoÌ„ our Sauiour and Redemer Christ Iesus To whom with the Father and the holy Ghoste be all honour and glory now and euer AMEN FINIS Quoniam viri doctissimi Angli sacraruÌ„ literaruÌ„ peritissimi apud me fide dignissimi ApologiaÌ„ hanc Friderici Staphylia Thoma Stapletono fideliter traductam attestati sunt itemque disceptationem ab ipso scriptam aduersus doctrinam Lutheri Melanchthonis Caluini vtilem per omnia Catholicam iudicarunt merito vtramque typis excudendam iudico Ita attestor Cunnerus Petri pastor S. Petri Louanij sacrae Theologiae professor .16 Nouembris an 1564. A TABLE OF THE SPECIALL MATTERS CONTAINED IN THE APOLOGIE OF STAPHYLVS IN THE DIScourse of the Translatour and in the prefaces off bothe Gathered by the order off the A B C. The figure fignifieth the leafe B the second side A short description of the Author of the Apologie fol. 9. b. seq Abhominable heresics of the Lutherans touching Christ. fol 17 Heresies of Caluin about the Sacrament of baptim fol. 231. and in the leaues folowing The opinion of Caluin touching baptim refuted fol. 202. A contradiction of Caluin about baptim fol. 203. Certain protestants call baptim a bathe for swine fol. 109. Certain false translations of the english Bible fol. 5. b. Item fol. 152. seq The duty of a conuerted Catholike fol. 56. b. VVhat is Catholike 49. b. The church ought to be obeyed 62. b 63. VVhy Caluin may worthely be charged with the heresies off the Arrians the Maniches and other fol. 224. Detestable doctrines off Caluin fol. 112. Absurdites in the doctrine off Caluin fol. 190. seq The confession off Ausgpurg resemble the Synods off the Arrians fol. 186. The ciuill Lutherans resemble olde beretikes fol. 185. b. Vniuersalite Antiquite and Consent sure notes off the Catholike doctrine fol. 144 Conferring off Scribture is no certain rule to interpret scripture fol. 159. b. 160. VVhat the communion off England is fol. 205. That we receaue not a communion of Christes body poored downe vpon vs in the sacrament fol. 190. The communion off Caluin destroieth the necessite off communicants fol. 191. b. People nede not resorte to the communion by the doctrine off Caluin fol. 198. b. 204. b. Caluins doctrine about the blessed Sacrament condemneth the practise of the primitiue church fol. 198. excludeth the Apostles from receauing Christ in the laste Supper fol. 199. excludeth the triall that S. Paul requireth fol. 201. Caluin denieth scripture fol. 237. An impudent foly off him fol. 238. he furdereth the cause off the Anabaptistes fol. 240 he auoucheth doctrine off his owne without scripture and wil not allow the doctrine off the church without the same fol. 241. he requireth to be heard against expresse scripture ibidem b. The principles off the Catholike religion fol. 15 The difference of the present communion from the first fol. 8. Olde condemned heresies renewed by Caluin in the doctrine off the blessed Sacrament fol. 222. Contradictions in the doctrine off Caluin fol. 206. and in the leaues folowing Caluin belieth holy Scripture fol. 209. The cause off contradictions in caluin fol. 208. b. The Lutherans haue corrupted the Crede fol. 97. b. They denie an article off the Crede fol. 106. The communion off the protestants is but foode for refection fol. 228. b. VVhat the iudge off praesent controuersies ought to be fol. 20. b. A clere example off debating a controuersy fol. 21. VVhat is all the controuersy betwene the Catholikes and the protestants fol. 35. Caluin teacheth Christ to haue suffred in hell fol. 229. VVhat his doctrine is fol. 233. b. Off the Ciuill Lutherans fol. 182. b. The difference betwene Catholikes and heretikes fol. 24. The Catholikes haue the worde off God no lesse then the protestants fol. 33. The late death off many great princes in a short time fol. 26. b. Such death a token off Gods wrath fol. 27. Difference betwene life and doctrine fol. 35. b. Doctrine how it is to be tried by the frutes fol. 38. b. How to discerne true doctrine from false fol. 41. A brief recapitulation off the schismes and dissensions amonge the protestants fol. 93. Item fol. 249. Testimonies off Lutheran Superintendents and Ministres witnessing the disagreement in doctrine amonge them selues fol. 78. and in many leaues folowing Dissension destroieth heresies fol. 98. b. It is a sure token off heresy fol. 99. Praier for the dead defended again M. Grindall fol. 163. and in the leaues folowing commaundement in Scripture to praie for the dead beside the place off the Machabees fol. 163. The meaning off the Fathers praying for the dead fol. 171. English corrupted translations lerned of Luther fol. 68. 71. b. 72. b. off Munster fol. 155. b. 156. off Caluin fol. 158. Excommunication off the protestants embarreth not from the communion by the doctrine off Caluin fol. 196. b. A good lesson for England fol. 126. 138. b. A corrupted text off Luthers in the english transl fol. 68. 71. b. .72 b. Brauling amonge the Archeprotestants for ecclesiasticall gouuernement fol. 45. 46. Holy Fathers despised by olde hertikes as by our protestants now fol. 32. b. 178. A very good faith off a coolyar fol. 53. Faith is one in all but trade off life diuers fol. 122. Lutherans do thaunge hope in to faith and cosidence fol. 124. The frute off only faith fol. 128. That we eate not the body off Christ only by faith fol. 196. b. A question to the Geneuians off England fol. 204. b. A straunge order off seruing the church in Germany fol. 43. b. A notable example off the sundry sectes in Germany fol. 56. b. 57. The ghospell off Luther decaieth daily fol. 121. The first Apostles off the Germans fol. 126. b. The ghospellers doubt and vary what the ghospell preacheth fol. 91. The mariages off new ghospellers fol. 96. b. The miracles off the new ghospell fol. 35. The markes off the heretikes off the primitiue church 24. The same marke in our heretikes fol. 25. A readie waie to trie out an heretike fol. 53. An answer to stoppe the mouth off an heretike fol. 54. A lesson off S. Antony to auoide â—eretikes fol. 62. The maner off heretikes fol. 67. Heretikes off great vertu in apparence fol. 38. Off the Canonicall howres off
by his owne wordes being forced to declare the same by the impudent reproches of Smidelinus his aduersary In his Absolut apology writē in the yeare 1562. thus he writeth Whereas Smidelinus obiecteth to me that I was Luthers and Melanchthons scholer I denie it not for I liued in the vniuersite of wittenberg ten yeares of my owne costes and charges studying there vnder Luther Melāchthon and others At that time also being a younge man rash and vnskilfull I was infected somwhat with the poisonnous doctrine of Luther Howbeit that was not so rooted in me but that it was soone driuen out again And that I neuer consented thoroughly to the fifte ghospell of Luther many thinges do euidently proue First that whereas the Masters off Wittenberg would nedes persuade me to procede Doctour amonge them I would neuer do it And that only bicause I would not take the othe of the vniuersite and make open confession of my belefe in that place And this Doctour George Maior who yet liueth can beare me witnes of Secondarely bicause I would neuer take vppon me the Lutheran Ministery in any church though fewe yeares past I haue ben required of certain Princes to high dignites as to be Superintendent in sondry places as at Augspurg at Lubeck and at Brunsuick Thirdly this may declare how litle I fancyed in my hart the doctrine of Luther that being called and chosen of the Duke of Prussia to be a Reader in his dominions at Coningsberg and a Counseller I caused in the write of my stipend this cōdition expresly to be put that I would be cōpelled to no religion or doctrine that in any point repugned with the doctrine of the primitiue Catholike and Apostolicall church and of this my condition I am able to show iff nede shall require sufficient testimonies By these wordes ye may see off what reputation and opinion of lerning and vertu this man was at Wittenberg Augspurg Lubeck and Brunsuick the most famous cytes of the Lutheran profession His wisedō and other noble qualites he well declared first in the seruice of a counseller to the Duke of Prusia from whome he was forced to depart and that as he writeth to the losse of some thousands of marks bicause like a worthy and faithfull Counseller he frely aduertised eftsones the Duke to beware of the cursed heresies of Osiander and his felowes Secondarely in the like seruice vnder the Catholike and vertuous Duke of Bauaria vnder whom he was in such credit that he was made ouerseer and Chauncelour of the vniuersite of Ingolstad iointly with the Bishop of Eistat Thirdely for his wisedom lerning and vertu he was of longe time and many yeares Counseller to the late most worthy Emperoure Ferdinandus vnder whom he hath done noble seruice as well in the diets and conferences in Germany as in embassages of Liflande Pole and other countres As for the great labour and diligence he bestowed to shift him selfe oute of the captious and contentious controuersies of this time wherein he was nouseled in his youth it may wel appeare in that as he writeth in the first part of this booke He emploied only the study of Diuinite and matters of Cōtrouersie about two and twenty yeares not medling in all that time with any worldly or ciuill matter And what thinck you after so many yeares study and labour after so great experience and lerning was the chiefest argument and reason whereuppon he forsoke the Lutherans and claue vnto the Catholikes forsoth he declareth it in the very same place last alleaged and it is right worthy to be noted This saieth he was the chief and principal cause why I actōpted the diuers doctrine of Luther and his felowes to be hereticall and for such do vtterly forsake it and detest it this again is the cause why I esteme the doctrine in all Christendom which they call the Popedom receiued to be the only true and holesom doctrine bicause this doctrine is the Catholike and vniuer sally receiued interpretation of holy scripture but their doctrine is only their priuat opinion and their priuat deprauation of holy Scripture This lowas the principall reason that drew this wise lerned and vertuous man from the sectes of his Masters Luther and Melāchthō and brought him home to the perfect vnite of the Catholike faith for he sawe by lōg experiēce that al the doctrine of the new ghospellers was nought els but their owne traditiōs their propre inuentions and priuat imaginations for ging vpon the worde of God such sence as them listed and telling then the people that the same was the very worde of God whereas the Catholikes folowed such sence and meaning of the writen worde as by the lerned fathers continual tradition and vniuersall consent of Christendom was receaued and allowed And truly this only reason may be sufficient bothe for the vnlerned and deceaued protestants to reduce them home again to the Catholike churche of Christ and to kepe also within the same such as by the grace of God vertuous education and good instructions haue not yet swarued from the same Which I beseche almighty God it may so do And thus much hitherto of this present Treatise and the author thereof Many other things there are which I would gladly aduertise the Reader of But bicause we haue I feare ben ouerlong allready and the Author him selfe hath prefixed a long but a lerned and profitable preface and therefore not to be omitted I wil here breake of and after the ende of the Authors whole discourse put for conclusion the rest of my meaning aduertising in the meane season the reader of this one thing that this our labour being an interpretation and bound to the inuentiō of the Author we haue not ne coulde not vse the like eloquence as the free stile geueth beseching the notwithstanding gentle Reader to take our paines in good part Farewell At Louain the 12. of Nouember 1564. Thomas Stapleton THen saieth Nicephorus of the time of Constantius his empire vnder whom the Arrians flourished new deuises were commended and increased daily growing to a straunge alteration so farre that euery man setting light by all auncient lawes and ordonaunces forged him selfe fresh of his owne And yet their doctrine he meaneth the Arrians was not of all such receiued but eche one imagined new opinions heaping vp euer doctrine vpon doctrine Then Aetius Eunomius Eudoxius eche one diuersly Vttered their blasphemies against Christ. Then Macedonius also blasphemed against the holy Ghoste Gregory Nazianzen reasoned against those newe doctrines in this sorte IF our faith be but yet thirty yeares olde foure hundred yeares being now passed ouer sence the coming of Christ then our ghospell hath ben so long in vaine our faith also hath ben to no purpose Then so many Martirs haue invaine testified their faith in Christ. Then so many Bishops and pastours haue in vaine so longe fedd the flock of Christ. If prescription of foure hundred
by them left vnto their lawfull successours with the very text of the scripture therefore it is cōmonly called the Tradition of the holy fathers and oftentimes the vnwriten verite in respect of the writen texte And bicause the truthe off the text and of the right vnderstanding of the texte must nedes be all one truly our aduersaries do slaunder vs fayning that in triall off cōtrouersies we woulde beside the worde of God sett as iudge the traditions of men directly against the worde of God The third principle is that holy continuall succession of the See Apostolike and other bishops in the Catholike churche For if we be able to proue by order of continuall succession that all bishops as well before vs as nowe haue allwaies expounded the holy scriptures euen as the first Apostles did can there be any more certain waye for the vnderstanding of scripture then this is I would gladly heare what can be saied against it The fourthe principle is the vnite and consent of the Catholike churche Whereby it is made that the like truthe be in euery part that is in the whole and so contrary wise These are moste Reuerend Prelate the right principles of Christian doctrine these are the foundations of all truthe these as foure quarres or corner stones holde vp the Catholike churche and therefore it is called One Holy Catholike and Apostolike churche For of these principles dependeth the Authorite of the councels Of these the holy Canons haue their beginning and of these all laufull and laudable rites of the church take force and strength These then being the principles of our religion not those which Brentius falsely chargeth vs withal Princes and rulers ought to looke more nerer vnto the doings and sayings of their preachers But nowe Bretius to make an oppositiō of the foresaide forged principles our principles are saieth he the worde of God Christ and an assured certainte of oure confidence in Christ But what is I praie you this your worde of God This it is that all maner of folke mē and womē cookes and coblers baudes and buchers tinkers and tailers pedlers and poticaries minstrels and mummers and all such like be priestes be bishops be doctours and pastours and haue authoritie to administrat the Sacraments to interpret Scripture and what interpretation eche one by the drifte of his braine draweth out of scripture that to be the pure ghospell off the Lorde and the expresse worde of God This is not right Reuerend father the worde of God but the worde of the diuell him selfe inuēted of Luther not inspired by the sprit of God For that man entending to peruert all that appertained to God or to man laboured trauailed and endeuoured by al meanes possible that there might remaine no spirituall magistrat whiche might by authorite discerne betwene leper and leper maintaining the right doctrine of the ghospell and remouing the bastard And this labour of Luther being well liked of Sathan he imagined an other worde of God as that among Christen men shoulde be no ciuill magistrat for all princes were fooles tyrans and men of no religion to thentent that if perhaps the heresies of Luther were condemned by the Spirituall magistrat and so forth with cōmitted to the secular sworde princes therunto might haue no authorite Hereuppon he forbiddeth Christen men to kepe warre against the Turke and commaundeth subiects to rebel against their princes Strait vppon this arose an other worde of an other God that all lawes of chaste and single life shoulde be taken awaye teaching amonge a sorte of maydes and yonge men that Man was no more able to refraine his fleshly lustes then not to spet when nature prouoked Againe that fasting and abstinence from flesh nothing helped prayer nothing furdered deuotion made nothing to sobriete These smaller pointes being first all most conquered he reacheth to higher and diuiner matters First bicause he teacheth that sinne is not by the grace of baptime taken away in dede but is saide and fained only to be taken away hereof he savve it vvolde folovve that mē oughte not be estemed righteous and good in dede but onely accompted and imputed for such Then bycause he made no difference nor degre of grace he admitted no encrease in vertu and therefore could not abide the Sacramēt of Confirmation Fardermore bicause if sinne be not rooted out if there be no encrease of grace nor goodnes but al is only by maner of accōpte and imputing thē must he also infer that the presence of Christes body may not be in earthe that no sacrifice be admitted and vvhich folovved thereupon no priesthood nether And of this point the Zuinglians picked out one worde of their straunge God and the Lutherās an other of this spring also arose the doctrine teaching mā to be iustified by only faith hope charite repentaunce and other good workes being pernicious and hurtefull to saluation what frute then thinke you proceded hereof This sothely and many other For if God doth compell man to sinne as Luther and the Caluinistes do write howe can God require good workes or by what lawe can be punish sinne seing that he worketh sinne in vs and good workes are thought to be pernicious And truly if there be no rewarde for vertu there shall be no punishment for sinne And then there is no hel nor place of punishment as in the seacoste townes of Germany it is taught there is no diuell to execute that punishment as Osiander teacheth This worde not of God but of the diuell beyng laied this principle being put an other principle concerning Christ ensued as that the humain nature of Christe is god as the Swenckfeldians will haue it or contrairely that Christe is not God as the Seruetians teache and Mathias Flaccius affirming that the worde in the first of Iohn is not the sonne of God Lo how fertill and abundant was this principle of Luther and Brentius There were in times past and are also nowe a dayes whiche openly denie Christ to be the son of God affirming him to be the son of Ioseph and Mary Which Mary also had as they saye many other children beside Christ. Other there be nowe which teache the ghospell of S. Iohn to be a tale of Plato baptim to be the inuentiō of the diuell And that there is not in God the Trinite of persons some other doubting whether this Trinite be man or woman So taught euen this winter a certayn new ghospeller in Sternberg a towne of Morauia and that with the fauour of the people but much against the will of the Bishop of Omoluke their diocesian There be nowe in Hungary also which in their baptim leaue out cleane the name of the Son There be in many places the Seruetians which call the blessed Trinite by the name of the hellhownd Cerberus whom the poetes fained to haue thre heads With like horrible blasphemies two other ghospellers daily
