experienc'd Physitians draw infinite advantages from that universal Crisis of the World Nothing was ever better contriv'd for that purpose then the Council of Trent And he that will survey it without being blinded with any preposterous Zeal will easily be convinc'd that Paul the Third the Promoter of it was a Man of great abilities and that his Predecessors trepidaverunt timore ubi non erat timor Psal 53. 6. IV. The Pope passes his word to call a Council against the express promise that Adrian the 6th had made of having it in Germany according to the constant maxime of the Canons To end Causes where their occasion began he calls it at Trent This Council summoned at Trent is so afraid not to be accounted a General and a Lawful one that it entitles it self at the beginning of all its Sessions Sancta oecumenica Synodus in Spiritu Sancto legitime congregata Who now would not think after such big words that from all places where our Blessed Saviors name is known Bishops did flock to Trent Who would not have expected to meet there with some Eastern Patriarchs or African Prelates Who would not have promised himself in reading the Subscriptions of this Council to â—ind more than 300 Witnesses of his Faith as at Nice 600. as at Chalcedon and in our very times 300 as at Constance or 400 as at Basil Who would not have â—ntertain'd hopes of hearing there many Athanasius's Cyril's Eusebius's Spiridio's Paphnutius's c In a word Who would not have flatter'd himself that our holy Faith had now bin made most clear and manifest and that Gods Spirit a Spirit of liberty and peace 2 Cor. 3. 17. had animated that great Body Nevertheless what must we say when we see appear there not any of those remote Bishops nay scarce any of the nearest not so much as one of Germany Poland England Denmark Sueden or France That grand oecumenical holy admir'd Council is reduc'd to three Cardinals five Arch-Bishops 36 Bishops for the most part without Churches some Mendicant Divines headed by Lainez and Salmero two stars of the Firmament worthy sons of the grand holy oecumenical company of Jesus The Sermons which were made at every Session and their manner of discussing the controverted Points are an evident proof of the mean parts not to say any thing sharper and truer of all these Divines Nay and to supply so remarkable a defect we hear of no extraordinary qualities nor eminent and surpassing Virtue nor gift of Tongues nor working of Miracles nor Spirit of Prophecy Notwithstanding this small handful 〈◊〉 People take upon them to explain the most obscure and intricate matters to give them after a slight and precipitatâ— survey a final determination and to make more Canons in one Session of four hours then the four first General Councils all put together had done in four hundred Years V. The Pope claims to himself the power of calling that Council He does not consider it as a privilege or an usurpation which the silence of those that are interested therein seem to render lawful but as an inseparable and inherent right to his See Nos saith Julius the Third ad quos ut summos pro tempore Pontifices spectat Concili a generalia indicere dirigere c. Who could imagine Christs Vicar to be a man of so small sincerity Eusebius Socrates and Theodoret affirm that the Nicene Council was call'd by the great Constantine The first Constantinopolitan which is the second General was called by Theodosius that of Ephesus by Theodosiue junior that of Chalcedon by Marcianus the fifth General by Justinian the sixth by Constantine the Fourth the seventh pretended General Council by Constantine and Irene his Mother the eighth by the Emperor Basil All these are accounted General in the Roman Church and full of so evident proofs that the Cardinals Cusan Jacobatius and Zabarella confess that in the Primitive Times the right of calling Councils belonged to the Emperors but so many that were assembled in Germany England France Spain Italy c. that of Constantia by Sigismundus that of Pisa by Maximilian gather'd for the most part to depose Popes make it appear that so great a Truth was not wholly worn out in the last Ages VI. It is pleasant to consider how different the stile of Popes in former times is from that of the present We were in hopes saies Pope Leo to the Emperor Marcianus Epist 44. that your clemency would condescend so far as to defer the Council but since you resolve it should be kept I have sent thither Paschasin Has not the Roman Church saies Pope Stephen to another Emperor sent her Legats to the Council when you commanded it We do offer these things to your Piety saies Pope Adrian to the Emperor Basil with all humility veluti praesentes genibus advoluti coram vestigia pedum volutando But Pope Paul the Third speaks quite in another manner Nulli hominum liceat hanc paginam infringere vel ei ausu temerario contraire The Bull of Julius the Third is yet more bold and ill becomes the humility of one that writes himself The Servant of Servants So that it must needs be that either former Popes were extremely ignorant of the extent of their Power or that the ambition of the later is grown too exorbitant VII The Author of the Considerations upon the Council of Trent seems to be perswaded of this want of Jurisdiction in the Pope and he is at such a loss to excuse it that he has nothing to say but that in the Troubles that Europe had bin engaged in this right was devolv'd to the Pope But was not Europe more disturb'd when Frederick the First gathered a Council at Pavia where the German English French Italian Hungarian and Danish Bishops met together When Charles the Sixth King of France call'd one at Rhemes whither the Emperor being pleased to be present the King of England and many other Princes sent their Ambassadors Or when both the Pisan and Constantian Councils were indicted by the Emperors with so great applause of all Christians VIII Nor is it more difficult to prove that the Pope has no right of presiding in Councils nor ought we to recur for that to many subtil distinctions or deep Ratiocinations We need not put our selves upon the rack as the Cardinals Baronius and Bellarmine frequently do to render that probable which is evidently false and to make people wavering in things which are undoubtedly true We need but open those Books wherein lie the precious and everlasting Monuments of Antiquity and the precedent conduct of so many holy Bishops Constantine the Great presided at the first General Council as Pope Stephen doth acknowledge in his Letter to the Emperor Basil Theodosius senior did the same at the second and from the small remains that we have of this Council
