none otherwise of Faith then the Scriptures giue him warrant which it may bee in your opinion are but a strong fancie neither but had you as throughly read him vpon that point of Iustification by faith as Pighius did though with a mind to confute him you might haue had the grace to haue yeelded in opinion to him as hee did by the confession of Tapper in the 8th Article of his second Tome sometimes his fellow-pupil vnder Adrian the VI. Pope of that name neither doth hee in that Catechisme teach them to contemne all ancient learning and authoritie as you faine but fained authoritie and learning falsely so called For what learning haue wee more ancient then the Scriptures or what authoritie more binding and yet for authoritie of the most auncient Councels and godly Fathers I thinke hee voucheth more then euer Doctor Carrier read though hee built not his faith vpon them and teach others to doe the like in regard of such auncient learning and authoritie being but humane the aduise of the Prophet is to bee regarded or rather the command of God by the Prophets mouth to bee obeyed Thus saith the Lord Stand in the wayes and see and aske for the olde pathes where is the good way and walke therein and yee shall finde rest for your soules For it is true that with all wise and moderate persons that kind of antiquitie obtainâ—th that authoritie and reuerence as it is sufficient matter to moue them to make a stand and to discouer and take a viewe but it is no warrant to guide or to conduct them a iust ground I say it is of deliberation but not of direction but on the other side as it is well obserued by a writer whom Master Doctor himselfe before nameth with honour who knoweth not that time is truely compared to a streame that carrieth downe fresh and pure waters into the salt sea of corruption which enuironeth all humane actions and therefore if man shall not by his industry vertue and policie as it were with the Oare rowe against the streame and inclination of time all institutions and ordinances be they neuer so pure will corrupt and degenerate Finally for the iustifying of that which you haue deliuered touching Caluine and his proceedings you send vs to Bezaes narratioÌ„ of Caluins life but had you not in the perusal therof shut vp the eye of charitie and onely opened that of malice and enuie you might as easily haue seene and obserued in the same narration his wonderfull assiduitie in reading in preaching in writing in conferring insomuch that being aduised by his physicians and by his friends requested a little to forbeare in regard of the weakenesse of his body and his manifold infirmities his vsuall answere was that idlenesse to him was the greatest sickenesse or Vultis me otiosum à Domino deprehendi will yee that the Lord when hee commeth should finde me doing nothing his zeale to Gods trueth and courage in maintaining it such that he not only crushed the errors of the Church of Rome but quelled like another Hercules so many new monsters of opinions by the clubbe of Gods word that the very meÌ„tioning the names of the authors and summâ— of their seuerall heresies would take vp much time and many lines his sound and profound knowledge in his profession such that Melancthon no childe in Diuinitie was wont to style him by an excellencie The Diuine his temperance such that for many yeres he tooke but one repast a day his modesty such that by his will hee ordained after his death there should be no monumeÌ„t erected to him or so much as a Tombe-stone layed ouer him yet Beza his Colleague would not spare to bestowe this ensuing Epitaph on him which hee was as able as vpon that sad occasion vnwilling to afford and the other out of his deserts as worthy as out of his modesty the crowne of all his other vertues vnwilling to receiue Romae ruentis terror ille maximus Quem mortuum lugent boni horrescunt mali Ipsa à quo potuit virtutem discere virtus Cur adeo exiguo ignotoque in cespite clausus Caluinus lateat rogas Caluinum assidue Comitata modestia viuum Hoc tumulo manibus condidit ipsa suis. O te beatum cespitem tanto hospite O cui inuidere cuncta possint marmora After his death many of the citizens who had often seene him before yet much desired to see him againe and many strangers came from forreine parts purposely to know him and to bee knowen vnto him among whom was a worthy Gentleman at that time Ambassador in France for the Queen of England and howsoeuer malice haue found Lucianus in his name charitie hath found Alcuinus B. C. 28. Now it is the nature of all common people especially of Ilanders not onely still to affect more and more noueltie and libertie and to bee weary of their olde Clergie but also to admire any thing that comes from beyond the Seas and to cherish and comfort one another with reporting the good successe which Schismatikes and Rebels happen to haue against their lawfull Prelates and ancient gouernours and to impute all their good fortune to their new Religion Hence it is come to passe that that doctrine which is indeed the lawfull doctrine of the Church of England is neglected or contemned as a relike or a ragge of Popery and Caluins institutions being come from Geneua and fairely bound vp with the Preface of the Gospell is dispersed throughout all Schooles Cities and Villages of England and hath so infected Priest and people as although it bee against law yet is it cryed vp by voyces to be the only current Diuinitie in Court and Countrey in hope belike that it may one day serue the turne in England as well as it hath done in Geneua and in other places where it hath preuailed G. H. 28. Your Countrey-men are herein much bound to you in that you make Ilanders so much to affect nouelty ascribing their change of religion to the changeablenesse of their nature whereas other nations in the continent of Europe are by consent of those who are interessed in neither by nature more changeable then they That Polander who first by his pen encountred his Maiesties Premonition labouring to wype off the staine of the Powder-treason from the religion of the actours laid it vpon the nature of an English man whom in all religions he accuses to be naturally disloyall to his Prince to his imputation of disloyalty you adde the affectation of nouelty thereby to lay a staine vpon our religion But Qui mala non mutat in bonis non perseuerat The seruant is not aboue his lord nor the disciple aboue his master and we know that it was the question which the Iewes proposed to our Sauiour What new doctrine is this and of the Grecians to S. Paul May wee not know what this new
doctrine wherof thou speakest is but we may truely answere both in their defence and our owne Nos non sumus nouatores sed vos estis veteratores It is not we that affect nouelty but you the counterfait face of antiquity thereby labouring to make a peace and to strike a league with vs as the Gibeonites did with Ioshua deceiuing him by the shew of old sackes olde bottles old shooes old garments and bread that was drie and moldy You farther charge vs with comforting one another in reporting the good successe which Schismatikes and rebels happen to haue against their gouernors whereas the very enemies of those whome you call Schismatikes and Rebels haue bene many times inforced to acknowledge their good successe to haue come not so much from good fortune as from the extraordinary hand of God so that they haue beene constrained to crie out with Pharaohs sorcerers The finger of God is here At the siege of Rochell the inhabitants being brought to great want as Thuanus reports it euery tide were brought in a kinde of shel-fish he calles them Surdones or Pectunculos which I take to bee little scallops or muscles and that in great abundance for the relieuing of the besieged they hauing neuer bene seene vpon that coast before that time nor since Of Ziska the Bohemian Aeneas Syluius afterwards Pius the second being Pius indeed before he was so in name recorded it to posterity that eleuen times in fought battels hee returned conquerour out of the field and was himselfe neuer foiled The Duke of Medina Generall of the Spanish inuincible nauy sent against vs for the rooting of vs out in the yeere 1588. and blessed by the Apostolicall benediction when hee saw how the windes and the waues and the starres in their order fought against them professed he thought Iesus Christ was turned Lutheran Hispanus ipse saith our famous Annalist Cladem acceptam vt à Deo composito animo tulti Deoque et Sanctis quod non tristior fuerit gratias egit et per Hispaniam agi iussit The King of Spaine himselfe tooke the blow patiently as giuen by God and both himselfe gaue thankes and commanded his Subiects through Spaine to doe the like that it fell no heauier in the consideration of which admirable successe we might apply that to our Church and Religion which was written of the Emperour Theodosius O nimium dilecta Deo cui militat equor Et coniurati veniunt ad classica venti Vpon that occasion and not without reason were some coynes stamped with this inscription Glory to God alone others with this Man proposeth God disposeth and lastly others with this Impius fugit nemine sequente Which all tend to this purpose that it was God fought for vs in the maintainance of his owne cause I will conclude this point with the testimonie of Bizarro an Italian and for any thing I can find no Protestant speaking of our late renowned Soueraigne Quod verò ad me attinet id tantum in praesentia dixerim Elizabetham Britanniae Reginam singulari Dei opt max. bonitate ac prouidentia gubernari Quamuis enim ipsamet egregiâ virtute ac sapientia praedita sit et apud se consiliarios habeat summo iudicio summaque prudentia prestantes tamen fatendum est humana consilia persaepe inania reddi nisi ea diuinitù regantur Id vero vt ita esse iudicem superiorum temporum facit recordatio cum cogito quot interni externique hostes huic opt Reginae insidiati sint et quà m mirabiliter illam Deus ab eorum insidijs atque conatibus eripuerit Touching my selfe I will onely say this for the present that Elizabeth Queene of Britanny hath beene hitherto preserued by the singular goodnesse and prouidence of almighty God For though her selfe be indued with singular vertue and wisedome and shee haue about her Counsellours of excellent iudgement and foresight in the managing of her affaires yet must wee confesse that humane Counsels are often frustrated vnlesse they bee guided from heauen and that I should so thinke the remembrance of the passages of latter times inforceth me when I call to minde how many home-bred and forraine enemies haue layed in waite for the life of that vertuous Queene and how miraculously God hath freed her from all their plots and assaults You goe forward and tell vs that from hence it is come to passe that the lawfull doctrine of the Church of England is contemned as a ragge of Popery and Caluins Institutions cried vp by voyces in Court and Countrey in hope it may one day serue the like turne in England as it hath done in Geneua as if Geneua had not discharged her selfe of the claime of her Bishop and Duke before Caluin compiled his Institutions or as if we knew not that Caluins Institutions make nothing against the gouernment of lawfull Magistrates or if it bee a booke so dangerous as you would make it a wonder it is to mee that neither your selfe nor any as yet of that side haue so much as vndertaken a through confutation of it Must it needes be that all who imbrace his paines and learning in those Institutions intend the subuersion of the state or presently contemne the doctrine of the Church of England Your olde Master Archbishop Whitegift was of another minde who maintained to his vtmost the doctrine of the Church of England and yet gaue he Caluin his due also labouring alwayes where any occasion was offered to countenance his writings with Caluins authority and specially out of that booke which you most mislike yeelding him the title of a famous and learned man Nay euen in the vse of things indifferent hee giues this testimonie of his iudgement and moderation If Mr. Caluin were aliue saith he and rightly vnderstood the state of our Church and Controuersie truly I verely beleeue that hee would condemne your doing and I am the rather induced to thinke so because I vnderstand him to haue allowed many things in the English Church being at Geneua which you altogether mislike To this Archbishops testimonie I could adde the opinion of his predecessours Cranmer Grindal and Parker gathered out of their seuerall Epistles to Caluin and other writings but I will content my selfe with that of Bishop Iewell who was so far frō neglecting or contemning the doctrine of the Church of England as a relique or ragge of Poperie as that the Confession extant in his Apologie for our Church is registred as the authenticall doctrine of our Church as well in the body as in the harmony of Confessions But Archbishop Whitegift goeth farther making both his Apology the defence therof to be the doctrine of the Church of England And by this Archbishops authority was it ordered that those his bookes should be bought of euery Parish and chained in their Churches to be read of the people at vacant times Yet this worthy Bishop in the defence of his Apologie
termeth Caluin a reuerend Father and worthy ornament of the Church of God Now touching his booke of Christian Institution in particular M. Hooker who is well knowne not to haue contemned the doctrine of the Church of England as a ragge of Poperie thus writes Two things saith he speaking of Caluin in his Preface to his bookes of Ecclesiasticall policie of principall moment there are which haue deseruedly procured him honour through the world The one his exceeding paines in composing the Institutions of Christian religion The other his no lesse industrious trauaâ—les for exposition of holy Scripture according to the same Institutions In which two things whatsoeuer they were that afterward bestowed their labour he gained the aduantage of preiudice against them if they gaine-sayed and of glory aboue them if they consented Then which I cannot imagine what could bee vttered more effectually Thus malice would not suffer you to see that worth in Caluin and his Writings which these Worthies professed and published who were notwithstanding more earnest and zealous Patrones of the doctrine of the Church of England then your selfe But it may be you thought it would bee credit enough for you onely to enter the lists with so stout and renowned a champion howbeit to hunt after applause by dishonouring the names of famous men was held by S. Ierome and is accounted by all good and wise men but a tricke of vaine and childish arrogancie there being lesse comparison betwixt Carier and Caluin then Caluin and Stapleton whom notwithstanding a great Diuine and publike professour of one of our owne Vniuersities comparing together professeth there was more sound Diuinity in Caluins little finger then Stapletons head or whole body I will conclude mine answere to this Section with the words of a graue Bishop yet liuing no enemie to the doctrine of the Church of England as his Writings shew Caluin is so well knowen sayeth hee to all those that bee learned or wise for his great paines and good labours in the Church of God that a fewe snarling Friars cannot impeach his name though you would neuer so wretchedly peruert his words Thus much of Caluin and his Writings for I durst not goe so farre as Thurius Praeter Apostolicas post Christi tempora chartas Huic peperere viro saecula nulla parem B. C. 29. These reasons or rather corruptions of State haue so confounded the doctrine of the Church of England and so slandered the doctrine of the Church of Rome as it hath turned mens braines and made the multitude on both sides like two fooles which being set backe to backe doe thinke they are as farre asunder as the horizons are they looke vpon But if it please your Maiestie to command them to turne each of them but a quarter about and looke both one way to the seruice of God and your Maiestie and to the saluation of soules they should presently see themselues to bee a great deale more neere in matters of doctrineâ— then the Puâ—itanicall Preachers on both sides doe make them beleeue they are I can not in the breuity of this discourse descend into particulars but if it please your Maiestie to command me or any other honest man that hath taken paines to vnderstand and obserue all sides freely and plainely to set downe the difference betwixt Caluinisme and the doctrine of England established by Law and then to shew Locos Concessos and Locos Controuersos betwixt the Church of England and the Church of Rome I doubt not but the distance that will be left betwixt for matter of doctrine