difference then is there betwene the right Catholike and the deceaued heretike Truly herein heretikes agree with the Catholikes that bothe embrace alleage and defend holy scripture as the very worde of God hut herein differ all heretikes from the Catholikes that these bring the Catholike and vniuersall interpretation of holy scripture they bring their owne priuat and heretikall These are able to proue their doctrine by miracles they are neuer able Last of all that these are able to showe the matter of the newe Testament by the figures of the olde lawe as in the sacrifice in the sâ—craments and ceremonies they can not These two different waies being by iust balances indifferently pondered and tried it will soone appeare whiche ouerwaieth the other And in dede if they bereue vs of the common and receaued iudgement of the whole churche wherewith all thinges in the church are iudged why may they not in like maner take away all the rest For as if ye plucked out a mans eyes and yet wolde saie that ye bereued him not of that which might be sene euen so it is if heretikes graunt vs the text of the bible and yet take from vs the true vnderstanding thereof If it forceth not whether we vnderstand holy Scripture rightly or no howe shall we then discerne fashood from the truthe Whereby shall we trie the truthe or what iudgement shall the churche haue of the truthe And who woulde folowe such teachers of religion whiche confoundeth truthe and falshood together which spoileth vs of all iudgement of the truthe which leaueth vs no meanes to trie the truthe which blindeth and blereth our eyes of all intelligence Yet in better case were the Cimmerij who although they had loste the light of the Son yet might vse the fire But these men that take awaye from vs the consent of Christendom and the iudgement of the churche which mocke and scorne at the miracles of God which refuse the doctrine and figures of Moyses do leaue vs in such horrible darcknes that we haue not so much as one sparckle of light remaininâ— Euen in the time of the Apostles heresies sprange vp as of Simon Magus of Hermogenes of Philetus and such like But by what marke trowe ye was the doctrine of these heretikes knowen from the doctrine of the Apostles but that the Apostles and all that folowed them were Of one harte one minde and one belefe And this only touchestone left Christ to knowe the church by that whereas two or thre be gathered together in his name and agree in any matter there he is to be founde in the middest of them This consent then and agreement in any matter as in the Apostolicall doctrine and right vnderstanding of holy Scripture being vniforme and all one in all howe can it not be the sure and certain iudgement of the Apostolicall doctrine and of the churche Beside as in Christ him felse so in his Apostles it happened that such as beleued not their wordes through infirmitie were yet forced to beleue their miraculous workes they being an euident proufe from God of their doctrine Farder such ordre of the church as the Apostles began to frame and left to their successours to be perfited and thoroughly poolished they thought it to be shadowed in the figures of Moyses lawe and expressed in the light of the newe lawe But what like to these marks of the true church did Simon Magus Hermogenes and Philetus bring euen so much as nowe of late Luther Melanchthon and Caluin For these newe doctours be not of one harte one minde nor one beleefe and much lesse such disciples as folowed these false preachers For these dissent in euery point agree in no point and therefore Christ the author and God of vnite is not among them but the diuell the master of all dissension Caluin very childishely and vainely going about to excuse him selfe saieth that the LutheraÌ„s are no more to be blamed for that so diuers and so horrible heresies springe vp nowe a daies in euery place then the Apostles were in their time vnder whom many haeresies also sprange vp This maketh nothing for your excuse Caluin You denie flat Master Caluin and so do al your companyons of Zurich that Luther was any prophet at all or in any point like to the Apostles But you saie the diuell spake in his mouthe not the holy goste The which testimonie of your church of Zurich the truer it is the more ye proue the very same diuell to speake in your selues For the very same Luther in diuers pointes of your doctrine you folowe whom you write and affirme to speake by the instinct of the diuell And what newe secte is nowe in any place of Christendom which hath not drawen the first acte of his tragedie out of Luthers schole wheÌ„ce toke Munzer the beginning of that greate rebellion of the commons in Germanie but of Luther For He forbad men openly to obey their princes and condemned al warre againe the Turkes whom he writeth to be tenfolde better then our foolish and madde princes So he termeth them Whence digged out the Anabaptistes that carreÌ„ of the olde heresie of the Donatistes Out of a certaine epistle of Luther ad WaldeÌ„ses in the which he writeth That it were better not to baptise children at all then to baptise them without faith Whence toke Carolostadius occasion to renew the heresie of Berengarius Out of his commentary on S. Ihon and the translation of these wordes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The fleshe profiteth nothing I reaken here vp the notable and principal sectes only of our time I coulde saye as much of the baser sorte if it were nedefull whiche are so diuers and so many that we see almost as many sectes as families amonge the Lutherans For these therefore and other waighty considerations which all to recounte were now out of time If I mought be credited or beare any authorite amonge princes in this matter most Reuerend prelate I would geue theÌ„ that aduise that Sisinius made vnto the Emperour Theodosius That is They should charge and commaund their preachers and ministers to accept and acknowledg for right that sense and vnderstaÌ„ding of holy scripture which is Catholike and may be deriued from the Apostles and approued by the testimonie of miracles and that to be false which is priuat of their owne forging and whereof they be not able to showe any furder euidence And truly vnlesse this aduise other by my suggestion or by some other maÌ„s be not put in to the head of princes and persuaded them we shall neuer liue in quiet the churche will be ouerrunne and we of Germany shal other become slaues to the Turkes as the grekes are or to the Moscouites as the Liflandmen are or whiche will be more miserable we shall be vtterly in perpetuall thraldome as the Iewes the Hungarians and many other countres are now But I will leaue as I
God but by his propre will and operation yea and whensoeuer men labour to do well that then they sinne deadly Of this tre haue growen all mischef fornication aduoutrie ryot dronknes extorsions robberies rebellion periuries deceites lies all contempt of honesty and vertu procliuite to all vice beside blasphemies of Gods holy name backbiting slaundering reproches iniuries and all kinde of wickednes frely and without grudge of coÌ„science practised Be not these noble and faire frutes of Luthers ghospell May not well the rule of Christ here take place By their frutes ye shall knowe them For looke what the tre is such is the frute and looke what the frute is such is thetre Although therefore we can not denie but amonge vs Catholikes much enormite is and much euill life yet no man can saie that we teache and allow these vices or that our doctrine is the cause off oure naughty liuing no man I saye can charge the Catholike doctrine to prescribe any thing against holy scripture against ciuill policie or publike magistrates as the newe forged ghospell of Luther doth Exacting therefore the Lutherans vnto this rule of Christ we worthely iudge them of their frutes to be false prophets and daungerous deceiuers The like they caÌ„ not do of vs for that the euill frutes that are in vs procede of oure selues not of our doctrine of swaruing from the precepts and godly constitutions off our faith not of obseruing them But the Lutherans naughty life procedeth euen of their doctrine as we haue in some certain pointes for example before declared Yet as touching the life of spirituall teachers and rulers god hath prescribed to the laitie and common people a perfit and absolute rule to discerne true doctrine from the false saying The scribes and Pharises sit in the Chaire of Moyses Do as they commaunde you to do not as they do theÌ„ selues in the which saying of Christ euery Christen man that regardeth his soule helth ought diligently waie two pointes First to know which is the lawfull chaire of Moyses and which is not then how the laye and common sort of people ought to beare them selues towardes the euill life of the clergy Let vs then first speake of the first point Sithen the time that these newe doctrines of Luther hath ben putin the peoples heads and so many diuers and contrary opinions hathe ben taught that the simple and vnlerned know not all most which waie to turne them selues many are brouht to that point that they reiect all religion at ones and think oure Christen faith to be but prety policies of mens inuention or rather olde wyues tales to feare childreÌ„ and with this imagination are become worldly Epicures terming their felicite in present pleasure as a great number do nowe in Germany Whereof truly we haue great cause to feare vnles these cursed heresies be spedely extinguished that almightie God of his dreadfull iustice will sturre vp the Turke or some cruell tiraÌ„ to rippe vp the belies of these fleshely swine and gredy gloutons destroying also with the wicked whiche God of his tender mercie forbid the good and vertuous But to thentent that all good and vertuous people may beware of such infidelite and wiâ—ked cogitations despering vtterly of all religion S. Paule hathe forewarned his scholer Timothe and in him vs all writing All scripture inspired froÌ„ God is profitable to teach to improue to amend and to instruct in righteousnes that the man of God may be perfit and prepared vnto all good workes These are not mens imaginations but the very wordes of God pronounced by the holy ghoste in the mouthe of the Apostle And this is an expres commaundement of God that we beleue vndoubtedly in holy scripture that we seke our saluation therein walking and continuing vprightly in the pathes of that holy write not swaruing either on the right hande either on the left But that we maye so do it behoueth vs not only to reade the bare and literall text of holy scripture but to enquire also for the true and right vnderstanding of the same For the letter killeth but the Spirit geueth life Wherefore our Lorde speaking to the Iewes saieth Searche the scriptures for in them ye thinke to haue eternall life But it is one thinge to reade another to serche They are therefore much deceaued which crie now a daies that nothing must be receiued but holy scripture that all other interpretations being but the imaginations of man are not to be beleued If the protestants speake herein as they thinke I woÌ„der why the Lutherans and the Zuinglians haue writen so many and so large interpretations vpon the olde and newe testament and caused them to be printed abrode yea why make they suche continuall sermons to the people wherein they recite not allwaies expresse scripture but talke much beside the text adding their interpretations and expositions vnto it commaunding also and charging the people to take those their interpretations for the very worde of God And is not this a maruailous impudent and proude presumption of these protestant preachers When we on our part alleage the expositions of the holy fathers vpon holy scripture they as if it were in a rage crie out incontinently The holy fathers were but men the church hath erred in many pointes the expositions of those fathers are but their imaginations and deuises not the worde off God And therefore we nede not geue any credit vnto them But when they them selues preache vnto the people the commauÌ„de and persuade the people that if they tender their soule health they must vndoubtedly beleue that which is there preached vnto them and the interpretation of holy scripture which they bring is the pure and sincere worde of God the ghospell it selfe Is not this as I saied a a maruailous impudent and proude presumption of these protestant preachers Is it not an horrible arrogancie to terme their owne fantasies holy scripture their imaginations the ghospell the meaning and sens of their owne inuention the very worde off God condemning withall and reiecting the vniforme true and receaued interpretations of all olde holy fathers and writers approued hitherto in the Church of Christ by whom the same church hath ben from time to time gouuerned directed and instructed in all truthe sens the time of the Apostles this thowsand fiue hundred yeares and more vnder whose doctrine and godly instructions so many blessed martirs holy confessours and infinit thousands of other Christen soules haue attained to euerlasting life Whereas contrary wise by the expositions and interpretations of these newe preachers horrible schismes diuers and hainous heresies dissolute and licentious liuing strifes contentions and rebellions haue spronge vp and all most ouergrowen the garden off Christes church well planted before and tended by the holy fathers rulers thereof what can be more impudently and arrogantly presumed Yet these newe preachers to wrappe and entrappe the people more and
holy fathers neuer receaued this VVherefore it is writen Auoide the heretike man In the like maner shall the vnlerned and laie man behaue himselfe with the Suenck feldian demaunding of him whether this be the pure worde of God when he teacheth That Christ as touching his humain nature is not a creature but a begotten thing conceiued and borne of the holy ghoste and that afther the ascension of Christ in to heauen his humanite was made God or rather was chaunged in to God Againe that the same power and operation which is in the worde of God preached is the only begotten euerlasting Son of God Laste of all that all the giftes and graces of God be parcels of the diuine nature For when Longinus the Swenckfeldian shall saie that these doctrines are the very sincere worde of God the laye man maye aske of him againe where holy scripture doth clerely expresse this doctrine To this LoÌ„ginus caÌ„ make no other awnswer then that although it be not there expressed yet it is there mente and vnderstanded here if to the laye maÌ„ asking whether this meaning and vnderstandinge be Catholike and planted by the Apostles or their scholers in Swethen and Silesia and from thence deriued vnto our time Longinus do awnswer ye then must he proue in what place of Silesia and vnder what bisshop that happened Which being not able to do he proueth him selfe a vaine folowe and a lyar But if he saie that this doctrine vntell this time was not receaued in Silesia bicause our forefathers were not of capacite to conceaue these high misteries the laye man may roundely saie vnto him Auaunt heretike and take this fâ—r a finall awnswer The Catholike church neuer taught this the holy fathers neuer receaued this Wherefore it is writen Auoide the heretike man After the same order also maye the laye man aske of Functius the Osiandrin when he teacheth vpon these wordes of Hieremie God is our righteousnes that man ought to be iust by the essentiall iustice of God againe that Christ doth iustifie vs with his only diuinite the humanite being excluded and such like doctrine which he calleth the very expresse worde of God in what place of scripture it is read When he awnswereth that worde for worde it is not in scripture but it agreeth well with the meaning of scripture let him be asked againe whether this his meaning agree with the Catholike expositioÌ„ of scripture deriued from the holy fathers and successours of the Apostles and obserued hitherto continually in the church of Christ without contradiction Here if Functius his conscience forcing him do confesse that this doctrine was of late planted in Prussia by Andreas Osiander and although it was not vntell nowe reueled yet according to his iudgement it agreeth very well with the worde of God and the ghospell the laie man may geue him the finall awnswer of Athanasius The Catholike churche neuer taught this the holy fathers neuer receaued this Wherefore it is writen Auoide the heretike man The like awnswer also may be made to the straunge doctrine of Illyricus the Lutheran writing That good workes are pernicious to saluation that God doth iustifie men by wordes and not by dedes And truly this awnswer is of such force and so mete for a Christen man that vnto all heretikall interpretations to all erroneous doctrine yea though an Angel froÌ„ heaueÌ„ if it were possible should bring any newe ghospell it might with these wordes be awnswered A waye false prophet the third Elias the fifte Euangelist For The catholike church neuer taught this the holy fathers neuer receaued this Wherefore it is writen Auoide the heretike man Last of all the vnlerned laye man may well also demaunde of the Catholike doctour or preacher howe he liketh the opinions of these newe ghospellers whereunto he will awnswer that he hathe perceaued these newe and straunge interpretations of holy scripture and after longe waighing and coÌ„sidering theÌ„ hath founde that they are all auncient condemned heresies which nowe certain braynsicke men by the instinct of the deuill raised vp againe to the vtter destruction of the Romane empire and our dere countre of Germanie Therefore he is readie to showe by good groundes of holy scripture by the right and Catholike vnderstanding of Scripture that the olde religion hitherto receaued is grounded vppon those two pillers and vpon them hath ben sustained from the Apostles time vntel our daies through out the whole corps of Christendom and maintained sounde and perfit against al busy barking of heretikes and cruell bytes of pagan princes And is not this most agreable bothe with religion and with reason that we should embrace and accept that interpretation of the holy Bible for the true and sincere which in all churches of all people and countres hath ben receaued confessed preached maintained and sence the Apostles time hitherto continued as by the testimonies of auncient doctours we are able in all pointes euidently to declare Contrary wise may we not worthely esteme these newe doctrines broched so lately proceding of olde condemned heresies and renued by wild worldely men to be hainous heresies and detestable deceites of the deuill Surely this was the chefe and principall cause why I accompted the diuers doctrine of Luther and his felowes to be hereticall and for such do vâ—terly forsake it and detest it this againe is the cause why I esteme the doctrine in all Christendom which they call the Papacy receaued to be the only true and wholesom doctrine bicause this doctrine is the Catholike and vniuersally receaued interpretation of scripture but their doctrine is only their priuat opinioÌ„ and their priuat deprauatioÌ„ off holy scripture I coÌ„fesse I haue emploied the studie off Diuinite and laboured matters of controuersie about these two and twenty yeares not medling with any other worldely or ciuill matter in all that time nor I can not denie but I haue ben a scholer of the Lutherans and haue so farre lerned their misteries that within these fourten or fiften yeares the diuines of WitteÌ„berg would allmost haue coÌ„strained me to be a doctour of their vniuersitie Againe I haue bestowed much time that I might thoroughely and substantially be lerned in the Catholike doctrine conferring allwaies the sayings and writings of bothe partes And allthough that I had much a do to shift my selfe out of their crafty captious and contentious controuersies yet as sone as by the helpe of God I attained thereunto espieng the erroneous and hereticall doctrine of the Lutherans and perceauing the true and sounde doctrine of the Catholikes I laboured not only vtterly to ridde my stomacke of that poisonned doctrine of Luther but also to auoide all company and familiarite of heretikes that I might neither see them nor heare of them Which lacke of my olde acquaintaunce and maner of liuing bothe empaired much the helthe of my body and procured also great losse of my substaunce And is like to do
of God nor should not ende to his honour Luther in all his doinges declared well this his intent and purpose but nowe bicause Ex abundâ—ntia cordis os loquitur as the harte thinketh the tongue speaketh he vttereth it also in wordes and be wraieth his deuelish intent rashely perhaps and vnprouidently on his owne parte but not without the mercyfull prouidence of allmighty god in our behalf And in very dede according to his talke the matter proued For see howe he made his entry to this ioly enterprise He knew right well that the authorite of lerned writers staÌ„ding he could not plant his deuelish and wicked doctrine Therefore at the first he persuadeth the worlde that the ghospell hitherto hath ben trod vnder foote and mens constitutions haue preuailed Wherefore nothing ought to be receiued but the only clere and expresse text of holy Scripture For these be his wordes in his booke De sâ—ruo arbitrio against Eraesmus Laie aside all the armour and defence which the olde Catholike writers all scholes of diuines authorite of Councells and popes the consent of all ages and all Christendom do minister vnto you VVe admitt nothing but Scripture VVhatsoeuer the olde writers taught the authorite of the church hath deliuered Christen people hath embraced Scholes haue defended it is all the pestilent poison of the deuill I will no iudgement but I require obedience Nor let not any maÌ„ be any whit moued with the miracles or holynes of the Saints off the church They are all damned if they thought as they wrote Thus farre Frier Luther Be these the wordes thinke you of a Christen maÌ„ If Porphirius Lucian Iulian the Apostata or any Turke or Pagan shoulde go about to withdraw Christen men from the faith of Iesus Christ and of his holy worde what surer grounde could he vse of his persuasion what suttler entry coulde he make then to persuade them that all Counsells al doctours al Popes haue erred damnably and taught Satanicall doctrine There arose in Holland about twenty yeares past one George Dauid first a Lutheran protestant and after a most detestable Apostata affirming him selfe to be the true Messias and Christ. He liued afterward in Basill certain yeares vnder pretence of a Lutheran protestant and naming him selfe Iohn of Bruncke he died at Basill and but two yeares after his deathe was espied to be that George Dauid whom so many Anabaptistes folowed and beleued At what time his bookes and writings being serched coÌ„taining the reasons and persuasions of his doctrine amonge many other this was founde and is the viij th in number If saieth he the doctrine of Christ and his Apostles had ben the true and perfit doctrine truly the church which they planted and framed by their doctrine should necessarely haue continued and neuer perished Bicause hell gates them selues as Iesus saied should not preuaile against his church but nowe it is euident that Antichrist hath vtterly ouerthrowen the doctrine and building of the Apostles For this saieth he is manifest in the papacy Whereof he will haue it necessarely ensue that the doctrine of the Apostles be vnperfitt and false but the doctrine that he bringeth for the be the perfit and true These are the very wordes of the history of his life sette forthe by the vniuersite of Basill Beholde the reason of Luther to plant his newe ghospell and the reason of George Dauid to ouerthrowe the ghospell is all one Luther groundeth vppon the errour of the