prolong his life he would have done great things The reformation of Popes was a wound never searched without making them fall into dreadful fits All Christians desired the primitive times in matters both of Doctrine and discipline should be brought again But they were afraid at that word and the only representation of such a Council as those four which Pope Gregory the Great reverenced as the four Gospels was a phantôme which all the exorcisms in the World could not drive away We need but read Onuphrius their historian to be acquainted with their fears Cardinal Pallavicini could not conceal them Cardinal Bellai represents in his memoires how much Pope Paul the Fourth was frighted And all the World was so far perswaded that this only thing hindred them from proceeding that Monsieur de Ferrieres Embassadour of his most Christian Majesty to the Council told them not only in his Masters name but also of all the Gallican Church that more than an hundred and fifty years since a reformation of the head and members had bin expected in the Church that it had bin required in the Constantian Basilean and Ferrarian Councils but could never be obtained that t was no hard matter to guess at the reason of so many delaies XV. The truth on 't was the Popes wounds were grown altogether incurable There had bin a kind of prescription against all their abuses Many holy men had inveigh'd against them on all occasions but in vain and thus usurpation had lasted so long that they did account it a lawful authority T was so pleasing to them to thunder at all the World upon the smallest occasion that they could not renounce it without thinking themselves undone In a word they were not taken so much with the humble and penitent lives of the Popes Adrian and Marcellus as with the audacious and voluptuous ones of Boniface Leo and Hildebrand Nevertheless this sick and languishing person is allow'd to govern his own Physitians The general complaint of the World is that the Popes swelling ambition has made him break through all laws that the Court of Rome is become a sink of wickedness that the vices of the head infected the members that without the reforming of this head there is no hope left for laying of any solid foundation And yet he presides in his Council He calls directs and transports it by his â—ull and sole authority tho the 400 Preâ—ates met at Basil had made it a point of the Catholic Faith that 't was not in his power his Spirit fits the mouth of his Legats and the fear of him strikes the hearts of the Bishops XVI Paul the third being afraid of nothing so much as of a free Council where Protestants should be heard provided so well against these two inconveniences that the Conventicles of Tyre of Antioch or of Ephesuâ— in comparison of that would have bin thought freedom it self Peace being the source of all freedom in an Ecclesiastical assembly where all the members of it are stil'd by Scripture Evangelists of peace that Pope was extreamly diligent in fomenting War thro all Europe This we are assur'd of by the speech of Cardinal de Monte that of Cardinal de Lorraine the letters of the Lantgrave de Hesse of the Duke of Saxony and of that Pope himself to the Switzers wherein he acquaints them he has made a league with the Emperor to underminâ— Protestants and intends for that purpose to raise all the forces of the Ecclesiastical state What name shall we give a Council which has such a Pope for its president Do's he deal out of charity or ambition Do's he design to convert Souls by force of Arms What can they think of the Church who are suppos'd to be separated from her How long is it since Councils were taught to War with any other weapon then Scriptures then tears and Praiers Is that Pope to be trusted who at the same time he offers to receive his Children into his bosome can lift up his hand to strike them Julius the Third was of a greater sincerity and scorn'd to deal deceitfully When he call'd the Fathers to Trent he openly agreed with the Emperor to make War against France about the Dukedom of Parma and to speak as Onuphrius who is more his Panegyrist than his Historian set Italy and the rest of Europe in a flame What peace then or freedome could a Council enjoy when all Europe was emâ—roil'd and groan'd under a bloody War and what designs of reunion and charity could a Pope entertain who sought nothing but confusion and trouble Pius the Fourth seem'd to be asham'd of it He was so little convinc'd of the validity of what ever had bin done at Trent that when he recall'd again his Synod the third time he was at a loss how to term it whether it should be considered as a new one or but a continuation of the first French-men claim'd the one Spaniards pretended the other The Pope saies his Panegyrist met with an expedient to make them agree and he did so contrive his Bull that all were equally satisfied that is to say he daub'd up the business he flatter'd each one with a fancy they had bin victorious but he gave occasion at the same time to all clear-sighted men to wonder at a conduct so far distant from the candor and ingenuity of the first Ages and so full of carnal wisdom which the Apostle stiles Death and to beleive that he never intended to heal the wounds of the Church but only to cover them and create her new ones XVII What is the reason the Pope is so earnest for the Council to be held in Italy and stops his ears to the cries of Germany the complaints of Protestants and the entreaties of so many Princes and Bishops Did France where the eldest Son of the Church commands give him any cause to fear Did Germany where Charles 5 th commanded Did Spain where people were grown adorers of his Grandeur Was this Council for being had in any of these Kingdoms under the subjection of most Christian and Catholic Princes in danger of becoming either less free or less Orthodox Had the Pope bin inflam'd with the zeal of that faithful Shepherd of whom it is written do's he not leave the ninety nine go into the Mountains seeks that which is gone astray how great joy should have possessed his Soul for having the place shown him where to find his wandring Sheep where all European Bishops might have met together and England Sweden Denmark Poland and Germany sent their Prelates Should he not have bin ravish'd at the occasion given him of rendring the Protestants inexcusable of reproaching them as Christ did Jerusalem how often would I have gathered thy Children together even as a hen gathereth her chicken and ye would not Matth. 23. 37. of accusing them of Schism and applying to them all Saint Austin's arguments against the Donatists