may by your Maiesty be easily compounded G. H. 29. Whether reason or rather corruption of State haue not bred confusion rather in the doctrine of the Church of Rome then of England let Romes infinite ambition and insatiable couetousnesse masked vnder pretence of doctrine testifie As long as the Bishops of Rome kept them to their profession in the gaining of soules to God matters went wel for doctrine but when once they turned Statists in stead of gaining soules cast about for the gouernment of the world then were their Friars and flatterers found who were as readie to shape and frame her Doctrine according to the modell of State Before the Councill of Trent which was called in the memorie of some yet liuing it is made euident by my learned brother Dr. Carleton in his Consent of the Catholike Church against the Tridentines that the Doctrine of the rule of Controuersies of the Church of Iustifying Faith of Grace was the same in the Church of Rome which is now publikely taught and professed with vs. If by the Church of Rome we will vnderstand her chiefe Prelates not those Friars and flatterers which belonged rather to her Court then her Church from whence then arose this confusion of doctrine which followed after but onely from that corruption of State which went before and yet it cannot but bee acknowledged that as our bodies first warme our clothes and then our clothes serue to keepe warme our bodies so the corruption of State first brought foorth this confusion of doctrine but being brought foorth the daughter serues to nourish and maintaine the mother Now for the confounding of our doctrine wee answere with S. Paul If our Gospel saith he be hid it is hid to them that are lost So we if our doctrine bee confounded it is to them whom the God of this world hath confounded and blinded lest the light of the glorious Gospel of CHRIST who is the image of God should shine vnto them The second thing which you charge vs with is the slandering the doctrine of the Church of Rome and are your Romanists cleare of that accusation or dare any man of iudgement and learning discharge them doth not Pererius accuse Catharinus for calling that an intollerable and desperate opinion of Luther touching Reprobation which notwithstanding was the same opinion and none other as Pererius confesseth then S. Augustine maintained touching the same point Doth not Reynolds our Countrey man howbeit otherwise maliciously bitter against Caluin specially in his Caluino Turcisme in his iudgement free Caluin from the imputation of making God the authour of sinne in his latter yeeres which notwithstanding is still pressed vpon him both by your selfe and others Doth not Bellarmine cleare him from making the second person in Trinitie to be from himselfe and not from the first with which errour notwithstanding hee is charged by Genebrard by Lyndan by Canisius And for our owne Church doth not Bristow affirme that our Religion is prooued by experience to be indeed no Religion Doth not Allen speaking of our Sacraments Seruice and Sermons call them things which assuredly procure damnation Doth not Reynolds in the booke before named endeuour to make our Religion worse then the Turkish not distinguishing betwixt Caluinisme and the doctrine of the Church of England But
AN ANSWER TO A TREATISE WRITTEN BY Dr. CARIER By way of Letter to his MAIESTIE WHEREIN HE LAYETH DOWNE SVNDRY POLITIKE CONSIDERATIONS By which hee pretendeth himselfe was moued And endeuoureth to moue others to be reconciled to the Church of ROME and imbrace that Religion which he calleth CATHOLIKE By GEORGE HAKEWIL Doctour of Diuinity And Chapleine to the PRINCE his Highnesse B. C. Mine heart will vtter foorth a good matter I will intreat in my workes of the King G. H. Giue thy iudgements to the King O God and thy righteousnesse to the Kings sonne IMPRINTED AT LONDON by IOHN BILL 1616. Cum Priuilegio TO THE KINGS MOST EXCELLENT MAIESTIE DREAD SOVERAIGNE HAD this Letter of Dr. Carier beene imparted or the drift of it onely reached to your Maiestie it would haue deserued none other answere then your Maiesties priuate censure and might well haue beene buried in silence with the Author of it But now that it not only aymes in particular at all the members of the bodie Politike First the Nobles then the Commons and lastly the Clergie but withall is published to the view of the World and spread through all the quarters of your Land for the better effecting of that it aymes vnto and is not a little magnified by the Romish faction It must needs argue in vs either want of wisedome in preuenting a mischiefe or of power in prouiding for our owne safetie or of zeale and sinceritie in our loue to the Trueth if it should passe without some discouery aswell of the malicious scope to which it tends as the weakenesse of the arguments by which it endeuours to perswade The maine end which it driues at is either a totall reconcilement to the Church of Rome or if that cannot be a partiall toleration of the Romish Religion The generall meanes by which it striues to compasse this end are first by working a destraction euen amongst those your Subiects who euery way conforme themselues aswell to the doctrine as the discipline of the Church of England established by publike allowance in making some Puritanes and some Protestants who in his language can endure the state of the Church of England as it is but could be content it were as it was implying thereby the rest to be Puritanes some Caluinists and some temperate men who cannot but in iudgment approue the trueth of that Religion which he calles Catholike thereby implying the rest to bee Caluinists the one he termes the greatest enemies of the Clergie the other his honest and louing brethren wherof he professeth he knew many and himselfe to be one whereas in trueth if any such there be the difference should rather haue beene made betwixt Protestants and Papists English and Romish Catholikes since they who could be content the Church of England were as it was before the Reformation can in my iudgement bee none other then Papists and those that in their iudgement approue the doctrine of the pretended Catholike Religion can as farre as I apprehend it been none other then Romish Catholikes Thus those whom we call Papists he calles Temperate Protestants and those whom we call Protestants he calles State Puritanes The second generall meanes for the compassing of his desired end is an indeuour to worke an vtter seperation betwixt our Church and other reformed Churches specially those of France and the Netherlands whom therefore in contempt hee calls Hugonots and Geux and their doctrine Caluinisme intending thereby as I conceiue either to weaken our strength by leauing vs to stand single or which is worse to inforce vs at length to relapse vpon Rome And to this purpose is hee bold to affirme that their doctrine makes as much against the Religion of England as that of Rome whereas the writings of the most learned men aswell on their as on our side our harmonies of Confessions the testimonie of our aduersaries nay the Pope himselfe in his Bull against Queene ELIZABETH your Maiesties Bookes and practise in the matching of that Noble Ladie your daughter and in permitting those Churches the free exercise of their Religion within your dominions so plainely euince the contrarie that I wonder hauing let fall so foule a blot from his pen he durst present it to your Maiesties view and yet I neede not wonder considering hee was not ashamed to tell your Maiesty that for any thing you haue written in your Apologie or Premonition you may when you please admitte the Popes Supremacie in spirituals which must needes argue either that he was meerely ignorant what your Maiesty had written or cared not at all what himselfe wrote regarding rather the euennesse of his Stile and the cadencie of his sentences then the trueth of his assertions like false windowes bearing proportion with the rest of the building but without light By the trueth of these assertions your Maiestie may make an estimate of the whole piece in which if I can iudge any thing I haue not met within the narrow compasse of so short a treatise so formally pend and carrying so faire an outside so many weake arguments so many grosse mistakes so many notorious falshoods so many irreconciliable contradictions so many sandie and disioynted consequences howsoeuer were his proofes neuer so strong so sure so true so consonant so coherent yet was hee a man most vnfit to intermeddle in a businesse of vnion and pacification who was so farre ingaged to one partie as by his owne acknowledgement hee was perswaded that all the Religion at this day prescribed and practised by the Church of Rome is the true Catholike Religion and promiseth particularly to iustifie it from point to point when time and opportunitie should serue and your Maiestie together with vs of the same profession he rangeth among Iewes and Infidels and heretiques for refusing to ioine with them in the worship of Christ in the Sacrament But God blessed not his vaine proiect Mr. Henrie Constable dying within fortnight after he came from Paris by Cardinall Perrons appointment to Leidge to conferre with him and himselfe a while after in Paris within a moneth of his comming thither to conferre with the Cardinall yet as the Apostle speakes of Abel being dead he yet speaketh though in a different manner and the speach of dead men commonly prooues more effectuall more profitable or more dangerous then that of the liuing For your Maiesty there is God be thanked no feare at all the obligations by which you haue tied your selfe to the Religion established amongst vs being so many and so strong and withall his motiues for inducement to the contrary so weake dealing with your Maiesty as the deuill did with our Sauiour who being beaten from Scripture fell to the promising of the glory of kingdomes which notwithstanding was not in his power to performe onely for their sakes some Replie seemed not vnnecessary of whom it may truely be sayd which hee falsly affirmes of your Maiesty that they imbrace shadowes
vpon due search I found to be most true for I found the Common prayer booke and the Catechisme therin contained to hold no point of doctrine expresly contrary to Antiquitie but onely that it was very defectiue and contained not enough and for the doctrine of I Predestination Sacraments Grace Freewill Sinne the new Catechisme and Sermons of those Preachers did run wholly against the Common prayer booke and Catechisme therein and did make as little account of the doctrine established by law as they did of the discipline but in the one they found opposition by those that had priuate interest in the other they said what they list because no man thought himselfe K hurt G. H. 7 If our Common prayer Booke and Catechisme therin contained holde no point of Doctrine contrarie to Antiquitie as you affirme Surely the Church of Rome must needs be contrary to Antiquitie in as much as it holds diuers points contrarie to it If we should beginne with the Preface which is confirmed by equall authoritie of State as the bodie of the booke it tels vs in the verie entrance there was neuer any thing by the wit of man so well deuised or so sure established which in continuance of time hath not beene corrupted as among other things it may plainly appeare by the Common praiers in the Church commonly called Diuine Seruice the reason is added a little after in as much as the godly and decent orders of the Fathers were altered and neglected by planting in vncertaine Stories Legends Responds Verses vaine repetitions Commemorations Synodals that commonly when any Booke of the Bible was begunne before three or foure Chapters were read out all the rest were vnread Another reason is there annexed that whereas S. Paul would haue none other language spoken to the people in the Church then they vnderstand and haue profite by hearing of the same the Seruice in this Church of England these many yeeres hath beene read in Latine to the people which they vnderstand not so that they haue heard with their â—ares onely but their minde hath noâ— beene edified thereby Now for the bodie of the Common prayer Booke I will first beginne with the diuision of the Commandements The Church oâ— Rome ioyneth the two first in one the better thereby to cloke their Idolatrie in the worship of Images But the Common prayer Booke of the Church of England diuideth them into two therein following two of the Fathers at most excepted all Antiquitie The Church of Rome in the doctrine of the Sacrament of the Eucharist teacheth that we eate and drinke the Body and Blood of Christ carnally The Common prayer of the Church of England in the forme of administring that Sacrament that wee doe both Spiritually and by Faith feed on him in our hearts eating and drinking in remembrance that C H R I S T dyed and shed his Blood for vs. The Church of Rome holdeth that the Oblation of the Bodie of C H R I S T is to be iterated The Common prayer Booke of the Church of England that being by himselfe once offered hee is a full perfect and sufficient Sacrifice for the â—innes of the whole world which also meeteth with the Romish satisfaction for Veniall sinnes as they call them and temporall punishment dew to Mortall The Church of Rome teacheth that the outward Sacrament of Water sufficeth to saue Infants The Common prayer Booke of the Church of England in the administration of publike Baptisme that the working of the holy Ghost is to be ioyned thereunto The Church of Rome teacheth that Laijks and Women may in some cases lawfully Baptise The Common prayer Booke of the Church of England in the administration of priuate Baptisme that none may doe it lawfully but the lawfull Minister The Church of Rome teacheth that children may bee confirmed before they come to yeres of discretion and are able to yeeld an account of their Faith The Common prayer Booke of the Church of England in the order set downe for Confirmation teacheth and commandeth the contrarie More might bee sayed to this point but this shall suffice to shew that if the Common prayer Booke of the Church of England be in no point of doctrine contrarie to Antiquitie as M â— Doctor affirmeth then must Antiquitie needs bee contrarie to the doctrine of the Church of Rome in as much as the doctrine thereof and our Common prayer Booke are contrarie each to other But you further adde that though it containe no point contrarie to Antiquitie yet is it verie defectiue and containeth not enough Indeed we confesse yâ— we goe not so far as the Church of Rome but so far as we haue warrant We pray to God in the Name of CHRIST they to God to Saints We pray for the liuing they for the liuing and the dead We acknowledge 2. Sacraments they to those two adde fiue more We make the Communion of the Eucharist properly a Sacrament they a Sacrament and a sacrifice and that propitiatorie We hope to be saued by the merits of Christ they by his merits and their owne the principall ground of all these additions is that we make Scripture the onely rule of faith they both Scripture and traditions and by mingling the water of their owne inuentions with the wine of the Gospel they haue made the Law of Christ of none effect And surely if defect may iustly bee imputed to vs excesse may much rather to them who in their Pontificall spend seuen leaues in the largest fol. onely about the benediction of bels which is indeed little different from Baptisme and many hundreds about such â—opperies and trifles as wise men among themselues cannot but laugh at and yet dare not speake against and good men pitie though they cannot remedy I I marueile what doctrine of predestination grace free-will or sinne you finde in the Common Prayer booke or Catechisme therein the end of the one being not to set downe doctrinall positions but the exercise of religious actes and of the other as briefly as may bee to instruct children in the principles of Christian religion not men of riper age in the controuersies K It is to me strange that you dare write thus to his Maiestie who made it knowen to the world by his pen when other Christian Princes and Churches were silent that hee thought himselfe hurt by the pestilent subtilties of Vorstius howbeit he were not vnder his dominions by Legate his own subiect who was burnt at London for Arianisme some few yeeres since But surely I am clearely of opinion that his Holinesse would take it much more to heart and thinke himselfe more hurt if a Frier should preach against his power in deposing Kings and disposing of kingdomes then if he denied the eternall generation of the second person in Trinitie from the first or the procession of the third from the other two B. C. 8. This truely was an increase of my griefe for knowing diuerse of those Preachers to be