church George Dauid groundeth vppon the same Luther maketh his entry by condemning the churche George Dauid maketh the same Onely this is the difference Dauid goeth plainly to worke and openeth his diuelish intent at the first and therefore he prospered not Luther craftely pretendeth the defence of Gods worde though he condemne the church and therefore it succeded ioylely with him For tenfolde worse is a preuy enemy then an open and sooner is the Turke auoided then the heretike though they bringe vs bothe to one pitte the Turke walketh naked he asketh all at ones his filthynes appeareth at the first sight and therefore the Christen man at the first blushe abhorreth him But the heretike is cloked with the name of a Christian asketh but the deniall of some part of our saith pretendeth the worde of God and therefore is not off many espied Our Sauiour in that most tender and longe praiers that he made for mankinde after the mysticall Supper praieth thus O holy father kepe them in thy name whom thou hast geuen vnto me that they may be one as we are I aske not only for them but for all such as by their worde shall beleue in me that they all be one as thou father in me and I in the that they also be one in vs that the worlde may beleue that thou hast sent me Christ here praieth for vnite in his Church and that to continue for euer For he saied before he would praie the Father and he should geue a comforter to tary with vs for euer the Spirit of truthe And why doeth our Sauiour praie for this vnite and truthe to continew for euer in his Churche forsothe he protesteth it vnto his Father and saieth to the entent that the worlde may beleue that thou hast sent me Lo Christ would haue the continuaunce of truthe and vnite in his Church to be a most euident argument to all the worlde that he was the true Son of God the only Sauiour and Redemer of the worlde Nowe Luther and George Dauid denie this vnite and truthe to haue continewed and our protestants appeale to the first six hundred yeares condemning wickedly the whole corps of Christendom off these last ix hundred yeares of errours superstition and idolatry And what other coÌ„sequeÌ„t looke we hereof to folowe then that with George Dauid and his secte they denie Christ him selfe In the preface off Staphylus to the bishop of Eistat you haue sene howe the protestants of Bohem are allready come to this point where this heresie first began and hath most continued But here peraduenture some ciuill Lutheran will be offended with vs for vrging these wordes of Luther and charging him so farre therewith and awnswer with their common distinction saying The writinges of Luther are of thre maner of sortes to witt some writen before he thouroughly espied what popery was some again writen in vehemency of contention wherein sometime he showed him selfe to much passioned some again that he wrote in mekenes of spirit and such to be taken for the very pure kernell and vndoubted verite of his ghospell This distinction and poore shift though Luther vsed it before the Emperour at Wormes and be a common cloke of the ciuill protestants to couer the filthynes off their father Luther yet bothe it standeth litle with the truthe of an Euangelist as he termeth him selfe or of the third Elias as his scholers call him and will neuer be graunted of
to thy perfect seruaunt Ferdinandus Feared you that if yow had so saied yow shoulde haue ben thought to haue praied for Ferdinandus and when S. Ambrose saieth so wil you not haue vs thinke that he praied for Theodosius Might not you haâ—e vsed it for a figure of eloquence and so haue folowed the maner of the olde fathers as you would seme to do in all your doinges if that maner of speaking were but a figure of eloqueÌ„ce as you saie it was no more Againe what difference is it M. Grindall to saie Lorde geue reast to thy seruaunt and to saie Lorde haue mercy vppon the soule of thy seruaunt For to the departed out of this worlde no other rest can be geuen but to his soule iff his be so why are they called papistes which vse so to speake and yet S. Ambrose so speaking is no papist But what stande we so longe hereuppon I wil aske one question and so passe to your allegation off Chrisostom Faustina a vertuous woman lamented much the death of her Sister S. Ambrose writeth vnto her and saieth Non tam deplorandam quam prosequendam orationibus reor nec moestificandam lachrymis tuis sed magis oblationibus animam eius Deo commendandam arbitror That is My aduise is that you lament not your sister but praie for her and commend rather her soule to God with oblations then mone and morne it with teares I aske here Did S. Ambrose will Faustina to leaue her lamenting and fall to figures of eloquence and so to vtter her vehement affection to her sister doeth your wisedome iudge so Master Grindall Or do not rather all wise men see howe farre from all witt and wisedome this shift of youres is Well though perhaps ye spake but merely here yet you haue a sadde testimony out of ChrisostoÌ„ For he offreth the sacrifice of the masse euen for the Pariarches prophets Apostles yea and the blessed virgin also â–ª what if he do so M. Grindall Mary saie you shall we now gather hereof that these are in purgatory It is to greate an absurdite I graunte it is so What then wil you gather hereof M. Grindall This oblation therefore saie you is only a thankes geuing to God for the Saints of God departed Will you gather so M. Grindall that is to greate an absurdite Haue ye not heard S. Augustin saie that the sacrifice of the aultar is for some a thankes geuing for other a propitiatioÌ„ This your coÌ„clusioÌ„ of only thaÌ„kes geuing in the oblatioÌ„ of the church is much like to your concluding of only faith The scripture saith Iustus ex fide viuit the iuste maÌ„ liueth by his faith LO say you faith only iustifieth and you forget it is writeÌ„ againe Factores legis iustificabuÌ„tur the perfourmers of the lawe shall beiustified whereby it is clerely proued that good workes must coÌ„curre with faith Euen so nowe you forgett that although Chrisostom here offer vp the oblation for the Saints as in thaÌ„kes geuing to God for theÌ„ yet that in the same liturgie in the next petitioÌ„ after he maketh an other especiall praier for the dead saying Sancti Iohannis Baptistae prophetae praecursoris sanctoruÌ„ nominatissimoruÌ„ ApostoloruÌ„ sancti huius cuius memoriaÌ„ agimus omniuÌ„ sanctoruÌ„ supplicationibus visita nos deus memor esto oÌ„niuÌ„ in domino dormientiuÌ„ in spe resurrectionis vitae aeternae aâ— requieÌ„ presta eis c. that is By the supplicatioÌ„s of S. Iohn baptist the prophet and precursor of the holy and most renouned Apostles and of this Sainct whose memory we kepe this daye visit vs good Lorde and remeÌ„bre al those that slepe in our Lorde in the hope of resurrection to life euerlasting and graunt them rest cae this lo M. Grindall you forget and conclude very absurdely that the oblation is only a thankes geuing But let vs now againe haue a recours to S. Augustin the faith fullest reporter of antiquite in the doctrines of the Church by the verdit of Caluin him selfe and let vs lerne of him how and in what sence the Church vsed the memory of saints in the blessed sacrifice of the Masse and whether that sacrifice be only a thaÌ„kes geuing as you conclude M. Grindal These are the wordes of that lerned and holy father Habet ecclesiastica disciplina quod fideles nouerunt cum martyres eo loco recitantur ad altare dei vbi non pro ipsis oretur pro caeteris autem commemoratis defunctis oretur Iniuria est enim pro Martyre orare cuius nos debemus orationibus commendari that is The doctrine of the Church hath which the faithfull do knowe when the Martyrs are in that place reakoned vp at the aultar of God where they are not praied for but the other soules departed there reakoned vp are praied for For it is an iniury to praie for a Martyr by whose praiers we ought to be our selues commeÌ„ded In these wordes of S. Augustin we lerne M. Grindall that the martyrs are not praied for though they be named at the aultar as you heard in Chrisostom the Patriarches Prophets and Apostles named We lerne that other soules departed not Martyrs are praied for Laste of al we lerne that the martyrs praie for vs we praie not for them Where is now your imagined sâ—pposition M. Grindall that the eldest fathers praiyng for the dead meaned such dead as were already in heaueÌ„ S. Austen denieth that the church praieth for theÌ„ he saieth the doctrine of the church hath otherwise taught and that the faithful knowe it Yf you be of the church M. Grindall if you be of such a faith as was in S. Augustins time you knowe that Martyrs were not praied for you knowe that other soules departed were praied for Last of all you know that the Martyrs praied for vs. But you denie al these matters you mocke and scoffe at it and therefore you are not instructed in the doctrine of the church you are not of such faith as was in S. Augustins time To coÌ„clude you holde with the heretike Aerius coÌ„demned for an heretike a huÌ„dred yeares afore S. Augustin flourished And yet you were not afeared to abuse the honourable Nobilite assisting at that Funeral soleÌ„nite nor ashamed to preache in pulpit for the very pure worde of God an old cursed heresy I beseche God to lighteÌ„ the hartes of our most gracious Souuerain and Lady the Quenes Maiestie and of the most honourable Nobilite of her realme that they may see auoide and exterminat this caÌ„cred vermin of heresy corrupting no lesse the teÌ„poral welth and prosperous estate of our dere couÌ„tre then the spirituall hope of our saluatioÌ„ and al right faith in Christ Iesus I haue auÌ„swered al such reasons as you haue brought in your sermoÌ„ M. Grindal against praier for the dead I haue done in part my duty to the church of God as my vocatioÌ„ required I haue declared my good will to my
we are assured of suche thinges as seme not to be but are in dede But a thinge to be whiche is not oure faithe can not assure vs. So by faith we beleue the present being off Christes body and bloud in the Sacrament which appeareth not present vnto vs. Nowe then if Caluin shooteth much amisse to attribut his fonde imagination to the miraculous working off God howe muche were his scholers beside the marke that seing Gods power failed woulde flie to their faithe and attribute suche operation to it as God him selfe worketh not And this doctrine being so absurde Caluin hath inuented bycause he woulde destroye Transubstantiation That is to saye Rather then with the Catholike churche he will graunte that Christ maye be in many places at ones as in heauen and in the blessed Sacrament to whiche is no contradiction but a worke though aboue the commō course of nature yet wel agreable to the omnipotēcy of almighty God and vniformely of al holy fathers acknowledged he inuenteth an imagination of his owne making God the authour off contradiction saieng we eate Christ in the Sacrament aud yet being as farre distant from vs as heauen is from the earthe whiche bothe is a thing that God neuer worketh and such as neuer man before the dayes of Iohn Caluin taught in Christ his churche I haue ben good readers some what long in debating this one point bicause I wish euery mā to vnderstande me As for the deceaued scholers of Caluin in oure dere countre if they will not beleue the Catholike churche touching the omnipotency of Christe to be in diuers places at ones they are confuted by the greate worke of Brentius a Lutheran de vbiquitate sette forth this very yeare for the proufe of that onely pointe though it be otherwise hereticall Caluin in his commentaries vpon S. Iohn saith in expresse wordes I confesse we eate Christ by no other meanes then by beleuing And what beleuing he meaneth in his Catechisme he doth expresse In beleuing that Christe is dead for our redemptiō and hath risen for our iustificatiō our soule eateth the body of Christ spiritually Finally he meaneth no other eating of Christ in the sacramēt thē by faith For vpon the sixt of Ihon he affirmeth eating to be the worke of faith and in his Institutions he calleth it the effect of faithe And this againe is a greate stay of al the Sacramentary doctrine to make men wene that we ought to looke for no other eating of Christ his flesh and drinking his bloud in the blessed sacramēt then by faith For this their faith is so precious a thing in the eye of Caluin that he is not ashamed to write in his cōmētaries vpō S. Matthew these wordes If we could sufficiently be mindefull of the passiō of Christ it were but superfluous to haue the commō vse of Sacraments for they are remedies of oure infirmitie This doctrine bicause it is a most perilous and most blasphemous doctrine and yet as I vnderstande to my greate grief much rooted in the hartes of many of my dere deceaued countremen I wil labour with such reasons as I may to remoue it frō their hartes For truly this proude confidence of faith planted by Luther watered by Caluin and encreased by the pricking forthe of the deuill in his Ministres excludeth all meanes to call for grace all due preparation to the holy Sacraments all endeuour of vertuous liuing First if by beleuing in Christ we eate Christe and eate no otherwise then by faithe then is all excommunication vaine Bothe the Catholike church hathe allwaies practised and the protestants of our countre for the maintenaunce of their wicked doctrine do gredely practise that for certain hainous crimes men are kepte from the holy table as they calle it or embarred the receauing of the blessed Sacrament as the Catholike churche termeth it The doctrine off the Catholike church teaching vs as the wordes of our Sauiour expresly importe to eate not onely by faith but in dede the fleshe of our Sauiour in the blessed Sacrament worthely excludeth from that most holy mistery open penitents as the primitiue church speaketh that is suche as hauing committed notorious crimes either wickedly perseuere in the same or though repenting thereof haue not yet done due satisfactiō therefore But the doctrine of Caluin and al the Sacramentaries excluding the reall presence off our Sauiour and graūting this heauēly foode to faith only what auaileth it thē to excōmunicat or remoue frō their table any notorious offender keping yet not withstanding his faithe and beleuing allwaies in the passiō of our Sauiour and resurrectiō also if by faith onely he receaue Christ then may he eate as well at home in his house as if he were admitted in to the congregation For though he be excommunicat he loseth not yet his faithe vnlesse perhaps as they saie according to the doctrine of their graundfather Luther that who hath faith hath withall necessarely good workes whereupon they builde their perilous doctrine of only faith so contrary wise they will saie that a notorious offender a bearer of malice a disobedient person and so forthe leseth with al his faith by the lacke whereof he can not eate Christ vnlesse he be absolued if they saie this first I aske what if the person repent before the pretended bishop or Ordinary absolue him In this case other he beleueth and so eateth Christ though he stande yet excommunicat as being not absolued or he beleueth not and so his faith dependeth vpon the external absolution which were to superstitious a doctrine for the newe ghospell Againe though we graunted them this suttle shift and suffred them so to pluck their heades oute of the coler that their excommunication were good bicause their excommunicats haue loste their faith and are become infidels though truly their excōmunicatiō be nothing els but the diuels curse yet by this their doctrine they condemne the primitiue church embarring penitents such as lacked no faithe pardy onles a man maie bewaile his sinnes and haue no faithe some three some seuen some ten yeares some euen to the houre off their death from the receauing of the blessed Sacrament Nowe if they boldely condemne the primitiue church what maie they not be bolde to do yet they beare men in hande forsothe that they reduce all to the state off the primitiue church and will be tried by the first six hundred yeares after Christ. Well this only practise in the primitiue Church excluding penitents from the blessed Sacrament directly destroieth oure Sacramenaries doctrine teaching vs to eate Christ no other wise as Caluin saythe then by beleuing Againe the practise of the primitiue church was that the Cathechumeni that is such as were not yet baptised and beleued not withstanding bothe in the passion and in the resurrection of Christ should not only not be admitted to receaue the holy Sacramēt but were not suffred to tary in the church
should fight and combat with the Hostes of hell and horrour off eternall death Lo he saieth Christ ought beside his bodely death which was on the Chrosse fele also the rigour of gods vengeaunce satisfise also his most iust iudgment and abide the horrour of eternall death O horrible blasphemy mete for a sacramentary ghospeller For how then saied Christ in his Crosse after all the bitter torments suffred for mankind and accomplished Consummatum est It is finished Was he yet to suffer more in hell And how cried he in his last most blessed wordes Father in to thy handes I commend my Spirit Was that to be tormented after of the deuils in hel Dyd his Father kepe it no better but let it be tormeÌ„ted yet again Finally how was that only sacrifice on the Crosse as S. Paul saieth a perfit coÌ„summatioÌ„ and sanctification for euer Must he yet besides suffer torments in hell So saieth Caluin Master to all the Geneuian protestants of England expresly against scripture blasphemously against God and heretically against the Catholike doctrine And where writeth he this In his Institutions a booke so precious in the eyes off some pretended bishops that it is by them coÌ„maunded to be read of such as haue charge of soules May not we worthely crie with that holy father Policarpus O Deus in quae nos tempora reseruasti O God to what times hast thou reserued vs Do we yet looke whether these protestants tende that so blasphemously write of the blessed passion of Christ and commaunde such writings to be read of the vnlerned priests which shall teache it againe to the simple and vnlerned people And yet Caluin will proue his blasphemyes by scripture truly euen as he proueth the rest of his doctrine For lo these are his wordes folowing The prophet teacheth that the chastisement of our peace was layed on him he was smitten of the father for our offences and brused for our wickednes by the which wordes he signifieth that he was sent in to the place of sinners as a surety a pleadg yea and as a gilty person to paie and abide all such paines as were to be required of them only this excepted that he could not be continually staied with the sorowes of death Therefore no maruail if he be sayed to haue descended in to â—ell seing he suffred such death as God in his wrath punisheth the wicked withall Thus farre you haue the wordes of Caluin and his hainous heresy therein contained As for the saying off the prophet which as he and his felowes do in infinit other texts of holy scripture he wresteth from the true meaning the Catholike church hath allwaies taken it to haue ben fulfilled on the Crosse in the bodely death of Christ. For there he was smitten off the Father for our offences and brused for our wickednes there the chastisement of our peace and attonement was layed vpon him But Caluin as if he were a man priuileged from God to saie and teache as he listeth will haue it so ment that Christ beside his bodely death on the Crosse be sent in to the place of sinners which is hell for of Christes descending in to hell he now disputeth vnlesse as some protestants do he make no hell at all and saie that Christ descended no otherwise in to hell but that he was tormented on the Crosse there to paie and abide all the torments of sinners sauing that he suffreth it not eternally This is lo the rewarde off heresy and of such as forsake their faith to fall in to most horrible blasphemies such as a Turk would abhorre and yet to see them not but persuade them selues they haue the light of the gospell and be only true Christians and all the worlde beside blind superstitious and idolaters not only that now is but that hath ben this thousand yeares I will no more exaggerat the matter I wish them amendment and knowledg of the truthe and desire all other to beware in time of such perilous heresies as these vnghostly ghospellers of Geneua bring to our deceiued countre We will now passe to the doctrine of Caluin touching the sacrament of baptim and consider how pure and euangelicall his doctrine thereof is In the sacrament of baptim though the doctrine of Caluin be allmost of all protestants of our countre not onely the sacramentaries receiued and embraced yet it containeth many straunge and horrible heresies Which so in that man happened bicause he serched all suttle shiftes and pried out all the preuy fetches he could deuise whereby he might defeate the doctrine of the Catholike church For hereupon he vvttereth in his doctrine diuers hainous heresies other ignorantly or malitiously First therefore we wil discouer vnto you such of his heresies as are taken off the olde condemned heretikes in the primitiue Church Then such as he forged him selfe expresly against holy scripture and yet defendeth them no lesse foolishely then wickedly as allwaies the proper of heretikes is to do It was the heresy of Pelagius as S â–ª Augustin recordeth that children were not borne in originall sinne His wordes of theÌ„ are these Paruulos etiam negant secundum Adam carnaliter natos contagium mortis antiquoe prima natiuitate contrahere sic enim eos sine vllo peccati originalis vinculo asserunt nasci vt prorsus non sit quod eis oporteat secunda natiuitate dimitti that is The pelagians denie that children borne by fleshe after AdaÌ„ be giltie of deathe by their first natiuite For they make them to be borne so withoute bonde of originall sinne that they nede no remission in their seconde natiuite or regeneration Here the Pelagians make children to be borne in state off grace and not giltie of originall sinne This these heretikes taught generally of all children Caluin teacheth the same in children borne off Christen parents Heare his wordes oute off the 17. chapter off his Institutions towardes the ende Infantes nostros antequam nascaÌ„tur se adoptare in suos pronunciat Deus cum se nobis in deum fore promittit seminique noâ—tro post nos Hoc verbo continetur eorum salus that is God promising that he will be oure God and oure childrens after vs pronounceth that he adopteth and admitteth oure children for his owne before they are borne In this worde their saluation is contained And in an other place thus he writeth Sancta videlicet câ—te The issue of Christen parents is borne holy bicause of the promis of God and their children euen yet in the wombe before they come to open life are admitted in to the leage of life euerlastinge Caluin here and the Pelagians agree in this that children are borne withoute original sinne and in state of grace The difference maie seme to be that Caluin speaketh this of Christen children onely whereas the Pelagians speake generally of all children But you shall see that by the proufe whiche Caluin bringeth for this