of Trent gave it two mortal wounds 1. To declare Bishops in many cases the Popes Delegates 2. To leave the question of their residence and jurisdiction undecided 1. The first of these two things brings Episcopacy unto a strange abatement renders the Pope master of all Bishops Jurisdictions breaks all ancient Canons runs down the interests of all Princes encroaches upon the Rights and Liberties of Churches gives the Bishops a quality unworthy the successors of the Apostles and forces them to receive that as a borrowed and begg'd privilege which belongs naturally to them The second causes Episcopacy to be look'd upon as a meer humane emploiment or Civil Magistracy Such a Bishop could never have the confidence to say with the Apostle 2 Cor. 13. 3. Do you seek a proof of Christs speaking in me Nay he would no more value his sacred character then one of the Kings officers do his and regard the duties of his Divine calling rather as rules instituted for decency then as unchangeable obligations so strictly requir'd from him that without them he has no hope of salvation XXVI Jurisdiction is no less essential to Episcopacy then the power of ordaining Ministers a proposition we could easily demonstrate to be unanswerable would it not render this Discourse too big and had it not bin already done by a learned hand against the infamous Doctrine of â—oth English and French Jesuits For Jesuits are every where the same Ordination and Jurisdiction are so twisted together that they cannot be divided without their â—â—utual destruction Bishops receive both from the same hand and are no less instituted by Christ in the Church to govern 〈◊〉 then to continue the succession of the Governors XXVII Nay may it not be affirm'd that Jurisdiction is both as essential to Episcopacy 〈◊〉 necessary to the Church as Ordination â—or the Church being as St. Paul saies a 〈◊〉 i. e. a society consisting of Rulers and others submitted to them without Jurisdiction it can no more be such a society then without Ordination those rulers can be continued Therefore as noâ— Bishop ordains in the Catholic Church aâ— the Popes or any other Patriarchs delegate but by the fulness of power he receives from Christ so no Bishop exerciseâ— any act of Jurisdiction by any delegation but by that power he is invested with aâ— Bishop successor of the Apostles and Vicar of Christ A Bishop that acts or believes otherwise betraies that dignity intrusted to hiâ— by Christ which he ought to maintain 〈◊〉 the last drop of his blood XXVIII Nor pretend we thereby to say thâ— such a Jurisdiction may be exercis'd in â—â—very place and over all persons the patition of Dioceses shews the extraordâ—â—nary wisdom of Councils and Princeâ— Nor may any one transgress the limiâ— they have put among Bishops without dâ—â—claring himself an enemy to all disciplinâ— Now all the following Propositions aâ— certainly true at least to all admirers 〈◊〉 former times whom I take to be in eâ—Eâ—England in a greater number then elsewhere 1. That no man or no part of a Diocess can be substracted from a Bishops Jurisdiction but by the autority of a Prince or Council 2. That no man can be substracted from the Jurisdiction of his Bishop without being put at the same time under another 3. That however a Bishop deals with any man either substracted from his Jurisdiction or added to it 't is alwaies of himself and by the power he receiv'd from Christ 4. That the exemtions of Friars and Monks are a Schism rais'd by the Popes 5. That the name of the Popes Delegates in its most favorable sense given to the Bishops in things which belong to them is plenojure and by all Laws a most shameful injury to the Episcopal order 6. That nemo est qui non perhorrescat to use the words of a Learned Doctor of Sorbon at the speech of the Jesuit Lainez in the Council of Trent That all the power of Jurisdiction hath bin by Christ conferr'd on the Bishop of Rome so that the Jurisdiction of Bishops is not fundamental but deriv'd XXIX Now concerning the divine right of Episcopacy the Fathers of Trent committed two great faults the one to bring it into question and the other to leave it undecided As for the first it had bin receiv'd in the Church for fourteen ages taught by the Fathers embraced by their Disciples and only impugn'd by the Italian Canonists For the second such an indecision is a ground for any man in the Church of Rome to deny doubt of and contradict the institution of Bishops these three things being the nature of all undecided points So a man may maintain there is no government at all in the Church and consequently no Church since it does not appear that Christ hath instituted any other then Episcopacy and certainly to find any other the Scripture must be strain'd in many places the constant universal and never oppos'd practice of fourteen hundred years be impudently contradicted XXX But what is most pleasant in this Indecision is that the Pope has verifi'd the word of the Prophet Psal 35. 8. Let the net that he hath hid catch himself for all these following consequences flow from it 1. That the Holy Father is no Pope by divine right Jure divino for the Popedom being nothing else but an extension of Episcopacy he is no Pope but because he is Bishop No Divine durst yet advance any other opinion But the Episcopacy of the Holy Father is not different from that of other Bishops being in all respects of the same kind Episcopatus unus est And the Italians who are so abundant in novelties when they undertake to raise up the credit of their Master have bin dumb in this matter Therefore if the Popes Episcopacy is not Jure divino his Papacy is not so neither since one is engrafted upon the other and if the Holy Father is not Pope Jure divino what ground can be laid for the ambition and usurpation of the Apostolical See What shall we do with the fine and rare Doctrine of Infallibility 2. The Council has impos'd the belief of its new Decree upon all Christians under pain of eternal damnation but if they are only Ministers from the Church and not from Christ with what eies shall we consider so stupendious a boldness Who hath impowr'd a company of men to make Decrees of divine Faith And how without being authoriz'd by God did they exact an obedience only due to Ministers sent from Heaven 3. 'T is a crime in a Roman Catholic to believe the Council of Trent did not lawfully what it did otherwise such a meeting is a dream and a chimera But who is that Roman Catholic of any sense who can be perswaded of it seeing 't is allow'd in the Church of Rome to deny any of those Bishops had the least autority from God to do what they did XXXI And indeed who will not wonder the Fathers of