exposition published vpon the 7. 8. 9. and 10. verses of the 20. chapter of the Reuel or lastly his subscription to the confession of his faith in the yeere 1581 assoon as hee came to yeeres of discretion you would haue had little reason to haue presumed so farre vpon him for hearkening to any peace with the Church of Rome as long as her whoredomes and witchcrafts râ—maine yet in such abundance and being offered cure â—hat we might know she is Babylon she hath and still doth wilfully refuse to be cured But the sandie ground of the vaine presumption will yet more liuely appeare if the forme of that subscription bee well considered in which hauing rehearsed and renounced the chiefe points of Popery as namely the Popes vsurped authoritie ouer the Scriptures ouer the Church ouer the ciuill Magistrate and the consciences of men his deuilish masse his blasphemous Priesthood his profane sacrifice for the quicke and the dead and in a word the erroneous and bloody decrees of the Councel of Trent hee promiseth and sweareth by the great name to the Lord God to perseuere in that faith and to defend it all the dayes of his life to the vtmost of his power vnder paine of all the Curses contained in the Law and the danger both of bodie and soule in the fearefull day of iudgement and further straightly chargeth and commandeth all his officers and ministers to make the same subscription themselues and to take it of others vnder their charge and lest we should thinke that arriuing to riper age hee altered his iudgement in his instructions to his sonne he giues vs this assurance As for the particular points of religion saith hee I neede not to dilate them I am no hypocrite follow my footesteps and your owne present education therein B. C. 10. But when after my long hope I at the last did plainely perceiue that God for our sinnes had suffered the deuill the athour of dissension so farre to preuaile as partly by the furious practise of some desperate Catholikes and partly by the fiery suggestions of all violent Puritans hee had quite diuerted that peaceable and temperate course which was hoped for and that I must now either alter my iudgement which was impossible or preach against my conscience which was vntolerable Lord what anxietie and distraction of soule did I suffer day night what strife betwixt my iudgement which was wholly for the Q peace and vnitie of the Church and my affection which was wholly to enjoy the R fauour of your Maiesty and the loue of my friends and Countrey this griefe of soule now growing desperate did still more and more increase the infirmities of my body and yet I was so loth to become a professed Catholike with the displeasure of your Maiestie and of all my honourable and louing friends as I rather desired to silence my iudgement with the profits and pleasures of the world which was before mee then to satisfie it with reconciling my selfe vnto the Catholique Church But it was Gods will that euer as I was about to forget the care of religion and to settle my selfe to the world among my neighbours I met with such humours as I saw by their violence against Catholikes and Catholike religion were like rather to waken my soule by torture then bring it asleepe by temper and therefore I was driven to S recoile to God and to his Church that I might find rest vnto my soule G. H. 10. Q Certainely for their sinnes it was that God suffered them to plot so barbarous a designe but for our good wee hope if in nothing else yet in working in vs a stronger hatred of that religion which produceth such effects and in awakening vs to beware of the like mischieuous plot againe if it be possible the like may be plotted we excuse not our selues but in this businesse we haue rather tasted of Gods mercy which we deserued not then of his iudgements which wee must acknowledge we deserued R Quis tulerit Gracchos deseditione querentes what patient eare can endure him talking of nothing but peace and vnity who did euer blow the coales of dissention both in Court and Countrey as well in the Colledge where he liued a fellow as in the Church where he was a Canon S So it may well be gathered out of your owne words that the chiefe ground of your griefe was that you saw your ambitious humour was now crossed in as much as you could not keepe the olde wont and withall rise to place of honour T Your apostasie and forsaking the faith and Church in which you were baptized you call a recoiling to God and to his Church neither will I much stand vpon it since we know that Antichrist must sit in the Temple of God bearing himselfe as God B. C. 11. And yet because I had heard often that the practise of the Church of Rome was contrary to her doctrine I thought good to make one triall more before I resolued and therefore hauing the aduise of diuerse learned Physitians to goe to the Spaw for the health of my body I thought good to make a vertue of necessitie and to get leaue to goe the rather for the satisfaction of my soule v hoping to find some greater offence in the seruice of the Church of Rome then I had done in her bookes that so I might returne better contented and persecute and abhorre the Catholikes at home after I should find them so wicked and idolatrous abroad as they were in euery pulpit in England affirmed to be For this purpose before I would frequent their Churches I talked with such learned men as I could meet withall and did of purpose dispute against them and with all the wit and learning I had both iustifie the doctrine of England established by Law and obiect their superstition and idolatrie which I thought they might commit either with the images in the Church or with the Sacrament of the Altar G. H. 11. That is a trueth to auouch the practise of the Church of Rome to be more grosse then her doctrine howbeit we must confesse her doctrine in many points to be very grosse appeares by this that the better and wiser sort among themselues both in their iudgements and writings condemne many fopperies vsually practised by the people and winked at by their guides as their hallowing of graines and medalls and beads by touching some supposed Relique with opinion of merit Their praying to fained Saints and beleeuing forged legends and miracles Their permitting of publique Stewes and a Priest to keepe his concubine vnder a yeerely rent which Espencaeus wisheth were falsly thrust in among the grieuances of Germany Their setting of certaine rates vpon the most grieuous sinnes before they bee committed as appeareth in their Taxa Camera Their allowing of Sanctuaries for wilfull murder Their ordinary buying and selling of soules in Purgatory as a man would buy an horse in
hundred yeeres for so long you say hath it lasted whereas in trueth if that be true where our religion hath yeelded one rebell to speake within compasse yours hath yeelded a thousand and if the Principles of our religion as the case now stands induce men to rebellion surely in common reason it should much rather doe so if a contrary be once admitted to confront it So that whiles you pretend to perswade his Maiestie to the safest course you aduise him in all likelihood to the most dangerous Whether his Maiestie then respect heauen or earth his neighbours abroad or his Subiects 〈◊〉 home his securest course will bee to maintaine and allow that onely religion which he professeth and consequently in labouring to draw him to the contrary you cannot but doe him very ill seruice B. C. 18. But perhaps there is such opposition both in matter of doctrine and matter of State as it is impossible that euer there should be any reconciliation at all betwixt the Church of England and the Church of Rome of which I humbly pray your Maiestie to giue mee leaue to shew to you what I haue obserued G. H. 18. Your imaginary possibility of reconciling England with Rome is a fond speculation of an idle braine and nothing else but a Castle built in the ayre whether we consider as a later writer of our owne hath well obserued the indisposition of the parties or the qualitie of the Controuersies or the difficultie of the meanes For the first of which were we neuer so peaceably disposed yet such a stiffe auersenesse there is in the Romanists that they suffer not their adherents to ioyne with vs in any religious exercise against which notwithstanding themselues can no way except They excommunicate their Subiects who trauell or traffique into our countreys they straightly charge them not to reade or keepe any of our Bookes though meerely tending to the practise of piety no nor the Bible it selfe without speciall leaue though of their owne tranâ—lation And for vs they esteeme no better of vs then of Iewes or Turkes nay to the Iewes they allow Synagogues within Rome it selfe whereas vs they persecute with fire and sword and for the Turkes they hold their Alcoran in nothing inferiour and in some things much betteâ— then our religion or our Translation of the Bible No maruaile then though Cassander by labouring to mediate a reconcilement howbeit hee were set a worke by Ferdinand and Maximilian both Emperors hath carried away blowes on both sides which it seems Bellarmin in his 3. booke and 19. Chap. of Laiks thought he well deserued helping to lay on loade vpon him The second thing that makes vs irreconcileable is the qualitie of our controuersies they being not verball differences as some would haue but materiall and that of the highest nature no lesse then the redemption of mankind and the iustification of a sinner but aboue all that vpon which the rest depend of the Bishop of Romes power in iudging and determining inâ—alliblely of all controuersies arising in matter of religion wee may bee sure they will euer while they are able without yeelding an inch as stiffely maintaine as wee iustly oppugne which the latest writings of their Iesuites haue giuen vs so sufficient occasion by aduancing and inlarging this power to the vtmost to bee confident of that wee neede make no farther doubt of that matter The third thing which makes vs irreconciliable is the difficultie in the meanes of reconcilement which in the iudgement of the wisest is in likelihood the definition of a generall Councill or nothing But who shall call this Councill and prescribe the time and place of meeting and persons that shall meete who shall sit as President in it what shall be the rule of disputing and meanes of executing what is determined we shal need a former Councill to define B. C. 19. It is true that the breach hath continued now these many yeres and it is much increased by so long continuance so that it was neuer greater then it seemes to be at this day nor neuer more dangerous to deale withall For if a man doe but goe about to stop it there ariseth presently a great and fearefull noise and roaring of the waters against him but yet neuerthelesse the greatnesse of the noise ought not to discourage vs but rather to giue vs hope that though it bee wide yet it is but shallow and not farre from the bottome as proceeding from affection which is sudden and violent and not from iudgement which is quiet constant and alwayes like it selfe For if a man aske in colde blood whether a Romane Catholike may be saued the most learned Churchman will not denie it and if a man aske whether a Roman Catholike may be a good Subiect the most wise States-man will easily grant it May we be both saued then we are not diuided in God May wee be both good Subiects then we are not diuided in the King What reason is there then that we should be thus hotely and vnplacably diuided G. H. 19. The increase of the reformed Churches which you call a breach so that their strength was neuer greater nor more dangerous to deale withall then at this day though the disciples of Rome grieue and gnash their teeth at it and consume away to see it yet haue we good reason to thanke God for it in as much as neither the deuil nor the Pope neither Rome nor the gates of Hell with all their bloodie Persecutions their holy Leagues and mischeiuous Combinations could euer yet preuaile against it Nay hitherto the more they haue laboured to quench it and trample it vnder foot the more hath it shined like a bright torch and flourished as the Palme tree which the more it is pressed downe the more it spreadeth Their blood hitherto hath prooued the seede of the Church and that which S. Augustine speakes of the first Christians may be verified of them they were mangled they were scourged they were stoned they were burned they were multiplied and because you cannot with all your malice and power and policie destroy it we argue with Gamaliel that it is from God neither can you iustly call that sudden or violent which as your selfe before confesse hath now continued these many yeeres and hath increased by continuance whereas sudden things in their ordinary course and by discourse of reason last little and by continuance rather decrease it being proper only to naturall motions to gather strength and fortifie themselues in going And for that great roaring of the waters which you pretend though it be a noise fearefull to you yet to vs is it acceptable as being occasioned not so much from the shallownesse of the waters themselues as from the stoppings and opposition of others and their own concurrence to remoue and beare down by all lawfull meanes that which is opposed for the stopping of their current But the reason which you adde why wee should thinke them
shallow as proceeding rather from affection then iudgement is this because if a man aske you say in cold blood whether a Roman Catholike may be saued the most learned Church-man will not denie it Wherein if we be more charitable to you then you are to vs in passing censures of damnation it should in my iudgement rather argue the goodnesse of that Religion from whence such charity flowes towards mens persons then be vrged as a proofe for the approbation of that erronious doctrine which in it selfe it condemns The Turke is too liberall in admitting all Religions to the hope of saluation and on the other side you are too niggardly and sparing in shutting out all from the hope thereof which receiue not the marke of the beast in their foreheads or hands We desiring to runne a middle course betwixt both extremes as we shut out all such who directly deny the merits of CHRIST so doe wee passe a fauourable censure on those who deny him not of malice but of ignorance and that not directly but by consequence It is true that S. Paul hath in the fifth to the Galatians If yee be circumcised CHRIST shall profit you nothing That is if a man put his trust in Circumcision or in any thing else beside Christ though with Christ in the matter of iustification he is abolished from Christ and the merite of his death and Passion Now what confidence the Romanists put in their owne satisfaction for veniall sinnes and temporall punishment either in this life or in Purgatorie due to mortall their writings testifie but yet our assurance is that many of them when they come to make their last account betwixt God and their owne Conscience and throughly consider of the weakenesse and corruption of their owne nature for the vncertaintie of their owne proper righteousnesse and for the auoiding of vaineglory according to Bellarmins aduise they rest wholly in the alone mercie and goodnesse of God renouncing in particular that merite of worke which their Church in generall for her owne aduantage maintaineth and teacheth them to maintaine Or lastly God of his Graciousnesse may accept of their repentance for vnknowen sins and consequently for their erronious opinons which by reason of their education they vnwittingly imbrace yet this charitable construction of ours can bee no sufficient warrant for vs either to shut our eyes against a knowen trueth or to open our eares to hearken to any motion of reconcilement to a knowen errour Now whether a Romane Catholike may bee a good subiect wholly submitting himselfe to Romish positions I referre the reader to his Maiesties speech in Parliament in the yeere 1605 who should know what belongs to his owne state and to mine answere to the 12. Sect. of this Chapter a part of his Maiesties very words in that speech are these I therefore doe thus conclude this point that as vpon the one part many honest men seduced with some errors of Popery may yet remaine good faithfull subiects so vpon the other part none of those that truely knowe and beleeue the whole grounds and schoole conclusions of their doctrine can euer prooue good Christians or faithfull subiects If then we bee so farre diuided both in God and in the king how can we but be vtterly diuided in our selues B. C. 20. Truely there is no reason at all but onely