abominable doctrine it shall stretche to all children For what is the proufe he bringeth Forsothe the promis of God What promis is that that whiche he made to Abrahan saieng he woulde be his god and his sede after him In this worde saieth Caluin their saluation is contained Let vs theÌ„ suppose that by the warrant of Caluins mouthe all the realme of Englande being nowe Christian shoulde leaue their childreÌ„ vnbaptised bicause they are allready admitted in to the leage of life euerlasting Those children coming to the age of meÌ„ and hauing other children muste they baptise their children or must they not If they muste baptise their children then the promis of God reacheth not vnto them For if it reached to them it should ereache also to their children In which case they nede not be baptised but maie liue by the baptim of their grandfathers If they may not baptise their children but let them liue withoute baptim theÌ„ see what detestable enormites and hainous blasphemies will ensue thereupon First by this rule all the christening of children in England sens the faithe first planted there and the realme thouroughely baptised wiche pricketh nowe wel vpon a thousande yeares hathe ben in vaine and to no purpose for that they came of the issue and bloud of Christen parents Secondarely all baptim nowe maie cease in the realme all fontes maie be shutt vp and of two sacraments whiche onely remaine they maie take away one to witt baptim and then talke no more of the Sacraments in Christ his churche but of a sacrameÌ„t whiche also in what pointe Caluin hathe lefte vs we haue I truste sufficiently before declared Thirdly Christendome shall be no more a spirituall matter geuen by the administration of Sacraments but a temporall benefit entailed to the bloud of the pareÌ„ts And then greate questions might arise of bastards being not the â—ede of Christen mariage but the frute of filthy fornication or sinnefull aduoutry Fourthely we muste put oute of the scripture the wordes of oure Sauiour Nisi quis renatus fuerit ex aqua spiritu sancto non intrabit in regnum caelorum that is Onles a man be borne againe of water and the holy ghoste he shall not enter into the kingdome of heauen And truly they drawe well towarde to do so For looke in the Englishe bibles who will printed of late yeares and he shall finde the worde againe to be lefte oute And euen as nowe they haue lefte oute that one worde by the which oure regeneration by baptim is moste necessarely imported â—o may they within fewe yeares leaue oute the whole sentence and theÌ„ make a scripture of their owne For what other can we looke for of these impudent presumptuous heretikes if they may be suffred to runne their race at will Oure lorde staie it if it be his pleasure Laste of all if Christendome so dependeth of oure parents why haue all Christen men euer so charely baptised their children as all stories do testify Was it as Caluin writeth bicause they shoulde not departe withoute the signe or badge of a Christian man Truly he writeth so and in so writing he holdeth the heresy of the Maniches as in the other he dothe of the Pelagians as ye shal anon see But nowe harken what lesâ—on S. Augustin geueth vs touching the baptim of children These are his wordes Quisquis dixreit quód in Christo viuificantur paruuli qui sine SacrameÌ„ti eius participatione de vita exeuÌ„t hic profecto contra Apostolicam praedicationem venit totaÌ„ condemnat Ecclesiam vbi propterea cum baptisandis paruulis festinatur curritur quia sine dubio creditur aliter eos in Christo viuificari omnino non posse that is Whosoeuer shall saie that infants shall haue life in Christe which departe oute of this life withoute receauing baptim truly that man bothe procedeth against the doctrine of the Apostles and also condemneth the whole Churche where men make haste and runne to baptise their infants for that cause surely bicause vndoubtedly they beleue that other wise they can haue no life in Christ. Lo the testimony of S. Augustin a most assured witnes of antiquite and beste to be trusted in reporte of awncient belefe by the verdit of Caluin him selfe Let vs a litle considre the place Caluin as you heard before saieth that children of ChristeÌ„ parents are borne holy and are admitted in to the leage of life euerlasting being yet in the mother wombe and that by the promis of god they are all ready saued S. Austen saieth with oute baptim they haue no life in Christ and that who so saieth contrary as Caluin dothe teaching them to be saued afore baptim he procedeth against the doctrine of the Apostles and condemneth the whole Churche Lo nowe you see expresly what the doctrine of Caluin is It fighteth directly against the doctrine of the Apostles It condemneth the whole churche It is the heresy of the Pelagians But some scholer of Caluin will saie that S. Agustin here speaketh of the children of hetheÌ„ parents No truly For marke his wordes He saieth meÌ„ make haste and runne to baptise infants What men trowe ye were they hethen Would the hethen runne to baptise their children being them selues vnchristned and detesting all Christendome Or would Christen men runne with the children of hethen parents No that was against the lawe of the primitiue churche For the childe coulde not be baptised or Christened against the fathers will vntel he came to full age and discretion And therefore at this houre the practise is in Italy where Iewes are coÌ„mon that the father remaining a Iewe the childe vnder age can not be forced to baptim against the fathers wil. Els by this time all Iewes had ben christned in Italy and other where By this testimony therefore of S. Augustin it is clere that Caluin by this detestable doctrine defendeth the cursed heresy of Pelagius Nowe ye shall see he teacheth also as the Maniches dyd S. Augustin reakoning vp the suÌ„dry and hainous he resies of the Maniches amonge the rest reakoneth also their heresy against baptim writing of them in these wordes Hij baptismum in aqua nihil cuiquam perhibent salutis afferre nec quenquam eorum quos decipiunt baptisandum putant that is These men affirme that baptime done in water bringeth no saluation to any And thereupon such as they deceiue they thinke they nede not be baptised Let vs nowe heare whether Caluin saie not eueÌ„ the same of baptim In his institutions in the treatise of baptim defining it to be but a signe and token or badge of a Christen man he concludeth with these wordes Quis ergo aqua ista mundari nos dicat quae certo testatur Christi sanguinem veruÌ„ esse atque vnicum nostrum lauacrum That is Who then will saie that we are clensed with this water which dothe assuredly testifie that the bloude of Christ
these fewe what to iudge of the rest and by the soure taste of these mislike the remnant of his vnpleasant and most poisonned doctrine For if in these two blessed Sacraments the one being the gate and entry of saluation the other being a most heauenly foode to preserue vs therein he sticketh not to vtter so harnous heresies and setteth him selfe so wickedly against the church of god what conscience trowe ye is he like to take in other pointes of oure Christen religion lesse necessary and of lesse importance well Though he were in al the rest sounde and withoute blot yet these his heresies of vs recited of him vttered and taught maye be sufficient to discredit him in the cōscience of any Christien harte For I thinke and trust verely there is no Christen man in all the realme of England be he neuer so farre waded in heresy but that he dothe reuerence the primitiue church of Christ of the first fyue or six hundred yeares and will be ready to condemne all suche heresies as were in that time and age cōdemned Nowe the Maniches the Ariās the Valētinians the Marcionistes the Nestorians the Nouatians the Pelagians the Samosatencall and other whose heresies Caluin hath renewed were in the compas of those fiue hundred yeares condēned If we woulde come downe lower we coulde recite a number more of heretikes condemned also in Christ his church with whose heresies the doctrine of Caluin dothe agree But in consideration of the impudent bragges made nowe in euery pulpit that all is reduced to the state of the primitiue churche I haue chosen oute suche heresies in Caluins doctrine as were in that time condemned geuing you to vnderstand that all is not the gospell which is there spoken vnlesse perhaps by reducing all to the state of the primitiue church they meane renewing of olde heresies condemned in the primitiue church And truly so must they meane if they saie truly But let vs returne to Caluin In the doctrine of free will I will make no especiall recitall of his heresies But note you his contradictions of the which euer one part is an heresy In his Institutions the .14 chapter he writeth that God did not only foresee the fall of the first man Adam and in it the fall of all his posterite but also it was his will it should be so Againe in his booke of predestination against Pighius he hath the same doctrine saying that God would not haue suffred Adam to fall but that he would haue it so to be Also that God so determined it and ordained it Now in his booke of free will against Pighius also he saith in two places these wordes I confesse with Origen that those which take away free will from Adā before he sinned be heretikes How agree these sayings of him If it were not only the will of God that Adam should fall but also that he determined and ordained it so to be then he fell of necessite For the determined will of God can not be frustrated Adā therefore could not if he had would continewed in his innocency And yet had he free will If hotte and colde be all one then is this doctrine vniforme Againe in his booke of predestination he saith All wsuchickednes as man committeth by malice of his owne procedethae so of God and that not without good reason although we knowe it not And to make his opinion herein most clere in the same booke he saieth It is a fonde solution of S. Paules saying Esadu odio habui I hated Esau to saie that the reprobats do worke their owne destruction by their owne malice And yet see what he saith in his institutions the .2 chapter Man saith he can not impute the hardnes of his hart to any other cause then to him selfe This lo is most true But why then saied he before the wickednes of man procedeth of God Why reprouueth he that solution which he now maketh him selfe Farder Caluin in his booke of predestination going aboute to mitigat his former doctrine where he taught that the reprobats could not chose but do euill saieth afterwarde he meaneth not of euery particular worke for a litle before he confesseth Saul had done certain thinges well But directly contrary to this shift is an other expresse doctrine of his in the very same booke where he saieth Men can not possibly haue any affection to do well vnlesse they be of the chosen and elected such as reprobats neuer be For of Iudas a sure reprobat Caluin him selfe pronoūceth Certum est Iudam nunquam fuisse membrum Christi Certain it is that Iudas was neuer any membre of Christ. Caluin yet for the better auauncement of his wicked doctrine against free will pretendeth to folow S. Augustin in all pointes And therefore in his booke of predestination he saieth he varieth not from S. Augustin so much as one sillable in this question of predestination Notwithstanding in his Institutions he saieth that S. Augustin was sometime scrupulous and would not tell the truthe of predestination roundely as when in his booke De praedestinatione gratia he saieth that the induration and blinding of the reprobats is not to be referred to the worke and operation of God but only to his foreknowleadg Here in this most gracious doctrine of that good Father Caluin chargeth him with scrupulosite And yet he will beare vs in hand forsothe that he agreeth euen in euery sillable with S. Augustin Where in the one he declareth him selfe a praesumptuous heretike in the other a false contradictour of his owne sayings Finally Caluin as in wordes and doctrine so in doings and behauiour contrarieth his owne self In his Institutions he wrireth It was neuer permitted to preachers of Gods worde to adde any one sillable to holy scriptare or diminish from thence but to preache the only bare worde as it lieth Now as in all his doctrine he talketh more then halfe beside holy scripture so in this matter of predestination he is not afeard to adde to the very text of S. Paule wordes of his owne for the maintenaunce of his wicked doctrine For in his Institutions labouring to refer the induration of the reprobats to the proper and eternall will of God as a superiour cause then their owne deserts and malice thus he talketh Restat nunc vt videamus curid Dominus faciat quod eum facere palam est Si respondeatur sic fieri quia sic impietate nequitia ingratitudine sua meriti sunt homines bene id quidem vere dicetur Sed quia nondum patet istius varietatis ratio cur alijs in obedientiam flexis isti obdurati persistant in ea excutienda necessario ad illud quod ex Moyse adnotauit Paulus transeundum erit Nēpe quod ab initio eos excitarit Dominus vt ostenderet nomen suum in vniuersa terra That is It remaineth nowe to see why God doth that
the people knew theÌ„ selues the Senatours remained in authorite Particular fautes were redressed the whole order and estat remained Sucha Pacuuius I say was at the entry of these heresies to be wished and preseÌ„tly may also be heard For although that which is past caÌ„ not be reuoked yet it may be amended Let vs then with Pacuuius demaunde of such as lothe their auncient and receiued belefe what newe faith will they embrace For without some faith I thinke none yet that beare the name of Christians will line Will they be right and zelous Lutherans taking Luther for the very man of God and vndoubted prophet to reuele his holy worde in these our later dayes Will they reiect all Fathers all Councells all that Christendom hath hetherto beleued as you haue heard before Luther doth Then beside all that we haue saied of his doctrine and behauiour sufficieÌ„t I trust to proue him a right heretike if an heretike may be knowen by his frutes let them satisfie the ciuill and disordrely or repining Lutherans let them accrode with the Sacramentaries the Anabaptistes the Osiandrins the Swenkcfeldians and all the remnant of Luthers branches as you may see and vew in the petigrew of his ofspring drawen out by Staphylus If they set light by that fonde frier as the more part of protestants do to the great grief and bitter complaining of all zelous Lutherans what secte wil they be of Will they ciuilly beleue at pleasure as MelaÌ„chthon did and be euerlerning as S. Paule of heretikes pronounceth but neuer attaining to the truthe Who laugheth not at so fonde a chaunge if in so waighty a cause any Christen hart can laugh and not rather lament such willfull blindnesse or blind willfulnesse as in these ciuil Lutherans appeareth Will they forsake Luther vtterly and become Sacramentaries Yet then we may demaunde of what secte of Sacramentaries they will be For Caluin and Bullinger Geneua and Zurich agre not But if they will be Caluinistes as most parte of Sacramentaries are who yet will not disdayne there at knowing the pride of Caluin setting light by the holy Fathers his corrupting of holy Scripture wicked renewing of olde condemned heresies fonde auouching off most clere contradictions rashe teaching of moste absurd doctrine in that article where he we was thought moste to haue excelled All which and much more we haue in this simple discourse discouered vnto you gentle Readers to the entent that you may see what an euill chaunge you make to leaue the auncient fathers the Catholike and vniuersall belefe the faith you were baptised in and in the which all our forefathers these thousand fiue hundred yeares and vpwarde haue serued allmighty God and liued as Christen men and true membres of Christes church to leaue I saie all this and to become protestants or new ghospellers that is men of a new faith and religion which you must lerne of some one of these three Luther Melanchthon or Caluin or of such as haue lerned it of them By this consideration I trust you shall pereiue that though the vniuersall name of refourmed ghospellers and chalengers off gods worde haue pleased you though the generall name of papistry haue displeased and misliked you yet the particular being now discouered as well off the persons as of the doctrine you will either incontinently returne from whence you departed or at lest deliberat thereof and of these fewe lerne to mistrust the rest Fridericus Staphylus whose Apologie we haue here translated you being a Lutheran many yeares and so farre in credit with the protestants that he might haue ben a doctour of diuinite amonge them also a Superintendent at Augspurg at Brunsuick Lubeck and Hamburg by this very consideration became a Catholike For hauing many years ben a Lutheran and a familiar frend of Melanchthon aduised with him selfe to write also in defence of the Lutheran doctrine He had not yet at that time read the auncient fathers but had heard them much alleaged of Luther and Melanchthon and trusting to their allegations thought vndoubtedly that the doctrine of Luther was agreable with the lerned fathers and the primitiue church Hereupon he diuised after the imitation of the Master of the sentence and other schole men to set forthe in one volume the whole effect and summe of Luthers doctrine This booke he intituled Corpus doctrinae Lutheranae the body or summe of Luthers doctrine For this purpose he began to â—eke the doctours and serche the original of Luthers and MelaÌ„chthons allegatioÌ„s But here lo in this particular serche and examinatioÌ„he found the doctours and auncient writers to condemne directly the doctrine of Luther At this he was maruailousely astonned brake of his enterprise began with priuat study to peruse him selfe the auncieÌ„t and approued writers in Christes church as well the grekes as the latins and to conferre with them these new writers of our time About this study he bestowed as he writeth in this very Apologie two and tweÌ„ty yeares not medling with any other ciuil or worldly matters in al that time By this meanes though slowly and slackely as in the preface of this Apologie he complaineth him selfe he shifted at length him selfe out of the captious coÌ„trouersies of this time and became not only a right good Catholike priuately and in coÌ„science but opeÌ„ly also to al the worlde he declared it and discouered more theÌ„ any of our time hath done bothe the false grounde of all their pretended doctrine that is the bare title of gods worde without the right vnderstanding of the same and also their variaunces sectes and dissensions amonge them selues Whereby in diuers partes of Germany especially in the territory of Bauaria many haue returned from the dissolut heresy of Luther to the holesom discipline of the Catholike church This he did to his dere countre of Germany in this Apologie writen of him in his mother tongue This I haue made now common to my dere countre also hauing no lesse nede thereof then that miserable countre of Germany hath I trust herein I shall offende none but suche perhaps as firste muste be offended before they can be amended Heresy is compared to a caÌ„cre Vnlesse it be launced it festereth and groweth to the corruption not only of it self but of other To make an ende I desire the protestant to make the example of this lerned and vertuous maÌ„ Fridericus Staphylus to reade this his labour to consider the grouÌ„de of false doctrine taught by Luther and his successours to vewe the diuersite and contrariete of his scholers the numbre of sectes the blasphemies of eche one to waigh the issue off this doctrine the dissolut life and contempt of order the countres of Hungary Lifland and Prussia lost by Luthers heresy finally to beholde the olde heresies renewed by Luther and other his behauiour resembling heretikes the incoÌ„stancy variete and wilfulnesse of Melanchthon the fonde absurdites clere contradictitions and most hainous heresies of Ihon Caluin I besech the