waters flow to life Eternal The Word of God being the foundation of our happiness and the key of the World to come she permits all People perswades exhorts and commands all ages all conditions and qualities to peruse it St. Chrysostome was of opinion that all Merchants and men of affairs who had not zeal enough to read the Old Testament should at least read the new St. Jerome prescrib'd to many Ladies of quality the manner of teaching it their Daughters St. Austine in his Sermons declares to his People that the multitude of their sins proceeded from their neglect of the Scriptures God having resolv'd in process of time to accomplish the great work of Predestination in his Elect by his word to neglect the reading of it would be to reckon himself excluded of that blessed tribe The Church of England follows that opinion Her Bishops are not contented with instituting it in their Synods and the Preists preaching it in their Churches but the Holy Ghost being of all Nations and languages it has bin their business so justly to translate it as the most ignorant can make use of it and so all the World may equally have this great treasure for it is folly for any one to perswade themselves that it is only open to the learned There needs no science but much humility and Faith towards God for the knowing this truth of Salvation Let a Man have learning without humility the most ignorant person understands better then he do's Men teach the mind and corrupt it but God instructs the heart and it is converted VIII But because it is easy for our reason to be seduc'd and nothing is worse for any Man then to abandon himself to his own sense the Bishops order their Curats to look back on the former ages to get the explication of the Scriptures from the holy Fathers to hearken to the Church in her Councils and never to fall from her interpretations and ordinances The Church of Rome runs into one extremity and some authors to another the former so look on the Fathers as to equal their authority with that of God the others under pretence of hearing God hear no body and treat those holy Saints and August Councils with such contempt as merits a thousand Hells The holy Church of England keeps her self in an exact mean She rejects condemns and trembles at the folly pride and ignorance of those unhappy wretches before whose eies the Devil has cast so great a mist and who think it better blindly to cry Scripture then to hear those who are the most faithful interpreters of it She with great respect and reverence looks upon those former ages where truth was not disguis'd nor charity cool'd but she rises not to such an excess as the Church of Rome and whatsoever grace God has given to his servants she alwaies acknowledges that they are but rivulets which can never be equall'd with the Ocean from whence they proceed IX They therefore are mistaken who confound this holy Church with such unreasonable persons as refuse to be instructed by the examples and writings of so many holy servants of God She receives â—ot tradition in any other sense then is â—ccording to Scripture She will hold â—ll that as holy which can be alledged â—onformable to that excellent rule of St. Vincent of Lerins quod semper quod ubiâ—ue quod ab omnibus servatur She will alâ—aies receive with a profound reverence â—he unanimous consent of the Saints and â—ever appeal from the decrees of the Church assembled in general legitime Councils For tho the Church has no power to ordain any new article of Faith either to add or cast out any part of it nevertheless she has sufficient Authority to declare her opinion in any point of Faith and seeing that she do's it all Christians are bound to submit themselves to her judgment what seeming truth soever there appears on the contrary and it is much more probable for one particular person to be deceiv'd to whom God has promis'd no other assistance but that which is common to all Christians then the Catholic Church to which Christ is present till the end of the World and has promis'd to send his Spirit there where they are gathered together in his name Christ in speaking to inferiours said not he who hears you hears me they therefore have no right to be heard nor consequently to speak He said to his Apostles and Bishops whom he has order'd to govern the Church in their place t is therefore their business to speak and right to be heard and those who teach without or against their order do break the ranks in which God has placed them X. But to attempt the reducing the Catholic Church to one part of Europe and to force the name of Roman upon those who ought not to receive it and to exclude them from Salvation who are both Christians and Catholics without being Romans is the greatest absurdity in the world But to confine that part of Europe to the Pope to make him the center of unity which belongs alone to Christ is the greatest impiety and most insufferable extravagancy that can be imagin'd But that any man should call himself the High Priest the Universal Bishop of the Church that is take those titles w ch his Predecessors look'd on as an execration and which he hath not gotten but by an immensurable ambition is beyond all imagination But that the same person under pretence of a Pasce oves meas which he hath expounded as he pleased contrary to the opinion of the Fathers and Councils should march in the head of all his Brethren and raise Clergy men of the meanest order such as are Cardinals above the holy order of Bishops should excommunicate Kings and depose them give their Kingdoms to a depredation dispence Subjects from the Oath of Allegiance which they have sworn to their Prince and colour all these attemts as done by the autority which Christ hath given him the Church of England will never admit of such Principles as the most forlorn sinners cannot look upon without horror XI If the Pope would do all for the truth and nothing contrary to it if he would limit himself to the word of Christ and the practice which the Church hath prescrib'd him and go no further then St. Leo or St. Gregory she will communicate with him She will rob him neither of the dignity of Bishop nor Patriarch Christ gave him the one and the Church granted him the other She acknowledges that the ancient See of Rome is one of the most considerable in the world that hath bin formerly ennobled with as many Martyrs as Bishops that he hath bin mightily respected in Councils and that the Emperors have dignified him with great privileges But when he pretends to draw thence an occasion of exalting himself above others and that according to the remark of a famous Emperor at the Council of Florence He