the violence of affection which being in a course cannot without some force be stayed The multitude doth seldome or neuer iudge according vnto trueth but according vnto customes and therefore hauing beene bred and brought vp in the hatred of Spaniards and Papists cannot chuse but thinke they are bound to hate them still and that whosoeuer speaketh a word in fauour of the Church of Rome or of Catholike religion is their vtter enemy and the Puritanicall Preacher who can haue no being in charity doth neuer cease by falsifications and slanders to blow the coales that hee may burne them and warme himselfe But if your Maiesty shall euer bee pleased to commaund those make-bates to hold their peace a while and to say nothing but that they are able to proue by sufficient authority before those that are able to iudge and in the mean time to admit a conference of learned and moderate men on either side the people who are now abused and with the light of the Gospel held in extreme ignorance are not yet so vncapable but they will be glad to heare of the trueth when it shall be simply and euidently deliuered by honest men and then they will plainely see that their light of the Gospel which they so much talke of is but a counterfeit light in a theeues lanterne wherby honest mens eyes are dazeled and their purses robbed and it will also appeare that there is not indeed any such irreconciliable opposition betwixt the Church of England and the Church as they that liue by the schisme doe make the world beleeue there is neither in matter of doctrine nor in matter of State G. H. 20. You farther endeuour to prooue in the entrance of this Section that the diuision of the Church of England from the Church of Rome ariseth rather from affection then iudgement in as much as the multitude doth seldome or neuer iudge according to trueth but according vnto customes Now whether it be the Church of England or the Church of Rome that stands vpon multitude and that multitude vpon custome the Bishop of Rome himselfe shall be the iudge nay not onely your multitude but the chiefest pillars of your Church stand most vpon it if you had but looked into your great Cardinals notes of your Church you should haue found antiquity or custome to haue beene the second howbeit both Acosta and Xauerius in their seueral writings made the Indians standing vpon their customes the chiefe difficulty of their conuersion to CHRIST It was Symmachus the Pagans argument in his Epistle to Theodosius the Emperour recorded by S. Ambrose Seruanda est tot saeculis fides nostra sequendi sunt maiores nostri qui secuti sunt foeliciter suos Our religion which hath now continued so many yeeres is still to bee retained and our ancestours are to bee followed by vs who happily traced the steps of their forefathers and is not this Mr. Doctors owne argument to perswade his Maiesty to the Romish religion in the 2. and 10. Sect. of this Chapter how comes it then to passe that in this place he findes fault with those that iudge according to custome and makes it a popular errour teach that a while and indeed we may be brought to shake handes with Rome she standing vpon a pretended truth of antiquity but we vpon the antiquity of trueth in as much as our Sauiour said not I am antiquity but I am trueth And S. Cyprian his blessed Martyr Antiquity without truth is nothing els but ancient errour Now the reason you giue that our
they bee not silenced they must say nothing but what they are able to prooue by sufficient authority before those that are able to iudge as if our Bishops were ignorant that it belonged to their charge to take notice of the preaching of vnsound doctrine within their Diocesse and accordingly to censure it or knowing what is their duety in that behalfe they were more vnwilling or vnable to performe it then Doctor Carier and his Colledge of Critickes and in the meane time a conference must be had of learned and moderate men on either side such belike as your selfe like Metius Suffetius luke-warme halting betwixt two opinions rowing to the shore and looking to the Sea holding with the hare and running with the hound who publikely pray for the King and priuately worke for the Pope true learning we reuerence and Christian moderation we highly esteeme but Science falsely so called bent to the patronage of falsehood and neutralitie vnder the vizard of moderation to the reconciling of error to trueth is but the abusing of faire and honourable Titles to base and malicious ends which imputation you labour to fasten vpoÌ„ vs as if by the light of the Gospel we held the people in extreme ignorance wheras the Prophet Dauid tels vs that the word of the Lord was a lanterne to his feete and a light vnto his pathes and S. Peter You haue a most sure word of the Prophet to which you doe well that you take heede as vnto a light that shineth in a darke place but you beare vs in hand that the light of the Gospel holds men in extreame ignorance Zachary prophesied of his â—onne the Baptist that he was ordained to giue light to them that sit in darkenesse and in the shadow of death to guide their feete into the way of peace and the Baptist himselfe of CHRIST that he was that true Light which lighteth euery man that commeth into the world But you tell vs that it serues to dazell mens eyes and rob their purses And no doubt had you liued among the Pharisees in the time of CHRIST or Iohn the Baptist you would haue called their doctrine a counterfeit light in a theeues lanterne aswel as ours being in substance the same with theirs And for ignorance I may bee bolde to say it with a thankefull acknowledgement to God for it that a good part of our people are more expert in the Scriptures and are better able to yeeld an account of that faith which is in them then many of your Prelates and Priests whereof some beare the name of the brotherhood of ignorance and all at least by your practise acknowledge her the mother of deuotion in as much as you withhold the trueth in vnrighteousnesse like Esopes dog you neither eate hay your selues nor suffer others to eate it You pretend the key of Knowledge but you neither enter in your selues nor suffer others to enter you neither reade nor esteem the Scriptures your selues as you ought nor suffer the people to reade them but seale them vp in an vnknown language to the vse of a few with whoÌ„ you please to dispense B. C. 21. For matter of doctrine there is no reason that your Maiestie or the Kingdome should be molested or burthened for the mainetenance of Caluinisme which is as much against the Religion of England as it is against the Religion of Rome and will by necessarie consequence ouerthrow not onely the Catholike Church the Communion of Saints and the forgiuenesse of sinnes but also all the Articles of the Creede saue onely so much as the Turke himselfe will be content to beleeue which will be easie to proue vpon better leasure The doctrine of England which is contained in the Common prayer booke and Church Catechisme confirmed by act of Parliament and by your Maiesties Edict wherein all Englishmen are baptized and ought to be confirmed and therefore there is some reason that this should be stood vpon But this doctrine in most of the maine points therof as hath bene touched before and requireth a iust Treatise to set downe in particular doth much differ from the current opinions and Catechismes of Caluinisme doth very neere agree with or at least not contradict the Church of Rome if wee list with patience to heare one another and those points of doctrine wherein wee are made to be at warres with the Church of Rome whether we will or not doe rather arguethe corruptions of the State from whence they come then are argued by the grounds of that Religion wherevpon they stand and the contradiction of doctrine hath followed the alteration of State and not the alteration of State beene grounded vpon any trueth of doctrine G. H. 21. We are now come to one of the maine points you driue at howbeit you seeme onely to glance at it in passage and to draw it on vpon the bye which is to put vs off from all fellowship and communion with those Churches who acknowledge Caluin to haue beene an excellent instrument of God in the abolishing and suppressing of Poperie and the clearing and spreading of his trueth that so being separated from them we may either stand single and be encountred alone or returne againe to our old bias and relaps vpon Rome and so through Caluins sides you strike at the throat and heart of our Religion For our parts we all wish with the Reuerend learned Prelate of our owne Church that you were no more Papists then wee Caluinists no more pind on the Popes sleeue then we on Caluins whoÌ„ we esteeme as a worthy man but a man and consequently subiect to humane error and frailtie We maintaine nothing with him because he affirmes it but because from infallible grounds he proues it whereas the Popes bare assertion with you is proofe sufficient You are so sworne to his words that they are of equal or higher authoritie with you then Pythagoras his precepts with his Schollers ipse dixit is enough for your warrant but for vs we imbrace Caluin as himselfe doth authors not diuine vsque ad aras so farre foorth as with diuine hee accordeth and no farther This is our iudgement of Caluin but to say that the doctrine which he maintaines is as much against the Religion of England as it is against that of Rome is a desperate assertion and such as can neuer be made good did all our fugitiues lay their heads together and were all their wits turned into one And I much meruaile what you meant pretending so much tendernesse of conscience and diligence in search of the trueth to suffer your malice so farre to preuaile vpon your iudgment as to let so foule a blot so manifest a falshood to drop from your pen and not only so but to present it to the scanning of so learned a Prince and to publish it to the view and censure of the world For if Caluins
doctrine bee as opposite to our Religion as to the Romish then must it needs follow that either ours and the Romish agree in one or that ours is as distant from Caluins as Caluins is from the Romish both which to bee vntrue appeares aswell by the testimonie of all other Romish writers and the authority of the Pope himselfe in his Bull against Queene ELIZBAETH as those whome they terme Lutherans who euer range vs among the Caluinists as also of our owne writers and those of forraine Churches by you termed Caluinistical because with him they ioyne in profession of the same trueth the manifold Letters by them written and Bookes dedicated to our late blessed Queene our Bishops and Noble men by French and Heluetian Diuines specially of Zurich and Basil testifie to the world that they then held their religion to bee the same with ours and ours with theirs and for any thing I know neither theirs nor ours is since changed saue onely some such neutrals as your selfe labour to drawe vs neerer to Rome then they can bee drawen or the trueth it selfe will permit that wee should Among many other testimonies I will onely instance in two the one an Heluetian touching our conformitie with forreine reformed Churches in former times the other a French man touching the present the Heluetian is Bullinger who dedicating his Commentaries vpon Daniel to Horne Bishop of Winchester Iewell Bishop of Salisbury Sandes Bishop of Worcester Parkhurst Bishop of Norwich and Pilkington Bishop of Durham in his Epistle Dedicatory professeth hee did it chiefly to this ende that posterity might vnderstand their indissoluble knot of friendship and the mutual consent betweene England and Suisserland in matter of Religion howbeit they were remooued farre asunder in situation of place The French is Peter Moulin who in defence of his Maiesties Booke against Coffeteau acknowledgeth that wee had enough sufficient men of our owne to defend the Cause but that hee vndertooke the worke to let the world knowe that the same Confession which his Maiestie had made was also theirs and that they and the trueth were assailed in his Person and Writings But what neede I stand vpon the particular testimonies of priuate men since the Confessions of our Churches are extant to be compared as well in the Booke intituled The Harmony as in that other termed The bodie of Confessions In the meane time to giue the Reader some satisfaction I will set downe the doctrine of the Church of England in points of difference together with Caluint on the one side of it and the Romish on the other that so wee may make some estimate whether Caluinisme bee as opposite to the Religion of England as to that of Rome Now for the doctrine of the Church of England I will not extend it so wide as to the Bookes and Lectures of our Bishops and publique professours the lights and guides of our Church and Vniuersities nor yet contract and confine it as Mr. Doctor doeth within the narrow compasse of the Common prayer Booke and Church Catechisme the booke of Canons and therein Nowels Catechisme Can. 79. being confirmed and allowed by publike authoritie But aboue all I very much maruell Mr. Doctors memory should so farre faile him as quite and cleane to forget the Booke of Articles solemnely agreed vpon by the Reuerend Bishops and Clergie of this kingdome at two seuerall meetings or Conuocations of theirs in the yeeres of our Lord 1562 and againe 1604 and lately againe confirmed by two seuerall Canons the 5 and 36 in number since himselfe subscribed to them at the taking of his Orders if not of his Degrees and liuing a long time as Chaplen in house with Archbishop Whitegift and since keeping his ordinary turnes of waiting at Court and residence at Canterbury he could not bee ignorant of them nay I can shewe it vnder his owne hand which argues hee fought against the light of his owne conscience that setting downe the differences betweene the Olde English and New French diuinitie as he calles it hee quotes diuers of those Articles for the doctrine of the Church of England and besides professing himselfe so skilfull in the Statutes he could not but knowe that The Booke of Articles and Iniunctions is by them aswell confirmed and authorized as The Booke of Common Prayer in which Articles are also allowed and ratified The second Booke of Homilies and holy Orders so that whatsoeuer is doctâ—inally deliuered in any of these may safely bee called The doctrine of the Church of England But for the present I will content my selfe with the Booke of Articles onely and for the doctrine of the Church of Rome with the Canons and positions of the Tridentine Councell and Catechisme and for Caluines doctrine with that specially which hee hath deliuered in his 4. Bookes of Christian Institutions Here followeth the Table of differences B. C. 22. For when the breach was resolued on for the personall and particular ease of Henry the VIII and the children of his later wiues it was necessary to giue euery part of the Common-wealth contentment for which they might hold out in the heate of affection and studie to maintaine the breach otherwise it was likely that in the clearenesse of iudgement it would quickly haue growen together againe and then the authours thereof must haue beene excluded and giuen account of their practise G. H. 22 Howbeit Henry the VIII actually indeed made that breach with Rome which continues at this day and is like to doe till Rome by her reformation endeuour to make it vp yet they certainely erre who seeke the cause of it onely in him and in his times or fixing their eyes vpon his person quarrel looke not vp to the state and course of former ages for as no wise man would assigne the cause of death to some accident falling out in the last point and period of life but to some former distemper or intemperancie so the reasons of vnhorsing the Pope and reiecting his authoritie with the generall applause of all the estates of the Realme hauing beene so long anâ— so deepely rooted in mens minds are not to be searched for in the personall and particular proceedings of Henry the VIII but in the ancient Records and euidences of our Histoâ—ians who all complaine of the spurring and gauling and whipping of our land by those Italian riders vntill like Balaams asse shee turned againe opened her mouth to complaine and being out of all hope of reliefe by complaint cast her rider As many witnesses we haue hereof well neere as Writers since the last 600. yeres as many cleere testimonies as there be leaues in Mat. Paris the most learned and sufficient Writer vnlesse you will except William of Malmesburie that those times afforded It was a memorable speech of Robert Grosteed Bishop of Lincolne who liued 358. yeres since in the time of Gregory the IX Caelestine the IIII. Innocent the IIII.