yeares serued then this lerned father against the thirty yeares of the Arrians how much more may fiften hundred and twise thirty yeares serue vs for a most stronge presciption against the protestants of our countre who haue not yet half thirty yeares among vs ben in possession of this their pretended religion in such sorte as it is now professed TO THE RIGHT REVEREND FATHER IN GOD PRINCE AND LORDE HIS SINGVLAR GOOD LORDE the Lorde Martin Bishop of Eystat FRIDERICVS STAPHYLVS wisheth health VVhereas you are most Reuerēd Prelat as you forefathers were by orderly vocation placed as Patrone and protectour to this vniuersite of Ingolstad sithen that also the right honorable Prince Albert Duke of Bauaria hath set me ouerseer and gouuerner of the same it had becomed me long ere this time to haue offred vnto you my seruice especially hauing certain matters committed to my charge whereof I should before this time haue conferred with you But whereas oure voluntarie deliberation by trouble of time was defeated being constrained not as I would but as I was forced to yelde to necessite and therefore must omitte the one and do the other Yet in this busines to be somewhat occupied and in the principall by the waye to be doing I haue not suffred suche leasure as at times happened to passe withoute some frute of publicke commodite Whereof hauing longe thought it semed me I coulde not by the waie more profitably be doing then if at what time other plaie or banquet I laboured vppon some such thing as might enforme the poore deceaued people and not offend rulers and magistrats And to this ende truly these darke winter dayes as leasure serued me I haue compiled this booke framing my stile after a rude and simple sorte that the vnlearned might vnderstande me but letting passe no iote of the truthe to cure and remedy the falshood Although therefor the lerned by this booke shall not perhaps be much instructed yet the good witte shall finde herein that is right worthy to be knowen and truly in medecines the wise Phisician will not so much regarde that they be pleasaunt or fayre to the eye as that they be holesome This is therefor my meaning and the marke I shoote at that the good people may be admonished of their saluation and aduertised of the daungerous deceites of heretikes by whose crafte and guile we see the noble Romain empire much weakened and empaired euen nowe to fainte and thousands of Christen soules other where daily to perish But the deceites of these heretikes being spredd so farre and so diuersly in Christendom that the vnlerned can not comprise them and the lerned scant espie them it shall be inoughe for the people to lerne to knowe them selues to be people that is to vnderstande that it is ynough for their parte to learne of the spirituall magistrat howe to do their duty to God and of the ciuill or temporall magistrat to learne their duty to their prince and in all thinges rather to lerne then to teache rather to obey then to commaunde For these two estates the spirituall and the temporall haue of God him selfe ben ordained duly receaued of vs confirmed and established by lawes and haue serued vs as two walles by the which the power of the Romain empire hath ben in Germany stayed vp and continued all most these eight hundred yeares And truly as longe as matters appertaining to God were by the spiritualty and the common welthe by the temporalty gouuerned and the lawes off bothe estates ordained were inuiolatly obserued thē Germany might contend in wisedō with the grekes in stoutnes of courage with the Romanes in godlines with all Christen nations then it mought more surely of vs then of the Romanes be saied By auncient lawes and men doth stande Thestate of Germany and Allemain lande Then it could when lawes ruled men not men the lawes maintaine peace abrode and reste at home kepe out their enemie valiantly and gouuerne their people in all felicite But Satan not abiding the repos of this countre stirred vp Martin Luther a German borne pricked him with furious rage and draue him so forwarde that he ouerthrew all auncient lawes by the which this Empire hitherto hath staied and continued and placed for them newe by the which it should perishe and fall Luther iolted and enraged by this rider Satan began with a fury to set vpon the two saide walles of the empire and in shorte time as well by his battering the walles were sore beaten as by the sounde slepe of the rulers the warde and watche was forsaken And that in such sorte vntel one of the walles the Spiritualty was vtterly ouerthrowen the other the Temporalty was put in greate hazarde For so it proueth in dede when that as the poete saieth The sore dissembled doth fester and growe While the idle shepeard taking his ease Sercheth not spedely the wounde to knowe But asketh the Gods to cure the desease But this negligence being ones committed and done it can not nowe be vndone Yet although of thinges past we haue the remembraunce only consultation or deliberation we haue none truly I can not forget with what a perpetuall ignominie and shame we are to be noted that coulde suffer a lewd frier and that neither craftely cladde in his shepes cote neither excellently lerned to worcke so foule and so pernicious a mischef against all Christendom that hauing first all most ouerthrowen the Spiritualty he hath so shaken and weakened also the Temporalty that it semeth rather already fallen downe then liekely to fall But what entry made Luther Howe began he to ouerthrowe these two estates His beginning was surely vaine and foolish and stuffed all with lies The principles and growndes saieth he of the papistes are the traditions of men not expressed in holy write the pope of Rome doubting and vncertainte of the grace of god But who saieth this Luther euery where What witnes hath he Ihon Brentius in his booke of the causes of dissension But howe proueth he it to be trewe for none other reason forsothe but for that Luther is as he saieth an Euāgelist and Brentius is an other S. Ihon. I thinke the thirtenth Apostle But as for these principles or groundes there was neuer Catholike that so much as dreamed them so farre is it that any man affirmed them or defended them The true principles of Diuinite with vs are and haue allwayes ben these first the worde of God to wit the doctrine of the prophets and the Apostles and brefely al the holy Scripture whiche we call the Bible The seconde principle is the right and Catholike sence and vnderstanding of tbe worde of God deliuered by the Apostles to their successours and by them spred through the whole worlde declared also in many Councels of the holy fathers and brought in to Canons For this Catholike exposition of the holy scripture bicause it was deliuered vnto the Apostles by Christ him selfe and
continuall succession of time vncorrupted whole and perfite whiche maketh me more to maruaill what wicked and malitious sprit moued these protestants to terme them selues only ghospellers and professours of Gods worde calling the Catholikes papistes and enemies of the worde of God seing that bothe nowe and in all ages we reade the ghospell in our churches we preache the worde of God in our pulpits and interpret it to the people we expresse it by outward ceremonies rites and gestures such as we haue receaued of our forefathers euen from the primitiue church and the Apostles time And this Luther knewe him selfe well inough But why dissembled he it then forsothe to deceaue and entrappe the easier the simple people in to his preteÌ„ded religion For Luther and all his ministers knowe very wel that in the ghospel and worde of God two thinges are to be considered First that the text be sownd and not corrupted then that the same text be expounded Catholikely and not heretically For as S. Bernard saieth looke with what sprit the scriptures were writen with the same must they be read and vnderstanded Seing then the text by the instinct of the holy ghost hath ben geuen vs true and perfit the vnderstanding also and interpretation thereof coming of the holy ghost must be true and perfit so that one shall be as true and of as much force as the other It is not inough therefore to reade holy scripture perfitly but to vnderstande it well also For as S. Hierom sayeth The scriptures consist not in reading but in vnderstanding All this Luther was not ignorant of But to depraue and corrupt the right interpretation of holy scripture and to bring in place his owne hereticall and forged expositions he maketh no mencion off the text but crieth still the worde of God calling the dreames of his braine pure and holy scripture For if ye aske of the Lutherans when they preache that God coÌ„straineth men to do euill that God was the cause of Iudas his reprobation and obstinat desperation that good workes are hurtefull to saluation and such like matters what maner of doctrine that is they will incontinently awnswer you that This is the pure ghospell the sincere worde of God and holy scripture it selfe But then if ye go farder and desire them to showe yow these very wordes and propositions in holy scripture there they hush Yet will they tell you that the wordes in dede them selues be not in the Bible but the meaning of them is there To the which if ye replie agayn and vrge them farder it will soone appere that the controuersie betwene the protestants and vs is not of holy scripture it self but of the true vnderstanding of the same And so S. Hilary hauing to do with heretikes in his time pronounced Heresie sayth he is in the vnderstaÌ„ding not in the scripture And truly all heretikes neuer cried other thing theÌ„ the holy scripture the worde of God and we that are Catholikes also haue holy scripture allwaies in our mouth Nowe then a man may maruaill and aske howe cometh it to passe that the Lutherans and the Catholikes the protestants and the papistes striue and contend so one with an other where as yet bothe haue the ghospell bothe loue and embrace it bothe cleaue vnto it and bothe are ready to spende their good and their life for it Here I beseche the Christian reader marke and perceaue well that this is not the coÌ„trouersie whether the Catholikes or the Lutherans haue the worde of God but which of them doth truly rightely and sincerely expounde that worde off God For this is the Lutherans common saying The papistes vnderstand not the Bible but we haue founde the right interpretation thereof and the kaye of all truthe And to set a good coulour vppon this holy protestation they saye farder That all bisshops prelats priestes and Monkes be all without lerning all incoÌ„tinent all of euill life geauen to couetousnes to pleasure and to the bely But they theÌ„ selues that is the Lutherans be learned chaste sobre liberall deuowte and of perfit life and such as haue done great miracles and yet do Neither are these impudeÌ„t heretikes ashamed of these lowde lies although all the worlde well knoweth it is nothing so while they see Churches hospitalls religious houses of all sorte colledges and bishoprickes of these men partly cleane ouerthrowen partly rifled all taken into their handes and conuerted into palaces armories barnes cole houses shops of Marchaundrise yea and in some places in to stables These lo be the miracles of this new ghospell abundantly practised all this fourty yeares As for other miracles not one of these new ghospellers was euer able so much as to cure a lame colte or a halting biche so farre is it that these meÌ„ could euer cast out deuils heale the lame cure the blinde restore the deafe or raise vp the dead all which miracles many holy fathers of the olde ghospell as I may so speake which these men call Papistes haue wrought from time to time in Christ his churche as right approued histories do manifestly declare Now as for the good and perfit life of these men and excellent lerning all the worlde seeth it An olde sorte of heretikes called Donatistes obiected in times past to S. Augustin the very same argumeÌ„t saying that their church only was vpright holy pure and lerned But the Catholike churche was nothing so And therefore the doctrine of the Donatistes was vndoubtedly souÌ„de and perfit but that of the Catholikes false and vntrue But what awnswered theÌ„ here S. Augustin The argument saieth he that proueth mens doctrine by their life is false But let vs suppose that these holy protestants passed al the vniuersall Catholike church of Christ sens the time of the Apostles bothe in godlines of life and excellency of lerning Which I thinke in good sothe they wil not al together affirme But if it were so it wil not yet thereuppon ensue that only the Lutherans vnderstande holy scripture and the Catholikes neuer vnderstoode it For if the right intelligence of holy Scripture be only to be sought amonge such as will stoutely affirme of them selues to passe all the rest of men in vprightnes of life and excellency of lerning then in very dede must we nedes leaue this great treasure of the right meaning of holy scripture vnto heretikes For in all ages heretikes allwaies craked of their great lerning and perfit life as the ecclesiasticall histories well declare of the Arrians the Manâ—ches the Pelagians and such like And what other thinge dothe Luther in many of his workes especially in his booke against the pope Then call the olde Catholike writers and holy fathers fooles asses rude and vnlerned babes of the pope hermaphrodites and such like Neither contemneth he only the Catholikes but euen his owne coÌ„panions and felow heretikes also as Zuinglius
clothing but are within rauening wolues Did not the Picards clothe them selues trimly in shepe skinnes for they suffer not amonge them selues any vsurers dronkards aduouterers theues or any such haynous offenders The Anabaptistes also haue they not thinke you faire sheepes cotes They weare no weapon to pretend patience they haue nothing of their owne but all in common to auide couetousnes They eate their bread in the sweate of their browes they labour truly they praye much The Maniches what cotes had they shepelike I warrant yow They neuer eate flesh to chasten their body they dranke no wine abstained from frutes c. The Encratitae likewise abstained vtterly from wine to folow their bookes the better The Cathari so called as men of pure life abhorred all pleasures and pastimes of this worlde neuer contended with other Can any man denie but that these were gaye frutes and ioly shepe skinnes Therefore iff doctrine and religion were to be tried by the apparence of vertu and holynes who can condemne these men for heretikes truly no man And why bicause their frutes are good And therefore it semeth thetre can not be euill We see the simple shepe skinne we see no lookes nor tokens of the wolfe Of the outwarde shewe therefore of good life doctrine can not be tried But then a man may here aske What meaneth Christ when he saieth by their frutes ye shall knowe them For if false prophets must be knowen by their frutes how can I mislike the Anabaptistes the Waldenses and such other whose life and behauiour can not be reprehended yet their doctrine is and semeth detestable What shall I here do for so the now the third part of this rule shall instruct you how you may trie the doctrine by the frutes and how the frutes by the doctrine Wherein you must first diligently marke that the doctrine is not tried by the only frutes but so that the doctrine and the frutes be all alike and correspondent For vndoubtedly where the doctrine is like the frute and the frute like the doctrine one must nedes trie the other Whereupon our lorde hath geuen a yery good note and rule in S. Matthew teaching after this sort Other make the tree good and his frute good or make the tree euill and his frute euill For by the frute the tree is knowen And by this rule Christ reasoneth against the vnbeleuing Iewes when he saieth If ye wil not beleue me yet beleue my workes and why so bicause the workes and doings of Christ did agre very well with his doctrine and the doctrine with his workes So was the life and the doctrine allwaies agreable of the prophets the Apostles the Martirs and all other holy men Whereof it will well be concluded that seing their life was holy vertuous and perfit their doctrine also was sounde good and holesome And why may we so conclude in them bicause euen as they preached and taught so they liued and what they taught other to do they did them selues and againe as they did so they taught Therefore of them it is well saide Of their frutes ye shal knowe them For their frutes being good in dede the tre could not be euill The like reason is of euill doctrine and wicked life for one foloweth allwaies the other It is the doctrine of Luther That a man can no more refraine from satisfising the filthy lust of the flesh then from spetting Of this tie what frutes proceded For so the these that bicause to liue chast is an vnpossible thing then no man no woman must liue chast or single But if occasion serue not to mary they may lawfully seke after baudes and hoores Which is now a common thing in Germany and hath proceded of this doctrine of Luther Luther teacheth that if the husband can not do his dutie to his wife she may in this maner speake vnto him You see good husband that you can not do your dutie vnto me Let me with your good leaue mary priuely with your brother or next kinsman so that allwaies yet you beare the name of my husband lest your goods come into other mens handes cae To this request of the woman saieth Luther the man ought to accorde and prouide or els she ought to go priuely from him Is not this thinke you a blessed graffe but what buddes trowe ye brought it forthe Truly these that now the brother may mary his brothers wife he yet liuing as Herod did as it is much now practised amonge the Lutherans Againe that one woman may haue many husbandes and one man many wiues as the Turkes vse and as we see in germany not only in the cite of Mounster but in many other places also openly practised And do not these frutes agree well and iust with the doctrine In Luthers doctrine we reade If the wife wil not let the mayde come Out of the which wholesome tree this goodly frute is spronge that nothing is more common now amonge the Lutherans then wanton baudery and aduoutery so much that the Lutherans them selues are ashamed of it and affirme that it was neuer so badde vnder the pope Againe this is the doctrine of Luther Fasting is but mans inuention Christen libertie abideth not any fastinges or difference of meate Of this noble tree hathe growen the excellent frute of banketing ryot and drocknes a hundred folde more in our time then euer before in Germanie Luther teacheth there is no magistrat can force Christians to obedience that it is not lawefull to fight against the Turkes And what were the branches of this stock First the rebellion of the commons vnder Munzerus then the ciuill warres of the Swicers the enormous vsurping of the Anabaptistes in Moūster and many such like which I had rather passe ouer by silence speaking nothing of sundry priuat conspiracies against publick magistrates The doctrine of Luther is That Christendom ought not to be gouuerned by ciuill lawes and ordinaunces that no Prince no nor angel of heauen hathe authoritie or power to make any lawe against Christen men Lacked this tre his frutes no surely For hereby all iustice hathe quailed and that either by preuy corruption or open and violent oppression beside that amonge the nobles of this secte that is accompted most right which can best be maintained by force of armes An other lesson of Luthers schole was That the loue of God and our neighbour repentaunce also for sinne were not necessary to saluation but as the Illyricans do write bothe these and other good dedes were very pernicious to saluation And what frute proceded of this tre for sothe that men of the Lutherans ghospell were of a farre more enormous life as Luther him selfe withnesseth then the when they were vnder the pope Luther and Caluin do write that God forceth mē to sinne and all sinne committed of man is not done by the permission of