looks on the praises which the Saints have given him in their Epistles as titles and privileges from Christ the Church of England opposes it with as much constancy as justice and not being able to cure the wounds of that Bishop she leaves him to the judgment of our great God XII The pride of the Pope has caus'd the separation of the Greek Church and made a breach between East and West which will never be made up It has also bin the occasion of the one part of the West being divided from the other And it is not ten years since in the affair of the four French Bishops it had like to raise a Schism and a division in the rest XIII But supposing the submission of all the rest to Rome should be lawful yet that is nothing to the Church of England which was never any part of it It plainly appears she receiv'd the Faith almost as soon as Christ brought it to the world but altho the time be uncertain yet none can think that she was ever instructed by the Church of Rome Her manner of observing Easter as in the East and her Ceremonies very different from those used in the Church of Rome shew that she receiv'd the Gospel from thence St. Gregory having sent hither Austin the Monk and that Holy Saint requiring the Clergy to submit to the Popes autority the Abbot of Bangor in the name of all the rest answer'd in such terms as shew'd the purity and simplicity of the former times We submit our selves saies he to the Church of God to the Pope of Rome and to every good Christian and love each of them with such a degree of charity as is due to them to assist them both in our works and Councils to become sons of God we know no other respect due to him whom you stile Father of Fathers XIV It is therefore certain for six hundred years at least that the Church of England hath in no manner bin subject to that of Rome her Councils and promotions of Bishops and generally all that belongs to Religion has bin transacted without the Church of Rome being at all concerned in them It would be much against the honor of the Pope if those means should be made known by which he hath endeavor'd to establish himself for the succeeding ages The public Acts of this Kingdom of a far greater autority then all their legends are â—ully charg'd with his Oppressions What pains did the Kings take to put a stop to them with what constancy did the Clergy oppose it till the time of Henry the Eighth That history was writ with as much impartiality as truth by the Learned Sir Roger Twisden It appears by all public Acts that the Pope hath wonderfully endeavor'd to make use of all conjunctures of times to get footing into this great Isle He hath bin enrich'd by the liberality of her Kings by Factions which he sow'd in the heart of the Kingdom and by the Wars which he brought upon it from abroad XV. Henry the Eighth whom all the Popes have so cry'd out upon went not further then his Predecessors and the title of supreme Governor in these his Realms well understood is no less due to him then to any other Prince in the World This King or any of his Successors pretend to no more autority over the Church then Constantine Justinian or Charles the Great They have neither power to administer the Sacraments nor to Preach the word of God They meddle not at all with any thing which belongs to faith or manners and leave to their Bishops all the power in those matters which Christ himself has given them They make no Canons tho they add Sanctions to them and declare the knowledge of Spiritual affairs is not a right of their Crowns They only take care of the outward administration of the Church to see Canons executed and hinder foreign autority under pretence of piety from disturbing the quiet of their people Upon this account the Bull of no Pope is receiv'd in France without the Kings consent all privileged men are daily restor'd to the jurisdiction of the Ordinaries and when any thing does endanger the liberties of the Gallican Church or the Laws of the Land the Pasce oves meas is of no force and the Kings autority stops the attemts of the Holy Father In Spain the King has the disposal of all things belonging to the outward Government of the Church The Inquisitors condemn in the Kings name and when the Council of Trent was there receiv'd 't was by the command he gave his Subjects to do it nor do the Kings of England claim any more XVI 'T was not the title of Supreme Governor which did most of all distast the Pope He could easily bear with that in all Kings for it is but what naturally belongs to them he knew that every King has such autority over the Church but he fear'd the consequences of it which indeed are very terrible to a Pope Henry the Eighth by that did suppress the Bulls which came from Rome and retain'd in his own Realms those vast sums which before were yearly carried out of them This was transacted in the sight of two great Kingdoms inclin'd enough to do the like The Pope therefore thought that in prudence he ought to cry out on that Prince but because a man cries in â—ain when things are represented in their â—rue and lively colours he gave his defenders liberty of forming Chimera's to the end they might work upon the people such an effect in this point as he desired XVII The Church of England need not recuâ— to an extraordinary mission nor to those arguments so far distant from reason to prove her self a Church She hath not confounded the order of things and assum'd a Government lately sprung up Since she hath receiv'd the Faith which was according to Nicephorus in the firsâ— age and to St. Beda some small time after we see the succession of Bishops hath continu'd without the least interruption or change XVIII The Usurpations of Popes the comâ—merce of Italians and most of all the ignorance wherewith God for some timâ— permitted the West to be blinded madâ— them fall into the errors of Rome But when God looked upon the Church in hâ—â— mercy and had opened her eies she laâ—bored to reform her self but not in a tuâ—multuous manner and spilling of bloodâ— She was not left to the conduct of the blind People which will suffer nothing but what pleaseth them best and which is delighted only with extreams The King calls a Council of the whole Kingdom stored with wise and holy Bishops as appears both in their lives and works This Council form'd the articles of a reformation which being seconded by the law of their Prince according to the custome of all Monarchs were by that great Kingdom receiv'd with a general respect XIX These holy Prelats in the Reformation had nothing carried on either