beene in the Easterne Church hee being worse then an Infidell that prouideth not for those of his owne houshold To conclude wee neither speake nor write against lawfull Vowes but the rashnesse of them and impossibilitie in performing them Not against true Virginity but the fained shew of it and the preferring it by so many degrees before the honourable estate of mariage Not against necessary Pouertie but the voluntarie choise of it when more good may be done by possessing and vsing those meanes God hath sent vs Not against Fasting but the pharesaicall vse of it and making it part of diuine worship Not against Praying but the performance of it in a strange tongue rather for custome then for conscience rather by number then by weight in drawing neere vnto God with our lippes when our hearts are farre from him Not against Watching but the pretended apish imitation and merit in it Not against Obedience but the abuse of it in the enterprising of damnable and desperate attempts Lastly not against austeritie of life but inciuilitie and that shew of wisedome which S. Paul censureth in the second to the Col. Consisting in voluntary Religion and humblenesse of minde and not sparing the bodie You doe well to adde that all these are required in a Monasticall conuersation but how they were or are performed God knowes and the world not vndeseruedly suspects B. C. 26. Vpon these conditions the Lords the Commons and the Clergie were content to beleeue that the King was Supreme head of the Church of England Not that they did thinke so indeed or that they desired to augment his authoritie but that they might bee protected by him freely enioy those commodities which they thought schisme had brought vnto them and feared the vnity of the Church might againe take from them Hence did arise a necessitie of inueighing against the Pope and the Church of Rome as against Antichrist and Babylon and the greatest enemies of the State of England Insomuch that that Clergie man was most acceptable to them and in their opinion most worthy of preferments that could most confidently preach and write the most foule and monstrous assertions of the Pope and the Church of Rome though they were neuer so false These and such like are those temporall respects which would faine seeme the daughters of those doctrines which themselues haue brought foorth and to be diuided from the Catholike Church by doctrine when they themselues haue caused the doctrine of diuision G. H. 26. Vpon these conditions you say that the Lords and Commons and Clergie were content to beleeue that the King was supreame head of the Church of England whereas your selfe before confesse that these conditions were afterward graunted to the Clergie who notwithstanding were the forwardest in perswading the King to accept and assume that title as may appeare by the booke set out by the whole Conuocation of England intituled The Institution of a Christian man besides the Treatises of diuers particular Bishops to the same purpose as namely Stephen Gardiners discourse of true obedience together with Bonners Preface annexed to it Longelands Sermon and Tunstals Letter to Cardinall Poole all which are extant to be reade and seene at this day and surely he that shall obserue their vehement protestations specially of Gardiner whom I hold the most sufficient among them for learning and withall the soundnesse and weight of the reasons which they enforce against the Popes pretended iurisdiction will easily beleeue that they thought in very deede as they wrote that their minds and their pennes concurred in one But from hence you say arose a necessitie of enuying against the Pope and the Church of Rome as against Antichrist and Babylon as if his Holinesse had neuer beene graced with the title of Antichrist before Henry assumed his title of supreame head nor Rome called Babylon before England was freed from that Babylonish captiuity Whereas your famous Cardinall hath none other proofe from Scripture that S. Peter was euer at Rome but by expounding Rome to be the Babylon from whence he dated his first Epistle And when the seuerall markes of Antichrist shall be applied to any so properly as to the Bishop of Rome I will confesse he is iniuriously so styled in the meane time I can hardly imagine any so foule and monstrous assertions which some of your Popes haue not deserued euen by the confession of your owne Writers it being enough to make a modest man blush in reading and relating that which they blushed not to act nay boasted of being acted in so much as I doubt not but I may confidently affirme that neither the Catalogue of Emperours taking in the Heathenish among the Christians nor any one succession of Kings in the world since the first creation of it to this present age euer afforded so many monsters of men so many incarnate deuils so expert in all kind of villanies as that of your Popes neither can any one King or Emperour be named whom some of your Popes haue not out-stripped And what needed then any imitation of your side in faining false assertions where true were so plentifull B. C. 27. In all these and all other doctrine of diuision men haue receiued great countenance and encouragement from Geneua For although M. Iohn Caluin were neuer any good subiect or friend to Bishop Duke or King yet hee did so fit the common people with new doctrine that no Gospel can be so pleasing to them nor so light some as his for finding Geneua to be fallen out both with their Bishop who was their ancient Prince and their Duke to whom they pretended against their Bishop and to bee all in a combustion amongst themselues for want of gouernment although he were then a stranger and a very young man of some sixe and twenty or seuen and twenty yeeres olde at the most yet he thought good vpon the opportunity to giue the venture and to step in himselfe to be founder of a new Church and state amongst them And for that purpose hee found them such a Catechisme as they might easily contemne all ancient learning and authority and saue themselues by a strong fancie which hee called faith And this pleased the Bourgers of Geneua so well that they called a meeting and caused all the Citizens to sweare that that Catechisme was true and all Popery false as may appeare in Caluins life written by Beza and prefixed to his Epistles And although the ministeriall Presbitery of Geneua haue lost much of M. Caluins greatnesse yet the Citie hath had the fortune euer since by the helpe of their neighbours to hold out against their Bishop and the Duke and all their ancient gouernours G. H. 27. You passe on in this Section and the next to passe your censure vpon Geneua and Caluin in as much as from them wee haue receiued great countenance and encouragement whereas neither Geneua nor Caluin were
all you come to the Subiect but if it were in the power of Romanists I doubt much whether hee should long sit there and how hee commaunds all well appeares by their refusall to take those lawfull Oathes which hee imposeth Now for the Subiect you beginne first with the Lords and so descend to the Commons Concluding lastly with the Clergy and sing them seuerally a Syrens song that so being lulled asleepe the common ship they are caried in may dash vpon the Rocke of Rome B. C. 39. For mine owne part for the discharge of my duetie and conscience I haue considered of all there States and can resolue my selfe that I haue not preiudiced the State of any good Subiect of yours but mine owne in comming to the Catholike Church And first for your Lords and Nobles it is true that many of their anâ—estors were allowed a very good share in the diuision of the Church when the Shisme began therfore it concerned them in reason of State to maintaine the doctrine of diuision but I thinke there are very few in England either Lords or other now possest of Abbey lands which haue not payed well for them and might aswell possesse them in the vnitie of the Church as in the Schisme and there was a declaration made by the Pope to that purpose in Queene Maries dayes so that now there is no neede at all to preach against the merits of good workes nor the vertue of the Sacraments nor the inuocation of Saints nor the rest of Popery that built Churches vnlesse it bee to helpe the Hugonotes of France to pull them downe G. H. 39. Hauing entred into a deepe studie and serious consideration of all States at length you resolue as from the oracle that you haue preiudiced none in playing the turnecoate but your selfe and sure I am of the same opinion there being none as I hope so vnwise as to be turned by you Now in taking this suruey you begin with the Lords who were allowed a very good share you would say a great in the diuision of the Church yet if they will bee so good as to side with the Pope they shall both enioy their Religion and keepe their possessions as now in this Religion they doe so wee see you would iuggle at fast and loose play at small game rather then sit out and became all vnto all that you might winne some though in another sense then S. Paul both meant and practised it And whereas you would salue the matter by thâ—ir paying for those possessions that shift will not serue the turne for Queene Maries dayes when the greatest part of them were both vnsold and vnbought otherwise then in the first sharing By your opinion that Abbey lands may bee aswell possessed in the vnitie of the Church as in the Schisme as you are pleased to call it it seemeth you haue seene the motiues perswading to a dispensation in that behalfe collected and reduced into writing in the second yeere of Queene Maries reigne the originall of which amongst other authentike remembrances of that time is preserued in the Office of his Maiesties Papers which because I verely thinke it was the ground of that Declaration made by the Pope in Queene Maries time which you speake of and a prinâ—ipal inducement of the Statute made the same yeere in confirmation thereof and for that also I suppose it is not any where publikely to be found I will here insert ANNO DOM. 1554. QVod omnes qui iusto titulo iuxta leges huius regni pro tempore existentes habent aliquas possessiones terras siue tenementa Monasteriorum Prioratuum Episcopatuum Collegiorum Cantariarum Obituum c. siue eadem pecunijs suis perquisiuerunt siue per donationem vel per mutationem siue alio modo legitimo quocunque in sua possessione huiusmodi remanere possint valeant easdem suas possessiones ratas confirmatas sibi habere ex confirmatione dispensatione Sedis Apostolicae Causae rationes quare huiusmodi dispensationes cum honore conscientia rectè concedi possint 1 Status Coronae huius Regni bene sustineri non potest vt cum honore regat gubernet si huiusmodi possessiones ab illa separentur quod hodie maxima pars possessionum Coronae sit ex huiusmodi terris possessionibus 2 Complurimi homines pecuniis suis acquisiuerunt ingentes huiusmodi terrarum portiones à serenissimis Regibus Henrico VIII Edwardo VI. qui per suas Litteras Patentes easdem terras warrantizauerunt quibus terris possâ—ssionibus sipossessores huiusmodi nunc priuarentur Rex teneretur rependere pecunias omnes in hac partâ— expositas quae in tantarum summarum vim molâ—m sese extenderent vt d Corona difficillimè restitui possent 3 Magnates nobiles huius regni quorum plerique vendiderunt alianauerunt antiquas suas haereditarias possessiones vt has nouas obtinerent in suo statu viuere non possunt si huiusmodi possessiones ab illis auferantur 4 Acquisitores vel possessores huiusmodi terrarum possessionum propterea quod easdem habuerunt ex iusto titulo iuxta ordinem Regum huius regni habebant etiamnum habent bonam fidem in illis obtinendis 5 Possessio huiusmodi terrarum adeò est communis cuique statui ordini hominum Ciuitatibusque Collegiis Incorporationibus vt si ab illis tollantur auferantur subitam quandam metamorphosin singulorum statuum magnam omnis ordinis confusionem in vniuerso regno hinc indesequi necesse sit 6 Cum bona possessiones Ecclesiae ex authoritate Canonum pro redemptione captiuorum alienari possint Idque per illam Ecclesiam solam ad quam illae possessiones pertinebant aequum est dispensari pro continuatione possessionis iam acquisitae propter tantum bonum publicae concordiae vnitatis Ecclesiae ac praeseruatione istius Status tam in corpore quam in anima THat all such as by iust title according to the Lawes or Statutes of this Realme for the time being haue any possessions lands or tenements lately belonging to Monasteries Priories Bishoprickes Colledges Chanteries Obites c. Whether they haue purchased theÌ„ for their money or are come to possesse them by gift grant exchange or by any other legal meanes whatsoeuer may retaine and keepe the same in their possessions and haue the same ratified and established vnto them by the confirmation and dispensation of the Sea Apostolike Causes and reasons why such dispensations may be iustly granted with honour and conscience 1 The state of the Crowne of this kingdome cannot be well susteined to gouerne and rule with honour if such possessions be taken from it for at this day the greatest part of the possessions of the Crowne consisteth of such lands and possessions 2 Very many men haue with their moneyes bought and purchased great portions of those lands from the most Excellent