laste confession writen against the Sacramentaries saieth that faith is like to a bell which as longe as it is whole kepeth his true sounde but when it is anything crased or cleft it iarreth and leseth cleane his proper tune like as an ear then vessel as longe as it is whole and sounde is called a pot a crocke or some like thing but ones broken or cleft it leseth his name and is called a potsheard Let no man therefore comforte him selfe with this vaine hope that although their preachers and ministres erre in some pointes yet are good Christians in other pointes for that auaileth nothing You must be saued within the arke of Noe or be drowned with out it There is herein no middle waye Therefore you must take very good hede that you be not deceaued lest that while wantōly and negligently you harken to euery newe doctrine and forged interpretation of scripture that one or two newe preachers teache you lese youre soules in good earnest Remembre rather what the prophet saieth Euery man is a lyar He meaneth not al men together For I for my part and you for youre part and euery man a part may lie erre and be deceaued But all good men together that is the whole Catholike churche of Christ can not erre in any article of faith For it is builded vpon the rocke of truthe and vpon that consideration is called the piller and grounde of al truthe Therefore when the simple and vnlerned man heareth sundry and cōtrary expositions of holy Scripture let him haue recours to his faith and fully determinat with him selfe for that he is not lerned in holy scripture not to take any other waie or folow any other guide then the article of his Crede I beleue the holy Catholike church persuading him selfe vndoubtedly that to be the only true interpretation of scripture which is Catholike That is which together with the writen text hath by the Apostles and their successours ben spred trough the whole worlde and continued vniforme and vncorrupted euen to our time And this only rule may serue as a buckler for the vnlerned mā that as ofte as newe preachers set a broche any newe doctrine and straunge then to thinke this with him selfe I am a man vnlerned I can not perceiue the drift of their disputing I can not iudge of their cōtrouersie But seing that my Crede teacheth me to beleue nothing but that which is Catholike and hath allwaies ben kept and receaued in Christēdom what shall I do to knowe whether these newe preachers doctrine be Catholike or no Here this vnlerned man must remembre the counsell of Moyses saying Aske of the daies that are past which were before the sence the daie that God created man vpon the earthe and aske frō one side of the heauē vnto the other and in an other place Remēbre the daies of the worlde that is past Consider the yeares from time to time aske thy father and he will showe the thy elders and they well tell the. For this is the true guide of a blinde man and ignorant to aske and enquire what his forefathers what his neighbours what the townes and countres about haue allwaies obserued and beleued sence the time they were first traded in Christen religion and haue so many yeares continued in This is the faith of that cooliar which being at point of deathe and tempted of the deuill what his faith was awnswered I beleue and die in the faith of Christes church Being againe demaunded what the faith of Christ his church was that faith saied he that I beleue in Thus the deuil getting no other awnswer of the simple man was ouercomed and put to flight By this faith of the cooliar euery vnlerned man may trie the spirits of men whether they be of god or no by this faith he may resist the deuill iudge the true interpretation of scripture from the false and discerne the Catholike preacher from the hereticall Minister the true doctrine from the forged But to set this whole matter before your eies as it were in a glasse take this example Suppose there came to some greate cyte fiue different and contrary preachers as by name Caluin a Zwinglian Longinusa Swencfeldiā Functius an Osiandrin Illyricus a Lutherā and some Catholike doctour suppose the magistrates of the cite graunted these fiue euery one to preache and defend openly his owne priuat doctrine what shal the vnlerned laie mā do here that he folowe not a blind guide and so fall bothe in to the dike surely as we haue saied before so must he do he shall aske first of Master Caluin whether his doctrine be the pure and very worde of god when he writeth that in the Supper of the Lorde not the true body of Christ but only the figure of his body is there and is geuē Againe that originall sinne is but a naturall infirmitie of the minde not giltie of eternall dānation Or els that God is the cause of the sinne of man that god compelleth and forceth men to wickednes blasphemies horedome theft lyeng deceites and such other Here of Caluin awnswer that al this is the pure and cleare worde of god let him aske him againe in what place of the Bible he readeth expresly these wordes In the Supper is not the true body of Christ but the figure only Originall sinne is but an infirmitie not giltie of eternall damnation laste of all that men are constrained of God to sinne To this Caluin will surely awnswer that although this his doctrine be not founde in scripture expresly in these wordes or termes yet that this sentence and meaning is there Marke here then that the doctrine of Caluin is not the expresse worde of God but the meaning and interpretation of it And this lo is their first deceite Let the laye man go yet farder with Caluin and aske whether this his interpretation be Catholike whether that Christen religion began with this doctrine in Germany Fraunce Italy England or any other where whether this his doctrine was preached of the Apostles and their successours receaued and vsed in the Catholike churche and deriued from our forefathers to vs through out al these countres For I maye the laye man saie haue asked here of my elders which denie they euer heard any such thing I haue enquired of the cytes and countres here about they knowe it not but saie it is newe and very straunge vnto them And here Caluin can not denie but that it is so and our men are not ashamed to sai◠that these thousand yeares all truthe hath ben loste therefore the vnlerned man may here boldly saye vnto him Well Sir if it be so fare you well I entend not to medle with you nor your doctrine any more So Athanasius writeth to Epictetus the bisshop that it is inough to awnswere an heretike after this sort The Catholike Church neuer taught this the
vtterly detesting all sectes and heresies becometh a right good Catholike And surely so it happeneth that who so ones departeth from the church if he entre but a litle with other heresies he is accompted an heretike of the heretikes them selues From the which our Lorde of his tender mercy preserue vs alwaies Amen Our forefathers the auncient Germans were euer accompted men of grauite constancie and of a setled iudgement not light brayned inconstant or wauering with euery wind as peraduenture some other countres were noted for For lightnes in dede in men of wisedome is a greate blotte But what can be more light or more vaine then to beleue euery light person without any sure grounde of his doctrine He that beleueth quickely saith the wise man is light of hart These preachers and newe ghospellers that nowe a daies runne from countre to countre be vile vagabondes light and wilde persones men of no grauite nor whorthy of any authorite And that their outewarde behauiour declareth Their bearde they let growe only vppon the vpper lippe like the Turkes their cotes be cut shorte at the buttokes with large wide sleues as the sergents or catchepolles in times past were wont to haue and thus like frogges they leape in to the pulpit crieng and creking there Our Confession of Auspurg is grounded vppon the writings of the Apostles and Prophets and hathe endured these thirty yeares Beholde good Catholike reader a wonderous matter The Confession of Augspurg is thirty yeares olde Is not this a maruailous loÌ„ge continaunce and yet these felowes will not be a knowen that our Catholike religion hath continued these thousand fyue hundred yeares and aboue twise their thirty without breache or interruption Nowe where they bable that their Confession is grounded vppon the writings of the Apostles and Prophets doth not euery secte and euery heretike crake the same Do not the Anabaptistes crie it is writen in the xxvj of Marke He that will not beleue shall be condemned But children haue no faith and can not beleue ergo they can not be saued nor ought not be baptised â—Like wise the ZuingliaÌ„s crie they not that it is writeÌ„ in the vj. of Ihon. The flesh profiteth nothing and therefore they will haue it but bread in the Sacrament Againe the scholers of Osiander alleage they not the saying of the prophet the 23. of Ieremie Iehouah is our iustice Who can denie but all these allegations be the writinges of the Apostles and prophets why theÌ„ do the LutheraÌ„s abhorre the Anabaptistes why condeÌ„ne they Osiander and his felowes why doth Luther call Zuinglius an heretike Do not they crie that their doctrine as well as the other crie that their Confession is grounded vpon the writings of the Apostles and prophets yes they crie truly so euen as lowde and as truly as the Lutherans What theÌ„ lacketh in this matter Truly not who alleageth Scripture for that euery heretike doth but who can proue his doctrine in dede not only in wordes by Scripture For who caÌ„ abide the preacher be he neuer so Catholike that crieth only that his doctrine is grounded vppon the writings of the Apostles and Prophets It is not sufficient to alleage and hudle vp many places of scripture which the heretikes do as roundely as the Catholikes but you must by good reason and sure grouÌ„de proue that those your places be well and duly alleaged and expounded But by what grouÌ„de and reason may this be proued By thre maners of waies First the teacher of any doctrine or preacher ought to proue and euidently declare that his doctrine or interpretation of holy Sripture is Catholike deriued from the Apostles receaued through out whole Christendom and continued vnto our time Secondarely that all the ordre maner and disposition of the church of Christ in the newe lawe was figured and shadowed by other obseruaunces and doings in the olde lawe Thirdly that euery principall article of our Catholike religion hath beÌ„ confirmed with some miracle whereby the verite of it hathe vnuincibly ben warranted As for example Amonge vs Catholikes it is a sure and vndoubted point in our religion that in the blessed Sacrament of the aultar vnder one kinde the whole and perfit body of Christe is contained as well as vnder bothe This point we first proue by the expresse worde of God vttered by the Apostle saying that Christ can not be diuided Nowe that this saying of the Apostle is well applied to the one kinde of bread in the Sacrament the common practise of Christes Catholike churche these many hundred yeares dothe abundantly witnesse Againe it is proued by an euident figure of the olde lawe For we reade in Moyses that although some gathered more some lesse of Manna which vndoubtedly as S. Paule witnesseth was the figure of our Lordes supper yet he that gathered lesse had as much as he that gathered more So Hilarius pope of Rome decreeth saying Where parte of the body is there is the whole for the like is in the body of our Lorde that was in Manna that figured it For not the visible quantite is to be considered in this misterie but the spirituall efficacie and vertu of the Sacrament Last of all this hath ben confirmed by so sundry and strauÌ„ge miracles wrought from God that who so hath any sparckle of Christen faith remaining in him can neuer doubt but that the body of Christ is as well vnder one kinde as vnder bothe The stories of the Iewes may testifie clerely this matter which happened in diuers places as at Passau Breslau Regenspurg and Tekendorph in Bauaria in the yeare of our Lorde 1337. and afterward at Berlin in the Marchise of Brandeburg in the yere 1512. and now lately in Pole in the dyocese of the Archebishop of Gnesna In whiche all places it hathe ben seen that out of the Hoste of our Lordes body foined in with daggers by the Iewes bloud hath gushed out and many other miracles haue befallen The which all surely almightie God of his mercie hath wrought for the confirmation of his churche in this article that vnder the forme of bread is fully contained his precious body and bloud and for the conuicting also of the damnable heresie of the Maniches who aboue a thousand yeares agone affirmed that vnder the forme of bread was the body without bloud This I haue brought in for an example to show howe the Catholike doctours are able to proue euery article of Catholike religioÌ„ That is by the Catholike vniuersal and receaued expositioÌ„ of holy scripture by the figures and shadowes of the olde lawe by the operation of miracles Surely who can thus proue his doctrine he may boldely saie that it is grounded vppon the writings of the Apostles and prophets Nowe if the Confessionistes speake as they think when they saie their doctrine is grounded vppon the Apostles and prophets and that they will proue it to be so in
dede let them trie their Confession and Apologie also by these waightes Let them from the first article vnto the last showe first that their doctrine is the right and Catholike exposition of Gods worde then whether they can confirme it by any one miracle last of all let them showe the maner and order of their Lutheran church to haue ben prefigured and shadowed in the olde lawe If they can so do I will warrant them that all Christē people wil gladly subscribe to their articles and beleue accordinge to their doctrine But if they are not able to perfourme this then let them not obiect to vs their Confession or Apologie let them suffer vs quietly and frely perseuere in our Catholike and auncient religion and we will not let them to crie to sweare and forsweare that their Confession is grounded vpon the writings of the Apostles and prophets And thus much hitherto haue we spoken as touching that which our Lorde saide Vppon the chaire of Moyses sit the scribes and pharises do all thinges that they shall bidde you to do For hitherto haue we talked howe to trie true doctrine and howe to knowe such as sit in dede vpon the chaire of Moyses It remaineth nowe to speake of the later part of Christes saying But do not as they do Which we must also no lesse discusse then the former For in this our miserable and vnhappy time bicause heretikes can not ouerthrowe by any good reason the very chaire of Moyses the doctrine of the church they take holde of the euill life of the clergy and barke at the dissolute liuing of those that sit in the chaire making the people beleue that their doctrine is no other then their life and behauiour is inferring very absurdely that the doctrine and the life is all one and can not be diuers which wicked opiniō hath bred much strife and caused muche trouble in the Christen common welth as in the writings of the fathers we may reade treating of the heresies of the Donatistae Encratitae Cathari and Apostolici But we haue in holy scripture markes inoughe and that euident to discern heresies which procede of euill doctrine from the euill life which procedeth of men For heresie being a very plage and poison of Christen religion S. Paule biddeth vs auoide and flie from the heretike after the first or second admonition Bicause he is subuerted that is such a one and offendeth being condemned by his owne proper iudgemēt And our Lorde biddeth vs to accompt him for an hethen and publicane that heareth not the church And publicanes were a sorte of mē with whom it was not lawfull for the Iewe to kepe cōpany withall S. Antony also that holy and famous ermite in his last wordes spoken before his death vnto his scholers left thē these two godly and wholesome lessons and most necessary for our time as that notable bishop Athanasius writing his life reporteth the first was Auoide ye the venim of al schismatikes and he retikes and folowe hardly the hatred that I bore alwaies against thē for they are the enemies of Christ and you knowe I neuer had softe or paisible cōmunication with them The second lesson is this Kepe aboue al thinges your vpright faith in Christ and the religious traditiō of your forefathers which you haue lerned by the reading of holy scripture and by my poore aduertismēt frō time to time This cōmaundemēt of auoiding and shunning heretikes is not made for the lerned only but also for the simple and vnlerned Which is readely proued by the sayings of our Sauiour Take ye hede of false prophets and againe If the blinde leade the blinde bothe fal into the ditche and such other But to forsake the church and the Catholike doctrine of the same by reason of the disordinat life of priestes and other prelats Christ not only neuer cōmaūded it but also very straitely forbad it declaring the parable of the husband man which forbad his seruaūtes to wede out the darnell from the corne Lest peraduenture saythe he gathering the darnell ye plucke vp also the corne let them therefore growe bothe together vntell the haruest time and then I will saie vnot the ripers gather first together all the darnell and binde it vp in bundles that it may be burned but the good corne gather in to my barne For as it becometh not the seruaunte to take vppon him the correction of such matters in the familie as the master vpon some waightie consideration would haue reserued to him selfe so much lesse in the church of Christ maye the laye men whose parte it is to obey and folowe not to prescribe lawes and orders take vppon thē the rule and dominion which appertaineth only to bishops and rulers in the church Farder that this is the true meaning of our Sauiour in the place aboue alleaged he declareth by an other similitude of the shrowde seruaunte which saide in his harte My Master will not come of a longe season and thereupon beginneth to strike his felowe seruauntes eating and drinking and making good chere But the Master of that seruaunt will come sayth Christ in the daye that he loketh not for and in the howre that he knoweth not and shall cutte him of and put his portiō with the hypocrites there shall be weping and gnashing of tethe Our Sauiour hath here plainly and roundely I trowe warned the laie people not only not to medle with chasten or correct their bishops pastours and Curates whom Christ as the Apostle saythe hathe appointed and set ouer them but also not to trouble instructe rule or reprehend their felowe laye folke though nowe a daies alas nothing is more common then clouters coblers sadlers taylers cytezens and men of the countre gentlemen and noble men to take vpon them in the church of Christ the parte of Masters and rulers to interpret holy scripture to prescribe their Curates howe and what to preache howe to administrat sacramēts setting them vp and downe at their pleasure whereas they ought by the expresse commaundement of S. Paule obey and submitt them selues vnto their curates vicars and bishops For thus he writeth vnto the Hebrewes Obey them that haue the ouersight of you and submit your selues vnto them for they watche for your soules euen as they that muste geue accompte that they may do it with ioye and not with grief For that is not expedient for you But you will saie These papiste bishops and priestes be men vnlerned incontinent dissolute geuen to ryot ambition to couetousnes to pompe and to all vice If you saie this of some certain amonge the clergy it may be true But if you speake of the whole clergy it is very false and vntrue For not only amōge the laye people but amonge the clergy also praised be God there be right vertuous sober and godly men vpon whom the fautes of the rest can not be fathered Yet if perhaps all these vices
not be brought about being to abolish olde and auncient religion and to plant a newe of his owne inuention To coulour therefore this his intent and fetch he forceth me the Apostle to speake for him and to vtter his doctrine in the vulgar tongue putting in for the wordes of the Apostle after the elements of the worlde his owne wordes after the lawes and ordonaunces of the worlde As though the Apostle had commaunded that bicause the ciuill lawes and decrees be not worde for worde expressed in the prophets or the Apostles but instituted for a policy and worldy gouuernement therefore that no man was bounde to obey them And this pageant so pretely entred of Luther proued not amisse especially for the trim tricked translation or rather transposing and altering of S. Paules wordes In an other booke entituled Of the secular power he writeth that amonge Christen men there ought to be no superiorite no power nor no Magistrat In the very same booke and in an Epistle againste the two edictes of the Emperour he writeth That our princes of Germany be lyars obstinat men without reason very bestes and to vse his owne wordes wild pret in himel that is like wilde dere in the element that we ought to praie to God that the subiectes obey not their magistrats nor go not to warre being pressed nor geue any thing towarde battaill against the Turke for that the Turke him selfe is ten times better then our Princes In the booke of his assertions against Leo the pope he affirmeth that To fight against the Turkes is to resiste God punishing vs by the Turkes tyranny In his booke de Captiuitate Babylonica he saieth There is no remedy to be hoped for onles the libertie of the ghospell he meaneth his owne being restored and all mens lawes vtterly extinguished we iudge and rule our selues For no Magistrat saythe he no nor angell of heauen hath the authorite to prescribe any lawe ouer Christen men other then they will be content them selues to folowe For Christen men are fre from al subiection Again in a litle booke againste the Collectours of wormes he writeth that no common welth is well ruled by lawes Last of all in his awnswer against Ambrosius Catharinus he stormeth like a madde man and crieth out that the Church of Christ and the ghospell caÌ„ in no wise acknowleadg or suffer any Magistrat or iurisdiction For al these thinges be but torments and cruell inuentions of men against Christians Luther then hauing by this false and foisted interpretation of S. Paule founde the meanes to burne the Canon lawe to bring in contempt the Ciuill lawe to raise vp the commons against their princes beside many other seditions and rebellions hereby procured I trust men will take hede and beware off such false forged and foisted interpretations For who seeth not that there is great difference betwene The elements of the worlde and the ordonnauÌ„ces of the worlde Chrisostom Theophilact Theodoret and other holy fathers interpreting this place of the Apostle teache vs that the worde Elemenâ—s do meane that we should auoide the Astronomicall predictions which are seldome without enchantemeÌ„ts and coungering And this is not only forbiddeÌ„ by scripture but also by Canons of the church and by the ciuill lawes as in Codice de Iudaeis Mathematicis a man may se is greuousely punished yet Luther wil haue no other thing ment by those wordes of the Apostle whatsoeuer the holy fathers saie then politick and ciuill ordonnaunces whiche he lowdely and lewdely curseth And Melanchthon in despite of the fathers and Canons maintaineth at Wittenberg most aboue other sciences Astrologie so that in no place it is so much folowed and practised as there I could bring here diuers other false and corrupted traÌ„slations of Luther but that I feare me I should wery the reader with ouer long and superfluous recitall thereof Notwithstanding who so loueth the truthe and will not willfully be abused he may iudge of these fewe examples what trust is to be geuen to the rest of Luthers translation an such other heretikes especially if he consider that he that is ones ouer the showes will not sticke yet to wade furder But here peraduenture a man will demaunde Sir if it be so that the reading of the Bible in the vulgar tongue be so perilous a matter howe shall the vnlerned laye man prouide that he be not abused in this case For many there are amonge the laite that caÌ„ not refraine from reading holy scripture taking it for a greate comfort and instruction as well to bridle their passions as to moue them to vertu What part then of holy scripture might well be permitted them to reade For the whole corps of the Bible were it neuer so wel translated yet I doubt whether it were expedient for the laye to reade it For it might be an occasion of idle and light thoughtes if euery girle or yonge womaÌ„ should reade the stories of Lot and his doughters of Lia and Rachel the wiues of Iacob of Iudas and Thamar and howe aduoutrie may be tried in wemen Whiche all in the olde testament is to be reade Amonge the Iewes it was a lawe that before the age of taking priesthood which was of thirty yeares no man should be suffred to reade the beginning of the Genesis the Canticles the ende and beginning of Echechiels prophecy And that bicause although all this were the worde of God yet it was not thought expedieÌ„t that euery one indifferently should lightely come to these secret and high misteries whiche God would not haue reueled to all lest being coÌ„moÌ„ as it happeneth they should the lesse be estemed Nor it hath not ben without the singular disposition and maruailous prouideÌ„ce of God that throughe all the west churche the wordes of his holy Sacraments haue amonge so many barbarous nations ben kept so longe time in the Latin tonge vnknoweÌ„ and straunge to the common sorte of men Yet that the laite be not vtterly excluded from the misteries of holy Scripture but that they may as farre as is expedient for them reade and knowe them this our counsell were not paraduenture amisse Bicause in holy scripture there are many stories and other thinges which are not necessary to be knowen not only of the laite but also of the inferiour sorte of the clergy certain bishops of Rome many yeares past haue piked out of the whole corps of the Bible certain most necessary parcels thereof and set it forthe together in the forme of a Breuiary or portise to be read of the clergy by dutie and of the laite such as listeth This is so distributed in to the seuen howres of Christes passion that who so listeth applie him selfe to praier and deuocioÌ„ can surely imagin no better order then that is The right Noble and excellent lerned man George Gienger one of the preuy counsell to the Emperours Maiestie well perceauing the great commodite thereof hathe translated