by heat or violence an extraordinary and unusual prudence appears in all their Canons they busy not themselves in calling the Pope Antichrist and Rome Babylon but render them the same respect they had ever done They judg themselves without judging others and are content to pray for other Societies without pronouncing either their Salvation or condemnation XX. As they do separate themselves only from the errours of the Church of Rome so they do pretiously preserve what doth not bear that name otherwise 't would not have bin the work of a pious zeal but of a wicked madness None can deny that there are many great and holy rites in the Church of Rome They therefore by a judicious distinction have thrown out those practises which were evil and retain'd the good XXI Having therefore two businesses in hand to wit the reformation of Doctrine and ordering of manners they have made use of the shortest and easiest means They compar'd all to the Scriptures and customes of the first Ages There is no point of their Faith which may not be proved by Scripture nothing in their Discipline which is not conformed to the ceremonies of the first 500 years XXII The Church of England therefore hath the comfort of having her Doctrine founded on the Scriptures so believed by the holy Saints as she beleiv'd it her Canons conformable to the antient Canons her Liturgy like the first Liturgies When she goes about to interpret the Scriptures she exacts not of her Children a blind obedience as doth the Church of Rome She thinks not to make any volume Canonical which was never really so but she follows the tracts of the Saints and of the Councils and hath learnt from the primitive Church which books in the Holy Bible are the grounds of our Faith and which only the object of our Piety XXIII We may say the same thing of all those points which raise the difference betwixt us and the Church of Rome The most considerable one is that of the Eucharist She treats that incomprehensible mystery with the respect due to it She neither presumes nor pretends to comprehend more of it then Christ hath bin pleased to reveal to them and the antient Church understood It is manifest first that Christ instituted the Sacrament of his body and blood Secondly that he is really present in it Thirdly that he abundantly communicates his grace and his holy Spirit to those who before they receive it seriously try themselves as the Apostle speaks and who not only forsake Sin but the very appetite of sinning and labour to order their life by his example But the manner of his being present is uncertain Christ saies nothing of it it appears noâ— that the primitive Church hath known how That of England receives with thanksgiving what he hath bin pleased to reveal to her and adores with a submissive silence what he hath not bin pleased to let her know We understand nothing of the Lord's Supper but by the Scriptures and the practice of the primitive times and when we limit our selves to that without going any further the manner of expounding it is not difficult The Infinite love of God towards us in that Sacrament destroies not the order which his wisdom hath put in things We leave to Faith all the latitude of it without contradicting the principles of reason But when men pretend to make Evangelists speak as Scholastics or Scholastics as Evangelists and look for Transubstantiation concomitancy and existence of the accidents without their subject c. all seems obscurity and darkness We sacrifice not our reason to faith but we throw aside both of them in saying that God explains himself after a manner conâ—rary to those principles which he hath established The Church of England is therefore in 〈◊〉 right of supposing as receiv'd what she beleives and the Church of Rome is obâ—â—ged to prove what she advances The former supposes the miracle which Christ â—ath wrought adding nothing new or â—npossible the other proposeth a thousand things to our beleif of which Christ â—ath said nothing and which are in â—hemselves greater miracles then that about which the two parties differ besides that they draw idolatrous practices XXIV The Church of Eng. doth not only think her self bound to beleive what Christ saies of the sacrament but she administers it â—s he hath given it us She orders the Sacrament under both kinds according â—o the command of Christ and to the praâ—tice of the Catholic Church and the whole World know the unchristian grounds upon which an Italian Bishop in the Council of Trent thought it was not to be granted for fear of making an argument against the pretended Infallibility of the Church of Rome XXV It is unreasonable that she do's not permit service to be read in the vulgar tongue and the Bible to be â—ranslated She knows nothing was ever grounded upon a less foundation then that and without looking on the orders of St. Paul which are so exact thereupon is there any thing in the World so contrary to reason as to pray to God in an unknown Tongue which exposeth the Praiers to the scorn and irreverence of those that offer them The Eastern Church did alwaies pray in Greek or in languages used by her divers Nations Whilst the Latin was the language of the West it was fitting that the service should be read in it but by the distraction of the Empire the incursions of Barbarians and the various revolutions we find in history that language having lost its life and given place to the various Idiomes of all Nations it was fitting men should pray in such languages as may be understood but it being more for the interest of the Pope to keep people ignorant he hath opposed so necessary a practice St. Jerome translated the Bible into Dalmatian the language of his own Country there are also to be â—ound manuscripts of the Bible in most languages of the World The more universal and dangerous heresies were the more the holy Saints exhorted the People to look in the Scriptures for those remedies which God hath granted against them XXVI The Church of England hath therefore turn'd the Liturgy into her Mother tongue The Priests and the Congregation there present send the same Praiers to Heaven and to take away all marks of Enthusiasm or novelty she hath composed the admirable Book of common Praier It is nothing but a collection of the most pathetical and instructive places of Scripture That which she hath not from thence are the very words of the Fathers or antient collects which by tradition were receiv'd from the primitive Church All is sound all is holy we address our selves to God in God's own language and we speak to him as he hath spoke to us 'T is a happy obligation for a Christian to pray after such a manner wherein a vain imagination bears no part his mind is enlivened his heart softned by that he can preach to himself and