the rich Abbeys yet were they as much burthened with the poore Frieries who had nothing to helpe them but the deuotion of the people it being commonly sayed of their assisting at Funerals Vbi cadauer ib coruus But they were all you say Mundo morâ—ui vsing â— more but for their food and regular apparrel and turning the residuâ— to pious or charitable or publike vses but if it were so how came it to passe that many times they inriched and aduanced there families as much as any Lay man nay which is worse vsuaâ—ly they spent the residue vpon their gaming and luxurie and their liuing Exchequer was rather for the seruice of the Pope and Court of Rome then of their Prince and Countrey so that the multitude of such Clergy men and the greatnesse of their prouision may well bee obiected by wise men without enuie as it was by the Venetians in the last quarrell betweene them and the Pope if their goods and persons be still as they haue beene hitherto exempt from Secular iurisdiction and publique seruice of the state for the preuention of which mischiefe was the statute of Mortmaine for the lessening of these mundo mortui made by Edward the first and confirmed by all his successours so that vpon due and trew examination the Commons are found to loose nothing but rather gaine much by the reformation of the Church and separation from Rome and if they did not yet were it a poore bargaine for a man to winne the whole world and loose his owne soule B. C. 42. And as for liberty they are indeed freed from the possibilitie of going to shrift that is of confessing their sinnes to God in the eare of a Catholike Priest and receiuing comfort and counsell against their sinnes from God by the mouth of the same priest which duty is required of Catholike people but onely once in the yeere but performed by them with great comfort and edification very often so that a man may see and wonder to see many hundred at one altar to Communicate euery Sunday with great deuotion and lightly no day passe but diuers do coÌ„fesse are absolued and receiue the blessed SacrameÌ„t The poore commons in England are freed from this Comfort neither is it possible vnlesse their Ministers had the seale of secrecie for them to vse it and what is the liberty that they haue in stead therof Surely the seruants haue great liberty against their masters by this meanes and the children against their parents and the people against their prelats and the subiects against their King and all against the Church of Christ that is against their owne good and the common saluation for without the vse of this Sacrament neither can inferiours bee kept in awe but by the gallowes which will not saue them from hell nor superiours bee euer told of their errours but by rebellion which will not bring them to heauen These and such like bee the liberties that both Prince and people doe enioy by the want of confession and of Catholike religion G. H. 42. We willingly acknowledge with S. Paul that to the Ministers of the Gospel is committed the Ministerie of reconciliation and the kâ—ys of the Kingdome of heauen to open and shut as they see cause and therfore in their ordination hath our Church ordained the Bishop to vse these wordes Receiue the holy Ghost whose sinnes thou doest forgiue they are forgiuen and whose sinnes thou doest retaine they are retained consequently if the power of absolution be giuen in these words then is it giuen receiued in the Church of England and as for the people they stand bound as often as they meete in their solemne assemblies to a publique and generall confession howbeit they are indeed freed from the necessitie of that which wee call auricular though not from the possibilitie as you falsly pretend for as we inforce none if they come not as knowing that force may worke vpon the body but neuer vpon the will so we exclude none if thâ—y come with a true penitent heart or out of the Scruple of conscience either to seeke Counsell being ignorant of the qualitie and quantitie of their sinne or comfort against despayre for sinne knowen and acknowledged In this case the only imparting of a mans mind to a trusty Friend like the opening of a feastered sore cannot but bring content to a soule so anguished and perplexed but much more if the vlcer be disclosed to a skilfull and faithfull Pastour of the soule who is no lesse able then willing aswell to vnderstand the nature of the disease as by warrant of diuine ordinance to apply the remedie and sure I see not but the Minister standing in the place of God as his ambassadour and pronouncing absolution vpon humble and harty repentance as from God it should prooue a marueilous great ease and settlement to a poore distracted and distressed conscience in which regard our Church hath well ordayned in one of the exhortations before the Communion that if any of the Congregation bee troubled with the burden of sinne so that he cannot quiet his conscience but requireth further comfort and counsell that he repayre either to the Pastour of his owne Parish or some other discreet and learned Minister of the word and open his griefe that hee may receiue such Ghostly counsell aduice and comfort as his conscience may be releiued and that by the Ministerie of Gods word he may receiue comfort and the benefit of absolution to the quieting of his conscience and auoiding of all scruple and doubtfulnesse and in the visitation of the sicke if he feele his conscience troubled with any waighty matter hee is willed to make a speciall confession and the Minister thereupon to absolue him In the name of the Father the Sonne and the holy Ghost which is an absolution onely Declaratorie Conditionall and Ministeriall but the Church of Rome not content herewith challengeth to her selfe herein a power iudicial which is in truth indiuidually annexed to the person and office of him who is Iudge both of quicke and dead This I take to bee the doctrine of the Church of England and the Primitiue writers touching this point and I cannot but wonder that Mr. Doctor so long a Church man of such eminent place amongst vs should be so ignorant therof as to affirme that the people with vs are freed from the possibilitie of confessing themselues whereas Mr. Casaubon a stranger in comparison could informe him that the rigorous necessitie of Confession inioyned and practised in the Church of Rome the Church of England thought fit vpon iust reason to moderate and qualifie but for the thing it selfe shee neuer did wholy annull it nor now doth simply condemne it And for the practise of it in forreine countreys which Mr. Doctour so much boasteth of wee are not all such strangers in those parts but some others haue aswell beene acquainted with their great deuotion in their
him whereas wee euery where teach with S. Peter that as noe prophecie-in the Scripture is of priuate motion so neither is it of priuate interpretation the originall word signifies both Wee cannot take from any Christian man in expouÌ„ding of Scripture a iudgement of discretion in weighing the drift of the Text and conferring it with other passages of like nature though to the guides of the Church and Pastours of mens soules we reserue the iudgement of direction but the iudgement of iurisdiction to the representatiue Church it selfe assembled in Synode for as the spirits of the people are in this case subiect to the Prophets who sit in Moses chaire so the spirits of the Prophets are subiect to the Prophets if not to conuince the conscience at leastwise to impose silence for God is not the authour of confusion but of peace and they which thinke otherwise for mine owne part I thinke of them that the way of peace they haue not knowen I will conclude this point with his Maiesties most graue and godly aduice When ye reade the Scripture reade it with a sanctified and chaste heart admire reuerently such obscure plases as yee vnderstand not blaming onely your owne capacitie reade with delight the plaine places and studie carefully to vnderstand those that are somewhat difficile presse to bee a good Textuary for the Scripture is â—euer the best interpreter of it selfe but presse not curiously to seeke out farther then is contained therein for that were ouer vnmannerly a presumption to striue to bee further vpon Gods secrets then hee hath will bee for what hee thought needefull for vs to know that hath hee reuealed there and delight most in reading such parts of the Scripture as may best serue for your instruction in your calling reiecting foolish curiosities vpon Genealogies and contentions which are but vaine and profit not as Paul saith If these then bee the opinions of the Church of England which you call Caluinisme maintained aswell by the pens as the tongues of those Church-men who sit at the Sterne and in the most eminent places of the Church there will easily appeare a reason to the Parliament if it be demanded why so necessary a partie as the Clergie should at leastwise peaceably enioy that allowance which they haue allotted by Gods ordinance the piety of deuout mindes and the ancient constitutions of the Realme and sure wee are that a great deale lesse reason there is of maintaining so chargeable a Clergie in the Romane Hierarchie where the Popes plenary Indulgence may in a trice effectuate that about which they make so much a doe But at length the Asses eares appeare through the Lions skinne before he haue told vs in generall that those opinions forged for the most part out of his owne braine were too much faâ—ored maintained by Clergie men themselues here he comes at length to open his splene tels vs in plaine termes that the Clergie men he meanes are such who can be content to be Lords and to go in Rochets being indeed the greatest enemies of the Clergie now had the same men who long since did smell his hypocrisie and inclination toward Rome fauoured Dr. Cariers Popish doctrine and designes or endeuoured to haue put him in a Rochet and to haue made him a Lord whereof he thought himselfe worthy though no man else did they had doubtlesse bene in his account the Clergies best friends but for that they discouered and discountenanced his slie purposes and practises they are now become the greatest enemies the Clergie hath they are therefore become enemies because they tell the trueth yet whatsoeuer they are to the Clergie whome they loue and tender as their brethren sure I am they haue proued themselues more loyall to his Maiestie and more faithfull to the State more diligent in their calling and more vnblameable in their wayes then the accuser it being a thing full of commiseration and compassion to see that by these false and wicked suggestions of mutinous and discontented persons the deuil the father of these and all other lies doth daily take possession of the soules of some of his Maiesties subiects both of the Nobles and Commons But another sort of Clergie men you say there are good schollers and temperate men who cannot but in their iudgment approue the trueth of the Catholike religion These that you may the better satisfie you desire two things and by way of counterchange or retribution promise three hauing assurance as you pretend from some of the greatest The first thing you desire is no lesse then the Bishop of Româ—s Supremacie in England which you vaile vnder the title of the subordination of the Church of Canterbury vnto that Church by whose authority all other Churches in England at first were and still are subordinate vnto Canterbury Wheâ—ther Rome may properly be called the mother Church of England I haue already in another place considered but vndoubtedly as the case now stands she being become vnto vs worse then a stepmother we cannot in common reason entertaine vnâ—on with her much lesse acknowledge subiâ—ction vnto her for shall we thinke that the head of the Papacie being in the body of Poperie will bee long behind no no if that one poâ—nt were once yeelded vnto all the rest controuersed betweene vs and them would quickly follow after as a necessarie traine The Frier in Chaucer would haue nothing be killed for his sake only he desired the liuer of the capon and the braine of the pig So the Pope would bee contented there should bee no innouation in England vpon condition his Supremacie and the Masseâ— the second thing you desire were readmitted vpon which two in a manner the whole frame of Poperie is built and therefore in the reformed Churches of France not without good reason in my iudgment such as forsake the fellowship of the Church of Rome and betake themselues to their profession are bound before they bee admitted into their society publikely in the Congregation as to renounce the errours of that Church in generall so in speciall and by name to abiure these two The vsurped authority of the Bishop of Rome and the â—dolatry of the Masse as may appeare in the late declaration of the admittance of the Earle of Candale into their Church in Ianuary last he being sonne and heire to the Duke d'Espernon a chiefe Patron of the Iesuits and their faction and the Lord himselfe as he is stiled in the declaration printed at Rochel 1616 Prince of Busch Duke and Peere of France gouernour and Lieutenant generall for the king in the Prouinces of Xaintongâ— Aâ—goulmois high and low Limosin principall gentleman of the kings chamber in this declaration he also protesteth before God the searcher of hearts and iudge of soules that his change proceeded not from the motions of flâ—sh and blood oâ— from worldly respects but from the meere sencâ— of consâ—ience But to returâ—e to our purpose the latter of
stand betweene vs sauours not of a Iesuits spirit We for our parts freely professe as Mr Casaubon doth in his Maiesties name Let them in whose power it is to performe it offer vs such a peace of which it may bee sayd Peace trueth haue kissed each other and the controuersie is at an end Let them seuer humane ordinances from diuine superstitious from godly new from ancient needlesse from necessary I say againe saith he and with as loude a crie and much earnestnesse as may be I proclaime it that all men may heare me for as much as concernes his Maiesty and the Church of England the controuersie is at an end His Maiesties intent and full resolution is that they in vaine talke or thinke of Peace who sunder that heauenly yoke of vnitie and verity but saith hee in conclusion speaking to the Romanists their purpose is constantly to maintaine all they hold not to reconcile the minds of well disposed persons by the reformation of that which is amisse in which purpose as long as they shall persist his Maiestie professeth once for all that he will entertaine no societie no Communion at all with the Church of Rome And in this case we sticke not to professe with Nazianzene that there is a kind of holy warre in which who so dies shal vndoubtedly obtaine of the chiefe Bishop of our soules a Plenary Indulgence for his sinnes and â—ith Hillary Amiable is the name of peace and louely the opinion of vnity but who doubts that to bee the onely Peace of the Church which is the Peace of Christ and lastly with Cyprian He is not reconciled to the Church who is separated from the Gospel Now because M. Doctour would perswade the â—orld and his Maiestie himselfe that at his first entrance into this kingdome hee was more inclineable to reconcilement and laboureth by promising honour and riches and security to reduce him againe to the same pretended inclination it shall not be amisse beside that which I haue spoken to this point in diuerse parts of mine answere to acquaint the Reader with his Maiesties protestation euen while matters were yet in a mammering made to Watson as himselfe confessed to the late Earle of Northampton That all the Crownes and kingdomes in this world should not induce him to change any iot of his profession which was the pasture of his soule earnest of his eternal inheritance and as he thus protested at his first entrance so in the conclusion of one of his last speeches to the Parliament he sheweth himselfe in this point euer like himselfe I am now out of conscience and for security saith he