hath done most harme of any other Truly who so knewe what maner of men these were what abhominable doctrine they haue taught how variable and inconstant they haue ben in their owne sayings and doings if he be a ChristeÌ„ man and feareth God he will neuer forsake the whole corps of Christendom and the Catholike faithe of so many hundred yeares to folowe the priuat newe and variable doctrine of their braynes But it semeth they are of a number vnknowen and hereuppon rashely beleued I will therefore adde vnto this worke of Staphylus a short discours touching the doctrine of these thre Archeprotestants of our time For euen as the intent and purpose of that vertuous and lerned man Fridericus Staphylus in this his Apology by vs translated was to reduce his deere countremen of Germany wandering like straie shepe to the flocke off Christes churche againe partly by discouering the falshod of their guides craking of Gods worde without the right meaning thereof and abusing the vnlerned with false forged translating off the same which in the first and second part of his Apology he hath done partly also by setting before mens eyes their greate variaunces and most clere dissensions in doctrine an euident argumeÌ„t of heresy euen so our intent and pupose is for the edifieng of such of my dere countremeÌ„ as haue not of malice but of ignoraÌ„ce cleaued vnto the plausible and pernicious doctrine of these thre Archeheretikes Martin Luther Phil. MelanchthoÌ„ and Iohn Caluin to make an especiall discours of their doctrine bicause they are in our countre aboue all other secte masters most folowed For not only the common sorte of deceiued protestants but the lerned and pretended prelats and ministres of our countre are partly LutheraÌ„s partly Sacramâ—taries And of the LutheraÌ„s some though the fewer nuÌ„bre are zelous and rigorous LutheraÌ„s that is such as wil in al points folow Luther taking hym for the verâ— prophet of God the fifte Euangelist and the third Elias of our time Some are ciuill Lutherans gentle and courtly protestants which admit Luther so farre as theÌ„ list professing a kinde of indifferency in many matters of religioÌ„ as Melanchthon their first Master taught them The third sorte of protestaÌ„ts the most common and allowed secte in Englande are the Sacramentaries of Geneua Who are so greate in nuÌ„bre and authorite that the other are allmost of no accoÌ„pt or reputatioÌ„ To these meÌ„ Luther is a papist and Caluin is the right and vndoubted prophet To the entent therefore that beside the generall discours of Staphylus the particular humours of our countre may somewhat be serued I haue thought it necessary to annexe here vnto a particular discours of these thre sectes by examining the thre first founders and fathers thereof But especially and most largely we entend to treate of the Sacramentary secte as being the greatest sore of the corrupted body off our countre And although we saie not herein al that may be saied which would require a large volume and perhap more tedious then profitable yet these fewe that we shal bring may be sufficient arguments to discredit the authorite of any one of them which in many mens eyes semeth so greate that at the warrant off their mouthe they sticke not to caste awaye all credit off all the lerned men in Christe his churche this fiftene hundred yeares and vpwarde For if I declare vnto you most manifest and clere heresies such as haue ben condemned aboue a thousand yeares paste in that state and time of Christes church as our protestants yet acknowleadg or â—eme at the lest to acknowledg for pure and vncorrupted to be in the doctrine of Caluin If I showe most manifest contradictions and brutish absurdites oute off his writings in the waightiest articles of our belefe as of the blessed Sacrament of Baptim and of free will of man if I declare vnto you such inconstancy of Melanchthon as woulde scarse become a meane scholer in matters of common lerning yf I discouer a numbre of olde heresies condemned also in the primitiue church renewed by Luther generally receaued of all protestants beside diuers other most certain tokens of hereticall doctrine auouched by him all this I truste shall be a iuste and sufficient cause not only to suspect but vtterly to mislike the residew off their doctrine and opinions whereby they haue inueigled the hartes of men to the vtter destruction off thousands of soules For truly if they be men sent especially from God to restore vnto vs the light of his holy worde after the darcknes of so many hundred yeares as they pretend to be and are taken for such it can not possibly be but that their sayings and doings must sauour of the Apostles holy Martirs and awncient fathers of Christes church by whom the faith of Christ was first planted here on earth and spred through oute the whole worlde That is they must haue Cor vnum animam vnam One harte and one mynde as the Apostles had they must Obedire excorde in eam formam doctrinae in qua traditi sunt Obeyeuen from their harte to that mâ—ner of doctrine wherein they were brought vp as the first Christians did they must haue the ensample of holesom wordes and doctrine which they heard of their first fathers and teachers as the churche of Christ hath allwaies continued But iff their sayings and doings repugne directly against the manner and vsage of these holy men if they be at variaunce amonge them selues and with them selues as especially you shall see in Caluin if they forsake the trade of olde doctrine and renewe in their place olde condemned heresies if they forsake the ensample of other forging doctrine of their owne no Christen man may doubte but that they are not off that race nor line but rather of the issue of the olde heretikes whose doctrine they renew and behauiour they folow For vndoubtedly the saying of our Sauiour can not be false By their frutes you shall knowe them But now to the matter and first of Luther It is well knowen by all the histories of our time as of Fontanus Reuerus Sleidan and other that the first breache of the well ordred aray of Christes churche was by Luther attempted not of reuelatioÌ„ conscience or lerning but only for the grief of a repulse taken touching the publishing of that famous pardon of the Croâ—sad For hereuppon began he first to open his lippes against the abuse of pardons after against the pardons them selues theÌ„ against the whole authorite of the church not only in that matter but almost in al other necessary articles of belefe And biâ—ause we wil not go by coÌ„iectures but by mostâ—â— redemonstrations I will bring you the wordes of Luthâ—â— him sâ—lfe In a disputation before the Duke George of Saxony helde openly at Lipsia with D. Eâ—kius he doth plainly pronounce That the quarell of religion theÌ„ by him enter prâ—sâ—d was not begonn for the honour
being preached of a preteÌ„ded prelat of the Realme before so honourable an audience and at such a solemne memoriall or Obsequy I must here craue pardon gentle Reader of the if I diuert a litle from my principall purpose to examin that parte off the sermon as defendeth this olde heresie of Aerius Neither may you M. Grindall be offended herewith when you shall vnderstand it as I wish you maye iff a young scholer and puine student in diuinite adueÌ„ter to encounter with you The cause of the Catholike church whom wickedly with the olde heretike Aerius you blame and reproue the honourable Nobilite of the realme which in that place presumptuousely you abused the vnlerned audience of our dere countremen which shamefully you deceaued maketh me bothe to breake the order of my discourse and not to feare your person whom authorite hath more auaunced then lerning or true religion commended Non enim possumus aliquid aduersus veritatem sed pro veritate for we can not do any thinge against the truthe but for the truthe And what is it good Sir that moueth you to disproue praier for the dead First of all saie you in the Scriptures we finde no commaundement to praie for the soules of the dead vnlesse they will cite the place of the booke off Machabees And then S. Hierom shall make theÌ„ awnswer who permitteth in dede these bookes of Machabees to be read but bicause they be not of the Canon of the Scriptures they be not saieth S. Hierom sufficient of them selues to establish any doctrines in the Church of God This is your first reason Master Grindall why we ought not to praie for the dead and it containeth two partes First that we haue no coÌ„maundement in Scripture to praie for the soules of the dead but the place of the Machabees and then that the same place is not in the Canon off the Scriptures As touching the first parte I awnswer it that we are commaunded of S. Paul Tenere traditiones quas accepimus siue per sermonem siue per epistolam To kepe suche traditions as we haue receiued either by worde or by writing And S. Chrisostom telleth vs that it is a tradition of the Apostles to pray for the dead these are his wordes Non temere ab Apostolis haec sancita fuerunt vt in tremendis mysterijs defunctorum agatur commemoratio sciunt enim illis inde multum contingere lucrum vtilitatem multam Quum enim totus constiterit populus extensis manibus sacerdotalis plenitudo tremeÌ„duÌ„ proponatur sacrificiuÌ„ quo modo DeuÌ„ noÌ„ exorabimus pro his deprecantes that is These things saieth Chrisostom were not without cause decreed of the Apostles that in the dreadful mysteries we should remeÌ„bre the dead For they do know that it shall much auaile them For when al the people staÌ„deth with their haÌ„des stretched forthe and the number of priestes wheÌ„ the dreadfull sacrifice is proposed howe maye it be but that we shall obtaine of God praiyng for theÌ„ Now Sir S. ChrisostoÌ„ telleth vs it is a decree of the Apostles to pray for the dead which decree being not expressed in scripture is called a tradition And S. Paul biddeth vs kepe such traditions ergo we haue coÌ„maundement in Scripture to praie for the dead beside the place of the Machabees Againe are we not commaunded in scripture to praie one for an other Howe farre doth this commaundement extende doth it not reache to all those whose sinnes are remissible who are in the state to haue their sinnes forgeuen What then if scripture tel vs that after this life some sinnes are forgeuen Ought we not then praie for our brethern departed this life and burdned yet with such sinnes Let vs harken what our Sauiour saieth in the ghospell Whosoeuer saieth our Sauiour shall speà ke against the holy Ghoste it shall not be forgeuen him neither in this worlde neither in the worlde to come Other sinnes then of lesse offence and importaunce though they be not here forgeueÌ„ yet in the worlde to come they may be pardoned and released What place that is let your wisedome instruct vs M. Grindall In hel you knowe nulla est redeÌ„ptio there is no redemption and in to heauen nihil coinquinatum intrabit no defiled or spotted thinge shall enter How saie we then Scripture commaunding vs to praie one for an other and that praier extending to all suche as are in the state to haue their sinnes forgeueÌ„ such a state also being proued by scripture to be in the world to come which caÌ„ not be but of such as haue departed this world haue we not againe fouÌ„de in scripture a coÌ„maundement to pray for the deade and departed soules of this worlde beside the place of the Machabees What will you replie M. Grindall or what can you obiect against these arguments The principle of S. Paul bidding vs to kepe vnwriten traditioÌ„s if you limit and restraine it neuer so much yet must you nedes suffer it to extende to suche traditions as the Apostles them selues left vnto vs. You will not I dare saie prescribe against the Apostles And that the Apostles decreed praier to be done at the Masse time for the dead you heare Chrisostom saie and affirme Will you discredit S. Chrisostom Will you as Brentius youre mate saied of Epiphanius affirming that the Apostles had deliuered and taught that the vowe of virginite could not be broken Iudico eum tam bonum tam pium virum vt hac asseueratione non voluerit Ecclesiam Domini scienter fallere sed cum non fuerit admodum vicinus temporibus Apostolorum cogito multa ad eum publica sed incerta fama nomine Apostolorum relata esse quae fortassis alijde Apostolis vt plausibiâ—ior a essent coÌ„finxerunt so saie also of Chrisostom that you iudge Chrisostom in dede so good and â—â—tuous a man that he woulde not wittingly beguile the church of God with so stoute an asseueration and yet bicause he was not very nigh the Apostles you imagin that he might haue hearde many thinges by reporte as froÌ„ the Apostles which other perhaps to make such matters more plausible had fained that they came eueÌ„ froÌ„ the Apostles Will you thus I saie as your mate Brentius did delude the authorite of Chrisostom Truly other shift you haue none And theÌ„ we may aske you whether you were nerer to the Apostles and more assured what doctrine they lefte behind them then Chrisostom was There is no lesse you knowe then twelue hundred yeares betwene you and Chrisostom And yet not only Brentius but your selfe and all such as with you haue departed from the Catholike doctrine of Christes churche do stoutely affirme that the Apostles neuer praied for the dead nor neuer decreed any such matter Nowe then let the Christen Reader iudge who is herein more to be trusted Chrisostom or you and iff one Chrisostom fuffise not let S. Augustin a
to heresy And truly euen as the beginning and course of Luthers doctrine hath thouroughely resembled the maner of olde heretikes so his ende was not much vnlike to witt a soden and vnprouided death For being mery and makinge greate feste ouer night he was fouÌ„de dead in the morning Such soden deathe was neuer reade off any Apostle or Euangelist of Christ. But of diuers heretikes especially of Arrius thoughe as by that the Arrians were nothing moued so the Lutherans of this make smal accompte And this much of Luther the father protestant of oure time as touching the pointes of his doctrine where you see bothe what a godly ground he layde and howe in the course and issue there of he hathe showed him selfe to be but a scholer of olde heretikes as he hathe ben the Master of many newe For this man worse then any gutter or sinke whiche receaueth onely the filthe that is brought vnto it bredeth none not onely toke olde heresies of other but added also thereuÌ„to some of his owne breding of his owne filthy brayne as foule fonde doctrine as any foolish heretike before him And of these his proper inuentioÌ„s one of the maddest is that he teacheth the bread remaining bread to be the very naturall body of Christ in the Sacrament Which hathe semed such a fonde doctrine eueÌ„ to the ghospellers theÌ„ selues his scholers and brethern that the farre greater part off them hath in consideration of this point chefely not doubted to condemne him for an archeheretike â–ª as you may see by the wordes of the brethern of Zurich in the thirde parte of this booke And by reason of this absurde doctrine not onely at the first Zuinglius Oecolampadius and Caluin drewe with them diuers countres from the vnite of Luthers ghospell but also the Lutherans them selues hauing many yeares serued the idoll Luther daily faile and shrinke from him cleauing to the cursed Sacramentaries proceding allwaies in mischef and encreasing with time their heresies and abominations About this time two yeare Brema a greate cyte of Saxony and one of the firste that had receaued the light of Luthers ghospel hauing coÌ„tinued in the foresayde doctrine of Luther aboute fourty yeares as zelous and vpright Lutherans now after greate strife and contention amonge them selues hath openly condemned the same and are become Caluinistes Likewise in Augspurg where the famous CoÌ„fession of the Lutherans was made â—â—fred to the Emperour and confirmed by all the Nobilite of the protestants yet nowe there are mo Caluinistes then Lutherans mo that disproue that CoÌ„fessioÌ„ and doctrine of Luther theÌ„ that approue it How other couÌ„tres also haue flitted froÌ„ Luther hauing many yeares serued hiÌ„ you haue in the thirde part of this booke declared Our countre also being at the firste chaunge all Lutheran is nowe become for the moste parte Caluiniste and Lasconicall as not onely oure doings at home declare but other countres abrode haue noted of vs. Peter Martyr at his first coming to Oxforde was a right LutheraÌ„ in the matter of the Sacrament as he declared him selfe not onely in priuat communication but also in his open lessons where inueighing at a time against the argumeÌ„t of the SacrameÌ„taries Christ is in heauen ergo he is not here in the Sacrament he cried oute Profecto est nodus Diaboli that is Sothely this is a shifte of the deuil him selfe He was wonte also at his first coming to Oxford to complaine Anglos nimiuÌ„ vergere ad Zuinglianismum that we english men enclined to much to the Zwinglians Afterward as al the worlde knoweth he condemned Luther and became him self a ZuingliaÌ„ For he had lerned an other lesson in the Courte Philip Melanchthon him selfe the very darling of Luther and father of the Confessionistes in his later daies became a very Sacramentary as his familiar letters to the Counte Palatin of Rhene printed at Heidelberg in the yeare 1560. hathe declared to al the worlde Thus the proper heresy of Martin Luther that he him self by the spirit of the newe ghospel had inuented in the despite of the Pope for so he protesteth him selfe in a letter of his to the brethern of Strasburg was at the first much misliked and is nowe allmost euerywhere vtterly abhorred Ioachimus VVestphalus the onely staye and piller of this Lutheran doctrine coÌ„plaineth him selfe hereof For thus he writeth No false doctrine is so farre spredde none with so much labour and hypocrisy defended non hath more beguiled the worlde then this false doctrine of the blessed Sacrament â–ª meaning the heresy of the Sacramentaries And Nicolaus Amsdorfsius an other zelous Lutheran writeth thus The Anabaptistes and the SacrameÌ„taries do blinde and deceaue Germany with their pretended holines euen as the monkes before blinded the whole worlde And this verely hathe happened on Luther and his felowes not without the iuste iudgemeÌ„t of God For whereas vpon dispiteous malice he laboured by his new doctrines to ouerthrow the church of Rome where it hath pleased our Sauiour to place his vicar here on earthe as in diuers of his writings it appeareth he hath wrought his oune destruction and shame for though in very dede through the pernicious persuasions of that wedded frere certain places and corners of Christendome haue swarned froÌ„ the Catholike church and authorite of that Apostolike see in these northe partes of the worlde yet it hathe thousands folde more ben enlarged in the west partes and the newe landes founde oute by Spanyardes and Portugalles in these late yeares as the letters off the Iesuites directed from those countres in to these partes do euidently and miraculousely declare And truly eueÌ„ so befel it at what time Grece and the easte churche departing from the head and vnite of Christes church gaue them selues to sundry schismes and heresies For then sprange vp the faithe in Germany Pole Dennemarke Swethen Norwaie and other northe Countres For thus from the east to the northe and from the northe to the west of the faithe of Christe passeth donec as Christe saithe impleantur tempora gentium Vntell the times of the gentils be acomplished Oure Lorde graunte that it passe not from vs by heresy and schisme as it passed from the grekes and from Afrike the southe parte of the worlde For bothe these people through schismes especially of the Arrians and their ofspringe lost the faith of Christe as the histories declare vnto vs. But to returne to our matter the church of Rome the see Apostolike that Luther laboured by heresy to ouerthrowe standeth yet in his full force and interest notwithstanding the miserable losse of a numbre in our countre and otherwhere Truly Luther him selfe cometh very short of the counte he made being reiected nowe allmoste euery where The Catholike also may lerne to auoide and shunne hereby all maner of protestants what so euer name or secte they be of proceding all of this heade beinge all the corrupted issue of