to the Church as to the State The Country is â—carce large enough for their ramblings â—nd the City for their visits The factum â—f my Lord Arch-Bishop of Sens one â—f the greatest Prelates of the Church of Rome is a proof of what they can do We spare the Reader the recital of their â—candalous manners But if these Monks â—ave so little care of their reputation as 〈◊〉 say that this is the practice but of one â—articular House we can prove to them â—y a thousand like examples free from all â—xception that it is not in the City of Provins only but in all other they live â—ccordingly It remains that we speak of the Jesuâ—â—s whom all have spoken against ever â—nce the World knew them If the acts â—f the Clergy of France the Writings â—f Sorbon the Decrees of the Parliament â—f Paris may be credited Christianity â—ath never had greater enemies Never â—id people that profess poverty and obeâ—ience so earnestly affect glory and â—iches The better sort of the Roman Communion in England it self cannot enâ—ure them And all the World knows a person of eminent Quality most zealous for the Church of Rome who ardently desires its re-establishment but on condition that the Jesuits be for ever excluded the Kingdom XXXV Whence therefore comes it that thâ— Church of Rome which cannot be ignorant of so palpable disorders preserves the Friers with so much care 'T is a mistery which must be laid open There are two sorts of persons interess'd in their conservation the Popeâ— and men that are worldly given Thâ—â— latter who would be Christians without submitting to the duties of the Gospelâ— are very glad to find so easie and indulgent guides who give them pillows to leaâ—â— on Ezech. 13. 18. as speaks the Prophetâ— that is to sin with less disturbance Now to glory in a great number of followersâ— 't is enough to entice and allure thoseâ— whom a half piety and shadow'd devotion keeps still in their sins The Pope oâ— the other side supports them not only by acknowledgment as people to whom hâ— ows a great part of his grandeur but witâ— design of making use himself of them upon occasion Before the Court of Rome had invented Privileges and Exemtions the Monks that lived in submission to their Bishops and in an happy ignorance of the disputes of the Schools were but of small use to it they sought after sanctity more then science But when the Pope began to encroach upon the Jurisdiction of Bishops he began by substracting from their autority Monasteries which being weary of the vigilance of their Prelates were wrapt with joy of having none that should examine their actions That they might not seem unworthy of Popes new favor they began to make head against their Bishops to study Decretals aspire to Scholarship and change their ignorance into a demi-science which hath brought so many evils upon the Church And indeed since they have bin extremely faithful to the Pope Of nine Divines which he sent to the Council of Trent seven were Monks The Holy Father requires not them to defend his rights by good arguments by reading the Fathers or studying learned Languages but only to clamor and cry out They are not engaged to prove that those who deny the supremacy and infallibility of the Pope are Heretics but to spread abroad that they are Heretics In the affairs of the five Propositions and the magnificent Formulary of Alexander the Seventh the Jesuits ne're put themselves to the trouble of shewing that the five Propositions were in Jansenius but only clamor'd that they were there They thought not themselves obliged to demonstrate the Pope had power to exact the signature of the Formulary but only bark'd all about that those that subscribed not to it were worse then Arians XXXVI There are in France fifty thousand Monks at least the greater part are Preachers and Confessors that is people that bear relation to all places of the Kingdom Doth any write against Religion or manners maintain the most scandalous Principles in the World and the most opposite to those of the Gospel there is not one that appears to defend either But if any speak against the usurpation of the Pope then the Theaters streets public places private houses and palaces of the Grandees are full of Monks that cry with open mouth that Heresy hath infected the whole World Had Charles the Fifth who aspired to the universal Monarchy used this means he had infallibly succeeded The best policy in the World is to have in all Kingdoms thirty thousand Agents who have influence on an infinite number of Persons and are maintain'd at so small a rate by him that emploies them XXXVII The Church of England is therefore in the right to reject such Friers as they are now King Henry the Eighth knew that with them it was impossible a King could be master of his own Estate and a Bishop rule his Church And these two things being equally necessary to the repose and welfare of a Nation this action of his is not to be condemn'd XXXVIII In banishing Friers the Holy Church of England hath banished at the same time all those novelties wherewith they abused the credulity of People indulgencies reliques fraternities and all that which is commonly taken for a true piety She hath substituted in their place praier reading of the Gospel preaching and generally all that may conduce to the converting the heart Her design in it is not to draw after her a multitude of Women loaden with sins who alwaies learn and are never instructed but to establish in her Sons such things as are solid and durable In primitive times all these waies were unknown true piety decreasing the Friers thought it sufficient to substitute in its stead an appearance of it The holy Church of England beleived she ought to deal quite otherwise for the welfare of Christians and that she was obliged to endeavour to render them like those of the golden age as much as that of Iron wherein we live would permit XXXIX Of all practices of antiquity there is none so venerable as the manner of sanctifying the Lords day The holy Church of England celebrates it with an admirable piety Saint Augustine believed that it was less criminal to till the ground then to dance on this day Both the one and the other is equally forbidden in England Plaies Balls pleasures journies are things not so much as to be mentioned XL. The Church of England limits not its self at the sanctifying of the Lords day She hath divers other daies to excite the piety of her Sons and those are the festivals instituted in honour of the most glorious mother of God and the Saints As this custome is very antient in the Church and a man cannot open the writings of the Fathers without finding marks of it she thought it fit to preserve religiously such observances By this the Church makes to appear the union of her body in what state