not to forget religion I spake to you last as a Prophet that t was likely the Papists had some new plot in hand now you see it is come to passe and I will let you know this much their ayme was not at him alone but at other Princes to whereof I assure you I was one looke that these weedes doe not ouergrow the corne that Papiâ—try be not increased by one thing too much vsed among them They send out their kinsemen children and seruants to Doway and such like places these after they haue bene there nourished come daily ouer and with their poison infect others This one day will make you smart if it be not preuented And I pray God his Maiestie doe not proue as true a Prophet in this latter as the successe shewed him in the former how soeuer it sufficeth to shew his Maiesties auersenes from all maner of reconcilement things standing in the termes they doe Nay M. Doctour himselfe in his Epistle to Casaubon written since his going ouer professeth that except it were expected from his Maiestie that he should in a maner proclaime to the world that he was forced to that religion he saw not how in so great danger and iust anger he could possibly draw neerer to them who well deserâ—ed the anger by procuring the danger M. Doctour then might well haue spared his paines of writing to his Maiestie to that purpose considering withall he had by his owne acknowledgement receiued full answere from M Casuabon that his Maiestiâ—s setled determination was as he had before signified to Cardinall Perron not at all to shake hands with Rome whiles her whordomes and withcrafts yet remaine in such abundance My wish and hearty prayer to God is and I think not mine alone but of all good men neither would I account my life deare to be spent in the furtherance of it that the miserable rent and wide woundes which at this day wee see in the Christian world in matter of Religion might by some good meanes be closed vp for the sparing of the effusion of so much Christian blood the securing of the Crownes of Christian Princes the setling of so great distraction in Christian mindes the wiping away of the scandall of diuision from the Christian profession and lastly resisting with vnited forces the common enemie of the blessed and glorious name of Iesus Christ But as long as the Bishop of Rome shal hang the faith of his followers on this Principle I and my Church cannot possibly erre and with the same stoppe the mouths of all his opposites bee the force and euidence of their arguments neuer so cleare and stronge I cannot conceiue otherwise of such a wish then of an honest desire but without any apparent hope of successe For if diuine authoritie doe concurre with them in all their ordinances if Gods Spirit infallibly assist them in all their decisions what remaines there but only that they teach wee beleeue they command and the world obey Indeed in humane gouernments where reason is shut out there tyrannie is thrust in but where God commandeth to aske a reason is presumption to disobey rebellion to this miserable necessitie haue their assertions tied them which they haue laid for their eternall foundation miserable to themselues and miserable to the whole world nay in so many conferences as haue beene held in this age for pacification it hath beene truely obserued that ere they parted they plainely discouered they came not with any such intent as to yeeld any thing for Peace much lesse for Trueths sake but onely to assay either by perswasion to reduce or otherwise by cunning to intrap and disgrace their aduersaries and if some one of them haue shewed himselfe more moderate at any time it hath beene his vtter disgrace with his owne partie for euer after Now for the manner of mine answering I haue set downe his text at large in his owne words without altering or adding so much as a sillable except it were to make sense where I found none imputing the errour thereof to the Printer rather then the Author I haue followed the Methode of his owne diuision for the most part both in the Chapters Sect. The maine scope of euery Sect. I haue answered in the bodie of my Reply stretching the force of
reason the Bishop of Rome hath or at least wise formerly had the word Mysterie engrauen on his diademe since in the seuenteenth of the Reuel at the fift verse it is foretold it should be written on the forehead of the â—reat Whore For to passe by other depthes of Satan as they bee called Reuel 2. verse 24. I would know what Religion was ener in the world which inuented a policie like to the Popes dispensations in generall but specially in Mariages it being hitherto the best stake in his hedge and without exception the strongest sinew for the tying of Christian Princes vnto him as to their head they being made many of them by it legitimate and illegitimate without it So they stand in a maner bound to defend his authority with the same sword that they do their own Crownes And I am verily perswaded were it not that they lie obnoxious to him in this regard some of them would not sticke so close to him as they doe especially since the publishing of his Maiesties learned and godly premonition vnto them Farther what vse they make of Confessions for the discouerie of all secrets as well of nature as of States Indulgences Canonizations Consecrations Of their bloodie Inquisition which like a sharpe Northerne winde nippes the spring of Religion in the bud Of forging false Authours and corrupting the true Of suppressing the bookes of our Writers and correcting their owne Of spreading false rumors and razing all antiquitie that makes against them the world hath long since discouered Besides all this they haue a baite for euery fish a motiue to draw euery seuerall humour for an ambitious disposition they haue a triple Crowne or a Cardinals cap for a Contemplatiue a Monkes cloister or a Friars coule for a working practical head imployment in State affaires for a Scholasticke preaching writing and in writing some they set to meditations some to politike discourses some to cases of conscience some to commentaries some to controuersies according to the seuerall point and temper of their wits Nay he that shal but consider the politike forme of gouernment obserued in the onely order of the Iesuits their rules their intelligence their corespondence their infinite cunning deuises how to winne some whom they desire for respects to be of their society or to make their friends and to disgrace or remoue others whom they suspect to stand in theirway may iustly pronounce of them that they haue perfectly learned the former part of our Sauiours lesson Be wise as serpents but not the latter be ye innocent as doues wheras nothing argues the inocency of our cause more then that it hitherto hath bin and still is supported meerely by the goodnesse of God and the euidence of trueth H Surely if true religion be vnchangeable then the Romish cannot be the true it hauing suffered so many changes both in doctrine and practise that wee may now iustly question it whether it bee the same or no as the Schollers of Athens did Theseus his ship after many reparations wee may seeke Rome in Rome it selfe and not find it I will instance onely in the Masse which like a beggars cloakehath receiued so many additions and patcheâ— that if S. Peter should now liue to see a Priest saying Masse hee would without doubt conceiue it to bee any thing rather then the commemoration of Christs death or the administration of his Supper and to speake a trueth as long as the traditions of Men are held of equall authoritie with the liuely Oracles and eternall trueth of God it caâ—not bee but that religion which is grounded on them should be as subiect to variation as are the conceptions of mens minds So that your ground for the finding out of that religion wherein a maâ— might finde rest vnto his soule is excellent good but your application erroneous since there is indeede no rest but vpon eternall trueth and no trueth eternall but that which is diuine B. C. 3. My next care then was after I came to yeeres of discretion by all the best meanes I could to enforme my selfe whether the religion of England were indeed the very same which being prefigured and prophecied in the olde Testament was perfected by our blessed Sauiour and deliuered to his Apostles and disciples to continue by perpetuall succession in his visible Church vntill his comming againe or whether it were a new one for priuate purposes of Statesmen inuented and by humane lawes established Of this I could not chuse but make some doubt because I heard men talke much in those dayes of the change of religion which was then lately made in the beginning of Queene ELIZABETHS raigne G. H. 3. I would demaund by M. Doctors leaue whethermen might not talke as much of the change of religion made in the beginning of Queene Maries raigne as Queene Elizabeths But you will say Queene Maries was a restitution to the ancient and wee replie that Queene Elizabeths was a restitution to a more ancient and most true it is the most ancient is the most true So that in this regard wee may iustly say Nos non sumus nouatores sed vos estis veteratores and with our Sauiour From the beginning it was not so B. C. 4. I was sorry to heare of a change and of a new religion seeing me thought in reason if true religion were eternall the new religion could not be the true But yet I hoped that the religion of England was not a change or a new religion but a restitution of the olde and that the change was in the Church of Rome which in processe of time might perhaps grow to bee Superstitious and Idolatrous and that therefore England had done well to leaue the Church of Rome and to reforme it selfe and for this purpose I did at my leisure and best opportunitie as I came to more iudgement reade ouer the Chronicles of England and obserued all the aâ—terations of religion that I could find therein but when I found there that the present religion of England was a plaine change and change vpon change and that there was no cause of the change at all at the first but onely that â— King Henry the VIII was desirous to change his olde bedfellow that hee might leaue some heires males behind him for belike hee feared the females would not bee able to withstand the title of Scotland and that the change was continued and increased by the posteritie of his latter wiues I could not chuse but suspect some thing But yet the loue of the world and hope of preferment would not suffer me to beleeue but that all was well and as it ought to be G. H. 4. You told vs before that your care was assoone as you came to yeeres of discretion by all meanes you could to enforme your selfe whether the religion of England were indeed the very same which being prefigured and prophecied in the olde Testament was perfected by our blessed Sauiour and
censure of wise men might deseruedly haue purchased some more respectiue termes of the Father whereas Thuanus the most vnpartiall and iudicious Historiographer of our age giues this testimonie of him that he was a Prince of singular naturall indowments and such a one in whom had hee not too much loosed the reines to this pleasure you could hardly find wanting any perfection Nay after his diuorce from his Queene and from the Church of Rome the Bishops which hee named sayth hee were honest men and good Schollers being euer himselfe a great Patron of learning which testimonie I the rather alledge because the Spanish expurgatorie index hath rased it as also diuers other verie memorable passages in this Author B. C. 5. Thus I satisfied my selfe at Schoole and studied the Artes and Philosophie and other humane learning vntill being Master of Artes and fellow of Corpus Christi Colledge in Cambridge I was at last by the Statutes of that house called to the studie of Diuinitie and bound to take vpon me the Order of Priest-hood then I thought it my duetie for the better satisfaction of mine owne soule and the sauing of othermens to looke as farre into the matter as possible I could that I might find out the Trueth and hauing the opportunitie of a very good Librarie in that Colledge I resolued with my selfe to studie hard and setting aside all respect of men then aliue or of Writers that had mooued or maintained Controuersies farther then to vnderstand the question which was betwixt them I fell to my prayers and betooke my selfe wholly to the reading of the Church Historie and of the ancient Fathers which had no interest on either side and specially â— made choise of S. Augustine because I hoped to find most comfort in him for the confirming of our Religion and the confuting of the Church of Rome G. H. 5. After your perusing the Chronicles of England you betake your selfe to the reading of the Church Historie and ancient Fathers and in speciall make choise of S. Augustine in whom you find the doctrine of Rome euery where confirmed and ours confuted But I would faine know whether one maine point of the doctrine of the Church of Rome be not the Supremacie of that Sea and whether a chiefe feather in that wing be not Appeals from forraine parts Now whether S. Augustine approued them I appeale to his practise being one of those Bishops in the Councell of Carthage who discouered and disclaimed the impudencie and forgerie of the Church of Rome in challenging that as right which some of constraint had performed and others of courtesie had graunted for which himselfe with his Fellow-Bishops were excoÌ„municated by the Bishop of Rome and for any thing I can finde in the Church Historie so died Some of his workes I haue read specially those of Christian doctrine and of them I will be bold to say that they confirme no one point of Romish doctrine controuersed at this day and surely there if any where had beene the proper place to declare the Bishop of Rome Supreame iudge in all controuersies B. C. 6. In this sort I spent my time continually for many yeeres and noted downe whatsoeuer I could gather or rather snatch either from the Scriptures or the Fathers to serue my turne But when after all my paines and desire to serue my selfe of Antiquitie I found the doctrine of the Church of Rome to be euery where coÌ„firmed by most profound demonstrations out of holy Scripture made most agreeable to the trueth of Christs Gospel and most conformable to all Christian soules and saw the current opinions of our great Preachers euery where confuted either in plaine termes or by most vnanswerable consequence although mine vnderstanding was thereby greatly edified for which I had great reason to render immortall thankes to our blessed Sauiour who by these meanes had vouchsafed to shewe himselfe vnto mee yet my heart was much grieued that I must be faine