dissension For truthe is allwaies vniforme and agreable with it selfe And as the philosopher saieth of vertu so in truthe there is but one waie to hitt the marke a man may shoote aside diuers waies Wherefote two contrary sayings maye bothe be false and vntrue but truthe can neuer stand with a contrary Who then teacheth contradiction as he must nedes teach some falshood so possibly he may teach al false and beside the marke euen as it happeneth with all heretikes that leaue the common highe waie of their forefathers and seke out by pathes of their owne inuentioÌ„s wherein the faster they runne the farder they straye and the harder they finde the right waie againe Secondarely as touching the repugnaunce that is in Caluins doctrine against the expresse worde off God I will also by two maner of waies declare First by a number of his propositions and assertions coÌ„trary to the expresse wordes of Christ and his Apostles next by the auouching of such doctrine as concurreth with olde heresies condemned aboue a thousand yeares past in that state and time off Christ his church as Caluin him selfe doth in sundry places especially vpon the prophets and in his epistle to Sadoletus allowe and reuerence We recited you before diuers olde carren heresies that Luther stirred vp but Caluin beside all those hath nouseled yet a litle farder and digged deper then Luther did For euen as a a bestly sowe coming in to a faire garden sett with diuers swete flowres and pleasaunt herbes if in some corner thereof she espie a donghell or heape of rotten wedes or other filthe cast aside will straite nousell there and tomble her selfe in the filth and carren thereof not medling with the swete floures or pleasaunt herbes so truly these bestly heretikes of our time especially Luther and Caluin liuing in the church of Christ compared in scripture to the garden of the bridegrom wherein are bothe swete herbes of heauenly doctrine and most delectable floures of vertuous liuing lacking not yet her spottes and wrincles of euil life wich she alloweth neuer but tolerateth of necessite and lamenteth hauing also not in her but by her and cast oute of her a nuÌ„ber of olde coÌ„demned heresies they like bestly swine nether embrace the vertuous liuing that she vseth but raiseth at the infirmities whiâ—h she is constrained to suffer nether folow the steps of her heauenly discipline and vpright belefe but getting them to the donghell nouâ—ell them selues in the olde condemned heresies and veÌ„t them abrode to the world But nowe to come to the matter it self let vs considre first the absurde doctrine that he leaueth vs in his writings I entend not to discourse vpon all the pointes of his hereticall doctrine but for a taste off the rest I will examin his assertions about the blessed SacrameÌ„t of the aultar bicause this article doth most nearest touche the glory and maiesty off oure Sauiour being the most precious iewell that he left vnto his church After also we wil note diuers heresies bothe olde and new in his doctrine vpon the sacrament of baptim Last of all a fewe notable contradictions aboute his doctrine of the fre will of man But now to the first point Caluin in his Institutions in his treatise of the Lordes Supper teaching howe by his imagination we receiue Christ in the Sacrament after long dalying as though he would graunte a reall receiuing off Christ his body at the length he concludeth in these wordes Corporis communionem Spiritus sui virtute Christus in nos diffundit that is Christ pooreth downe vpoÌ„ vs the communion of his body by the vertu of his Spirit Which is as much to saie Christ communicateth vnto vs his body by the vertu of his Spirit This is in fewe wordes the communion of Caluin and all the Sacramentarieâ—â— denieng that we eate in dede the body of Christ otherwise then by faith Nowe let vs see what absurdites folowe thereof First no scripture hath this doctrine And how absurde a thing it is to folowe any doctrine without Scripture Caluin him him selfe telleth vs. In his institutions thus he writeth I ought not to seme to any man coÌ„tentious that I staie so earnestly vpon this point that it is not lawfull for the Churche to make any new doctrine that is to teache or deliuer for truthe any more then the Lorde hath reueled by his worde For wise men do see howe great a danger that is if so much authorite were graunted to men They see what a windowe is opened to the mockes and scoffes of wicked men if we sayie that to be taken for truthe among Christians which men shall thinke good Let now then any scholer of Caluin showe in all Scripture where it is writen that Christ by the vertu of his spirit pooreth downe vppon vs the communion off his body For Caluin as he writeth in his Harmony vpon the ghospelles thinketh it an absurde thinge to saie that the flesh of Christ it selfe should be deriued vnto vs. But he sayeth the communion of Christ his flesh is deriued vnto vs which he interpreteth to be a quikening vertu out of Christ his flesh correcting Christe promising vs his very flesh Now as I saied of the deriuation of any such communion of Christes fleshe no Scripture mencioneth But it is a sophisticall suttelty of Caluins imagination not reueled in any place by Gods worde This is lo then one dangerous absurdite by the confession off Caluin him selfe onles perhaps he haue some priuiledge more then the whole Churche hathe For in the Churche he alloweth nothing beside the expresse worde off God Againe let vs consider what is the communion of Christ his body poored downe vpon vs. It is saieth Caluin vis quaedam viuifica ex Christi carne in nos diffusa that is a certain quickening power poored downe vpon vs out of the flesh of Christ. Christ saieth in S. Iohn that his flesh is meat in dede and biddeth vs eate his flesh and drinke his bloud and in the other thre Euangelistes he saieth Eate this is my body but Caluin saieth we eate the bread and haue a certain quickening power out of the fleshe not as in his Harmony he saieth the flesh it self and that we haue a communioÌ„ of his body poored downe vpon vs which is not to eate the body as Christ badde vs. This lo is not only beside scriture but expresly against holy Scripture Thirdly where Christ biddeth vs eate his fleshe saying he that eateth my fleshe abydeth in me he teacheth an action on oure part touching the receiuing of Christ But where Caluin telleth vs that a communioÌ„ of Christ his body is deriued vnto vs he putteth no action on oure part touching the receiuing off Christ but only touching the eating off the bread For we eate not the body of Christ by Caluins doctrine but a coÌ„munion of the same body is deriued vpon vs and poored downe
Catholike church In his Institutions disputing against the reall presence of Christ in the Sacrament and awnswering to those which for possibilite of being in diuers places at ones alleage that the body of Christ is glorious and immortall and not subiect to place and measure as oure corruptible bodies are he writeth thus Some againe saieth he seke a more suttle escape to wit that the body of Christ geuē in the Sacramēt is glorious and immortall and therefore that it is not absurde he be in diuers places or in no certain place or in any certain forme vnder the Sacrament But I aske them VVhat body gaue our Lorde to his disciples the daie before he suffred Do not the wordes sounde that he gaue his mortall body and the same which shoulde forthwith be deliuered Thus farre Caluin If then this maner of reasoning be currant and allowablein Caluin Christ before he suffred gaue his mortall body to be eaten ergo he geueth not nowe any other in the Sacrament why then maye not we also reason against him The Apostles before Christ suffred beleued not in the resurrection and yet notwithstanding receaued the body of Christ in the Sacrament ergo it is not nowe requisit and necessary for the eating of Christ his body to beleue in his resurrection If this maner of reasoning be naught and vicious then you lerne that Caluin in reasoning against the churche speaketh not allwaies the ghospell but vttereth sometimes his ignoraunce And if this maner of reasoning be good then Caluin misseth much of the marke in his doctrine where he teacheth that to eate Christ is to beleue in his passion and resurrection Againe we do not reason in this sorte The Apostles at the Maunde beleued not in the resurrection ergo such faith is not nowe necessary as Caluin reasoneth The body of Christ was then mortal ergo it is not to be considered here as a glorious body or immortall But this is our reason The Apostles in the laste supper beleued not in the resurrection ergo Calvin defining the eating of Christ in the Sacramēt to be a beleuing in the deathe and resurrection of Christ excludeth the Apostles from eating of Christes body in the last Supper This is lo the effect of our reasō Nowe if we would infer beside that bicause the Apostles did not then beleue such belefe now is not necessary I graūte the argumēt were naught and yet were it such as Caluin vseth against vs as you haue heard I haue troubled you here somewhat longe But this you haue gained that not only the presēt point of his doctrine whereof we now purposely do entreate is proued to be absurde and detestable as the which excludeth the Apostles from the true receauing of Christ in the laste Supper but also we haue farder declared you an other false point of his maner of reasoning against the Catholike doctrine in this moste blessed Sacrament The fifte absurdite against this pointe of his doctrine maie be this If the eating of Christ his body be as Caluin saith vpon S. Ihon the worke of faithe or as he writeth in his Institutions the effect of faithe that is if by beleuing in Christ we eate and receaue Crist in to vs then to what purpose did S. Paule bid men proue them selues first and so to eate Christ For he that proueth trieth and examineth him selfe first he beleueth For without faith there is no triall of our hartes and he that cometh to god saieth the Apostle must first beleue then if he beleue before he proue him selfe he eateth by Caluins saieng the body of Christ before he be proued How standeth this with S. Paul bidding vs first to proue and so to eate Surely S. Paule mēt that the eating of Christ was not by faith only which we muste nedes haue before we can proue and trie our owne worthines or vnworthines but by receauing really after due probation and trial the very true and naturall body of our Sauiour Iesus Christ. Last of all if the eating of life whiche Christ promiseth in the Sacrament is the effect of faith the eating of iudgement and deathe is the effect of infidelite That is if by faith we duely receaue the blessed Sacramēt through infidelite and lacke of faith we receaue our owne damnation By this reason the Turke shall through his infidelite eate iudgment and dānation though he neuer eate the Sacrament nor the bread which S. Paule spake of This doctrine therefore of Caluin maie haue good rime but surely it hathe small reason it may sounde well in the eares of ignorant persons that we eate Christ no otherwise then by beleuing in him but it standeth with no reason at all as you haue I trust sufficiently heard and yet when we come to the contradictions of Caluin you shal here more and see Caluin confute him selfe I will note onely more most notable absurdite in this their doctrine whereby you shall perceaue to what point they bring this holy Sacrament and so come to the contradictions of Caluin as we promised Caluin teacheth in his Catechisme that we receaue the communion of Christ his body as well in baptim and by hearing the ghospell as at the Lordes supper But that in Baptim and by the ghospell we receaue him but in parte in the Supper we receaue him wholy and fully And in his resolution of the Sacraments he teacheth that we receaue Christ in the Supper euen as we had him before continually dwelling in vs. For saieth he Faithe being required of vs before we come to the Sacrament we haue Christ also before for oure faith is not without Christ And euen as the vse of the Sacraments profiteth no more the vnbeleuers then if they vsed them not at all so the beleuers communicat and haue the verite figured by the Sacraments which is Christ euen without the vse of the Sacraments Farder the profit which we receaue at the Sacramēts ought not to be restrained to the very time we receaue thē as though the signe being geuen vs we receaued withal incontinently the grace of God It maie well happen that the receit of the Sacrament that in the acte profited nothing through our defaute or slacknes maie afterwarde bring forth better frute Hetherto Caluin In these wordes Caluin concludeth his doctrine touching this blessed Sacrament Let vs nowe examin it What meaneth Caluin so to debace the excellent vertu of this blessed Sacrament as to compare it to baptim or hearing of the ghospell forsothe to persuade men that it were nought els but a morcell of bread a mere figure badge or token For see I praie you what his opiniō and doctrine is touchīg baptim Baptim saithe he in his institutions is a signe of the entring whereby we are receaued in to the felowship of the Church that being grafte in Christ we maie be accompted amonge the Children of God Here he meaneth baptim not to make vs entre in to Christ
the worlde and that in eating the bread we eate nothing els â–ª And truly if you remembre his doctrine before yow see he meaneth nought ells S. Paule speaking of our Lordes body and bloud geuen vs in the blessed sacrament saithe thus He that eateth and drinketh vnworthely eateth and drinketh his owne damnation not discerning the body of oure Lorde Caluin in his coÌ„mentaries vppoÌ„ this place saithe That the wicked person therefore eateth vnworthely bicause he refuseth the body of our Lorde offred vnto him eating thereby the onely signe to wit bare bared Marke the differeÌ„ce of S. Paules doctrine and Caluins imagination For howe dothe the wicked eate the body and therewith his daÌ„nation whiche S. Paule teacheth iff he eate but bread and refuse the body which Caluin imagineth I will graunte who refuseth Christ refuseth life and thereby worketh his owne damnation But this is not to eate his damnation in such sorte as S. Paule speaketh there Our Sauiour in the sixte of Ihon saithe Your fathers did eate Manna in the desert and are dead This is that bread whiche cometh downe from heauen that a man maye eate thereof and not die Caluin in his commentaries vpoÌ„ the first to the CorinthiaÌ„s the tenth chapter teacheth that the Iewes eating MaÌ„na did eate the very body of Christ spiritually as we do and receaued the same effect by eating the Manna as we do by the communion He laboureth muche in that place to proue this fonde doctrine and forgeth a sory shifte to auoide these wordes of our Sauiour in S. Ihon. Christ saythe he hauing to do with the Iewes preferring Moyses before him in his answer to them expounded not what Manna signified but letting all other thinges passe framed them an answer mete for their capacite speaking not according to the nature of the thinge but according to the meaning and sâ—ns of the hearers Thus muche Caluin But beholde I beseche you the sophistry of this wily heretike He woulde make vs beleue that Christ in S. IhoÌ„ plaied the RhetoriciaÌ„s part and withall is not afeared to make our Sauiour O blasphemous Sacramentary a lyar For Christe saithe plainely That the Iewes eating Manna died for not by eating Manna but by beleuing in the Messias to come they were fedde of Christ But the bread which he would geue shoulde be life euerlasting to those whiche eate off it Iff nowe as Caluin saithe the eating of Manna serued their turne no lesse then the bread of life Christ him selfe serued oures to witt that they receaued also the bread of life spiritually in eating Manna as we do in eating the blessed Sacrament then were not that sayieng off Christe true nor his comparison good preferring the bread of life which he would geue vs before the Manna of the Iewes For their Manna as Caluin saithe was bread of life to them then was it not inferiour to that whiche Christe woulde geue but all one and the same But nowe to an other Our Sauiour in S. Ihon hath these wordes Who eateth my fleshe and drinketh my bloud dwelleth in me and I in him Caluin correcteth these wordes in his doctrine of the Supper and maketh this proposition Who beleueth in the death and resurrectioÌ„ of Christ the coÌ„munion of his flesh is deriued vnto him by the vertu of his holy Spirit First in this doctrine where Christ biddeth vs eate his flesh and so promiseth him selfe to dwel with vs and in vs Caluin biddeth vs beleue in Christ his death saieng thereby we eate his flesh and theÌ„ in stede of Christ God and maÌ„ abiding in vs which our Sauiour in this most holy SacrameÌ„t promiseth and no doubt perfourmeth vnto vs Caluin warraÌ„teth vs of a certain coÌ„munioÌ„ of the flesh remaining only in heaueÌ„ which shal be deriued he sayeth by the Spirit off Christ vnto vs. This is lo not to haue God and man Christ him selfe abiding in vs which bicause Christ promiseth vs we must vndoubtedly beleue so but to haue him onely spiritually abiding in vs to witt coming to vs onely by spirit and abiding onely in heauen by fleshe How false and howe farre disagreble with the wordes of our Sauiour this doctrine of Caluin is we haue in his absurdites and contradictions declared Presently it suffiseth to knowe that he dothe bothe in termes and in sense comptroll and alter the wordes and meaning of oure Sauiour S. Paule writing to the Corinthians of the due accesse and reuerence of this blessed Sacrament saith Let euery maÌ„ trie him selfe and so eate of this bread Caluin in his Institutions and vpon the sixte of Ihon teacheth that by beleuing we eate Christ. Nowe seing that no man trieth him selfe but first he beleueth and in beleuing we eate Christ then before we trie oure selues we do eate contrary to the expresse wordes off the Apostle bidding vs first to trie our selues and so to eate of this bread of life And truly according to the doctrine of Caluin as you haue sene before beleuing in Christes deathe and resurrection we eate and receaue the body and bloud off Christ allwaies no lesse then in the vse of the Supper or communion Which excludeth all triall of our selues required by S. Paul For the maintenance of this wicked Sacramentary doctrine Caluin abuseth and turneth from their right vnderstanding not onely suche places of holy scripture as directly make against him as you haue hetherto partly sene but also suche as by any consequence of reason might seme to hinder the course of his wicked doctrine For example I will pnt you in minde of one or two Whereas it is writen in S. Ihon that Christ entred where his disciples were the doores being shutt bicause this miracle might importe to the body of oure Sauiour a possibilite of being in sundry places at ones and so destroy the false grounde of these sacramentaries tying Christ to the right hande of his Father Caluin in his institutions saithe that Christ entred not the dores being shutt but that the dores opened of them selues Otherwhere he writeth that an erthequake was made and so the dores opened Brefely he inuenteth what shifte he maie rather them he will yelde to the truthe of the churche With like confidence this presumptuous SacrameÌ„tary Ihon Caluin peruerteth by false traÌ„slatioÌ„ the wordes of holy scripture in the prouerbes of SalomoÌ„ coÌ„taining a clere prophecy of this blessed sacrameÌ„t We alleaged you the place before and after what sort it was by him corrupted If we would in other pointes and articles of the Catholike faith by him denied and impugned vse the like diligence we could be as loÌ„ge in the retical and setting forthe of theÌ„ as he is in the whole corps of his workes where such doctrine is taught But nowe I will procede to the other partes of oure promis touching this one article and after saie somewhat of some other point of his doctrine Oure Lorde in holy scripture by the mouthe off his prophet