Had not Pope Paul the Third and his Successors aim'd at some other end then the love of Catholic truth why did he oppose the only thing that could render it victorious Is there any president of such a conduct in former Ages Is it not cleer that there is in it some mystery And if so was it to be wondred that Protestants should apply themselves to search into it and prevent its consequences XVIII The choice of a free place where truth should command had bin alwaies a terrour to the Popes As long as the Apostolic See is not rul'd by Adrians and Marcellus's it will never without horrour call to mind the Councils of Constance and Basil Every Country wherein Bishops may say It seems good to the Holy Ghost and to us Act. 15. 28. shall be accounted by the Bishop of Rome a Land of bondage The Pisan Council shall be term'd a Latrociny by the Lateran and most holy decrees shall be lookt upon as so many bold and rash attempts Paul the Third chuses therefore Trent to assemble his Council at This Town indeed was out of the Ecclesiastical state and the Cardinal of Trent commanded therein but as an Author of the Roman communion pleasantly observes the Town was subject to the Cardinal and the Cardinal to the Pope Paul the Third had bin informed by his predecessors example that nothing made so much to the mastering of a Council as the choice of the place He succeeded in it admirably well Trent was not so far from Rome but the Holy Ghost might come thither in a few daies and many legions of Italian Bishops resort thither as it was done at the question of Residence and divine right of Episcopacy when 40 Apulian Bishops set aside for the most pressing occasions came in as fresh supply But he had forgot how Nicholas the First Innocent the Third Clement the Fifth Innocent the Fourth do teach that no man is bound to appear in a place where he has just reasons to fear the multitude XIX The event has shown us that the fears of those Princes were not groundless Their intention was only to obtain a free Council where none should be condemned unheard truth examin'd without prejudice and matters weighed with the greatest care For we must not imagine so many great Kingdoms holy Bishops and learned men sought their own ruine They desired no more then the examination of their doctrine to persevere in it if it should be judged orthodox or to renounce it if it were not so for this reason the favour should be granted them which was never denied to any to wit of being heard An Heathen does so much justice to Pope Liberius as to confess that he chose rather to banish then to condemn Athanasius without hearing his defence But if they were afraid to place us in Athanasius's rank it is certain that Arius Macedonius Paul of Samasate Nestorius Pelagius and the most abominable Heresiarchs have bin heard And the Church alwaies judg'd she could not deny them a thing of natural right XX. Nevertheless the Pope rids himself of all these Inconveniences of the Primitive Church and for fear other Bishops that are present at the Council should speak for them he deprives them of all freedom of proposing any thing Tho they are his venerable Brothers and born Judges of Councils as well as he they have never the more liberty for it All things are done proponentibus legatis and these Legats do propose but what they please When any one touched with a sense of his duty intends to speak he is silenced If he be a French-man or a Spaniard they tell him t is unbecoming the Majesty of a Council to contest But if he be an Italian that is a shadow and a Sceleton of a Bishop he has his ingratitude reproach'd and his Soul terrified by violent threats Ibi est herus tergo metuas There is at Trent but the image of a Council The true one is at Rome Quid à patribus judicandum proponitur aut ab â—is judicatum publicatur quod non prius Romam missum Pio Quarto placuerit The main design is to cheat the People not to establish any real good for the Church The holy Ghost does not shine on the Fathers at Trent but by reflexion and tho he has not promis'd to be in the conclave but in the Council yet he does not come to the one but as sent by the other What can the result be of dealings so contrary to the Spirit of God but to incline men to renounce an assembly where as speaks Mr. Ferriers's Pope Pius the Fourth left no place for the laws no footsteps of the antient Councils no vestige of freedom Vbi nullum legibus locum nullum antiquorum conciliorum nullum liberatatis vestigium Pius Quartus relinquat Nor are the Authors of these last words either Protestants or Heretics Neither is it that famour Venetian whom they call Atheist because he brought out of darkness those artifices the Popes made use of to betray the cause of God but the Legats of the most Christian King Men of admirable integrity and erudition wonderfully addicted to the Church of Rome and public Enemies to those that had separated themselves from it XXI But to be fully perswaded of the violence offer'd the truth and that its vindication was not the scope of their endeavours we need but consider the secret power given to the Popes Legat to transport or to dissolve the Council according to the occurrences Is it not a manifest and evincing argument that the Fathers gather'd at Trent were treated like Children made use of but only for a shew and pretence when an occult and an overuling spirit agitated the whole mass Had the Pope dealt sincerely and without mistrust what need such an anticipated power But if he could not suppress his fears in a place he had bin so much cautious of to be made secure are not the very same fears much more reasonable in such as could there hope for no security The dissolving of Councils is the last shift the Popes betake themselves to Eugenius the Fourth attempted to secure his tottering power at Basil and indeed that Council had vanish'd into smoak but that the Emperour Princes and Bishops forced him to repair thither by threatning to condemn him for a stubborn and obstinate man if he should refuse it Proud Leâ— the Tenth succeeded more happily and tho Alexander the Fifth testified at his death all things had bin done at the Pisan Council with all imaginable sincerity and integrity yet he declar'd it a meer conventicle XXII Had they intended to render truth manifest and palpable to all Christians why did they take a course for discussing it oâ— suspicious and unheard of till then What means that so extraordinary distinction of Congregations and Sessions the first to deliberate the other to decide and decreeâ— Had they learnt this from