either not to preach at all or to crosse and varâ—e from the doctrine which I saw was commonly receiued G. H. 6. I haue perused your Common-place booke written for the most part with your owne hand and indeed it thereby appeares that your noting might more deseruedly bee termed a snatching then a gathering though by your will you solemnely bequeath it as a rich legacie to C.C.C. in Camb. whereof you were a Fellow but you found the doctrine of the Church of Rome you say euery where confirmed by most profound demonstrations from holy Scripture in trueth I must confesse they are so deepe that throughout this treatise they are inuisible but I much desire to knowe by what profound demonstration from holy Scripture you would proue the adoration of images the administration of the Sacrament vnder one kinde the exercise of publike prayer in a language not vnderstood of the people or lastly the Bishop of Romes vsurpation ouer the temporals of Princes vnlesse you bring Bellarmines profound demonstration to that purpose Pasce oues meas or Baronius Surge occide manduca or the Canonists fecit Deus duo magna luminaria much like a profound demonstration I haue heard of for proofe of the Salique law the lillies neither labour nor spinne therefore the Crowne of France ne tombe point sur laquenouille fals not to the distaffe or like that of a Frier who would needs proue that ten worlds were made in the first Creation and that out of our Sauiours wordes in the Gospel annon decem factisunt mundi but he was well answered by his brother in the words following Sed vbisunt nouem and did hee not deserue the title of D. profundus trow you for so profound a demonstration By such like profound demonstrations you find the doctrine of the Church of Rome made most agreeable to the trueth of Christs Gospel which for the Sacrament is drinke yee all of this and for the power of his ministers my kingdome is not of this world wordes deliuered as it seemes out of a propheticall spirit as foreseeing what errours should in after ages spring vp in his Church but you doe well to say that those doctrines were made agreeable to this trueth they may bee made so or at leastwise made to seeme so by forging and hammering vpon the anuill of mens conceits howbeit in themselues they are not so as the belles seeme to the childe to ring that tune which runnes in his head B. C. 7. Being thus perplexed with my selfe what course I were best to take I reflected backe againe vpon the Church of England and because the most of those Preachers which drewe the people after them in those dayes were Puritans and had grounded their diuinitie vpon Caluins institutions I thought peraduenture that they hauing gotten the multitude on their side might wrong the Church of England in her doctrine as well as they desired to doe in her discipline which indeed
very honest men and such as I did loue with all my heart I was very loth to dissent from them in priuate much more loth to oppose them in publike and yet seeing I must needes preach I was lothest of all to oppugne mine owne conscience together with the faith wherein I was baptized and the soules of those to whome I preached neuerthelesse hauing gotten this ground to worke vpon I began to comfort my selfe with hope to proue that the religion established in England was the same at the least in part L which now was and euer had beene held in the Catholique Church the defects whereof might be supplied whensoeuer it should please God to moue your Maiestie thereunto without abrogating that which was alrâ—ady by Law established which I still pray for and am not altogether out of M hope to see and therfore I thought it my duety as farre as I durst rather by N charitable constructions to reconcile things that seemed different that so our soules might bee for euer saâ—ed in vnity then by malitious calumniations to maintaine quarrels that so mens turnes might for a time bee serued in dissention G. H. 8. L How then can we bee esteemed heretiques who broach their owne fantasies since holding as the Church of England doth we hold the same that the Catholike Church hath euer held M Truely you had little reason to hope to liue to see thosâ— vnwarrantable Supplies you speake of by his Maiesties command aswell in regard of your owne infirmities of body as his MAIESTIES strong resolution of minde to the contrarie but it may bee your intelligence deceiued you sure wee are your hope failed you N Touching your opinion of Reconciliation whether it may be thought to proceede of charitie or arrogancie as also whether it be probable or in a maner possible as the case now stands I shall haue fitter opportunitie to discusse hereafter then in this place Yet giue mee leaue by the way to tell you that in my iudgement you call that Vnitie which is indeed distraction it tending to nothing els but a rent and a drawing of vs further from other reformed Churches and neâ—rer to the Church of Rome for if this were not your meaning the same charitable constructions would haue serued to recoÌ„cile things that to you looking through the false spectacles of preiudice passion seemed verie different betwixt vs other reformed Churches abroad much better easier then for the reconciling of those maine broad differences which are indeed betwixt vs and the Church of Rome Of which I feare I may too truly say as Abraham doth to the rich glutton in hel between you and vs there is a great gulfe set so that they which would goe from hence to you can not neither can they come from thence to vs. I speake in regard of Reconciliation in differences of Religion for otherwise but too manie are suffered to goe from hence thither and hauing sucked their poison to returne againe at their pleasures for the vomitting of it out amongst vs notwithstanding the sharpe penalties and great gulfe set betweene vs. B. C. 9. In this course although I did neuer proceed any farther then law would giue me leaue yet I found the Puritans and Caluinists and all the creatures of Schisme to be my vtter enemies who were also like the sonnes of Zeruiah too strong for Dauiâ— himselfe 2. Sam 3. 39. but I well perceiued that all temperate and vnderstanding men who had no interest in the Schisme were glad to heare the trueth honestly and plainely preached vnto them and my hope was by patience and continuance I should in the ende vnmaske hypocrisie and gaine credite to the comfortable doctrine of Antiquitie euen amongst those also who out of misinformation and preiudice did as yet most mislike it And considering with my selfe that your right to the Crowne came onely by O Catholikes and was ancienter then the Schisme which would very faine haue vtterly extinguished it and that both your P disposition by nature your amitie with Catholike Princes your speeches and your proclamations did at the beginning all tend to peace and vnitie I hoped that this endeuour of mine to enforce Catholike Religion at the least as farre as the Common prayer Booke and Catechisme would giue leaue should be well accepted of your MAIESTIE and bee as an introduction vnto farther peace and vnitie with the Church of Rome G. H. 9. O His MAIESTIES right to the Crowne is double the one from his mother lineally descending of the first match of the Ladie Margaret daughter to Henrie the VII and sister to Henrie the VIII Kings of England with Iames the fourth King of Scotland his MAIESTIES great Grandfather who though she imbraced that Religion in which shee was brought vp being neuer acquainted with any other yet as his Maiesty obserueth in his Monitorie Preface to the Christian Princes shee disliked some of the superstious Ceremonies and abhorred those new opinions which the Iesuits call Catholike His second right aboue any other preâ—endor was from his father descended of the second match of the sayd Ladie Margaret with Archibald Douglas Earle of Angush being brought vp in Q. Elizabeths Court whose father the Duke of Lenox professing the reformed religion as well appeared by his practise in his life in receiuing the Sacrament after the manner of the reformed Churches and by the confession of his faith in the hearing of many ministers at his death in all likelihood his Maiesties father himselfe should be that way affected though Cardinall Bellarmine vpon the relation of I know not whom would faine haue it otherwise And whereas you say that schisme would faine haue extinguished his Maiesties right it is well knowen that those whom you call schismatikes were the chiefe instruments vnder God to preserue his Maiesties not onely right but life against the fury of some whom you call Catholikes both before his mothers death and since P From his Maiesties progenitors you come to his owne disposition by nature his amity with Catholike Princes his speaches his Proclamations which all tended at the beginning you say to peace and vnitie True indeed it is that his Maiestie by nature is disposed to mercy his amitie with Christian Princes argues his charitie and heroical ingenuitie voide of ielousie suspition euen where occasioÌ„ may seem to be giuen his speaches and Proclamations were not bloody yet all this could not serue your turne as a sufficieÌ„t warrant to endeauor a peace with the Church of Rome in matters of religion no more then a league with the great Turke for traffike should giue occasion of ioyning with him in Mahometisme but had you withall with the other eye reflected a little backe vpon his Maiesties education from his very Cradle the choice of his aliance in mariage his counsel to his sonne touching the matter of religion in the first booke of his Basilicon Doron his
bee to this point more fully and cleerely spoken B. C. 13. And for the blessed SacrameÌ„t they do not worship the Accidents which they see but the Substance which they beleeue and surely if Christ be there truely really present as your Maiestie seemeth to graunt hee is hee is as much to bee worshipped as if wee saw him with our bodily eyes neither is there any more Idolatry in the one then in the other If our blessed Sauiour himselfe should visibly appeare in person as hee was vpon the earth Iewes and Infidels would hold it for Idolatry to worship him and would crucifie him againe and so would all heretikes also who refuse to worship him in the Sacrament where hee is really present G. H. 13. You tell vs that the people doe not worship the accidents which they see but the substance which they see not but the question is whether they rightly beleeue the substance of Christs body to lie hidden and as it were buried vnder those Accidents which I am sure Saint Augustine on whom you so much relie is so farre from defending or else the adoration of Images before mentioned that in diuerse places hee maintaineth the cleare contrarie to both And to grant that after the words of Consecration pronounced the bodie of Christ is there folded or kneaded vp in a bodily maner yet whether the Priest that pronounceth them be rightly Ordered and if hee be whether hee pronounce them with the intent that the Church intends they may iustly make a doubt and consequently a question whether their worship bee idolatrous or no for in such cases by confession of all in stead of Christs bodie they worship the bread for our parts wee constantly beleeue him to be in heauen and not in the bread whereas we make a iust doubt whether a great part of them who beleeue him to be in the bread doe with like constancie beleeue that hee is in heauen You further adde that if he be truely and really present as his MAIESTIE seemeth to graunt he is as much to be worshipped as if wee saw him with our bodily eyes But indeed it is not the seeing of him with our bodily eyes that makes the matter or giues occasion of worshipping for then a blind man could not worship him at all nor a seeing man in the darke but the beleeuing of him to be present in a bodily manner Wee beleeue him then with his MAIESTIE it being Caluins opinion expressed in the very selfe same termes to be truely and really present but in a manner Sacramentall not bodily and consequently not to bee worshipped there as being not wrapped vp vnder the accidents of bread but triumphing in heauen And here by your leaue how submissiuely soeuer you would seeme in other places to carrie your selfe towards his Maiestie you make bold to put the title of Heretike vpon him and to ranke him among no better then â—ewes and Infidels But our iust defence is that after the way which you call Heresie we giue more true and lawfull honour to our blessed Sauiour then you casting all that religious worship which you giue to the blessed Virgin to Angels to Saints to the bread in the Eucharist to Images to Reliques to the Crosse and all that opinion of Merit of Supererogation and Satisfaction which you ascribe either to your selues or others wholy and solely vpon him either as God or as Man or as Mediatour betwixt God and Man onely wee denie to giue that honour to his Image or the bread in the Eucharist which is as essentially due to him as to them vndue B. C. 14. After diuers other obiections not so much because I was not as be cause I desired not to be satisfied I came to the Popes supposed pride and tyrannie ouer Kings and Princes and tolde them of the most horrible Treason intended and practised by Catholikes against your MAIESTIE which hath not yet beene iudicially condemned by the Church of Rome They all seemed to abhorre the fact as much as the best Subiests in the world and much more to fauour and defend the authoritie of Kings and Princes then Heretikes doe And they sayed that although your Maiestie were out of the Church yet they doubted not but if complaint were made in a iudiciall proceeding that fact should be iudicially condemned In the meane time it was sufficient that all Catholike writers did coÌ„demne it and that the Pope by his Breue had condemned it exhorting the Catholikes of England to all Christian patience and obedience and as for any other authoritie or superioritie of the Pope then such as is spiritual and necessary for the vnity of the Church I haue met with none that doe stand vpon it G. H. 14. You well say they seemed to abhorre the fact it being of the nature of those whereof Tacitus speakes Quae nunquam laudantur nisiperacta which are neuer commended till they are ended had it taken effect according to their designes for the setting vp of their Religion among vs it had vndoubtedly bin recorded a most happie and fortunate successe which now by abortion onely and miscariage is stiled an horrible Treason And if they defend the authoritie of Kings and Princes much more then they whom they call Heretikes I would faine know how it comes to passe that more of those Princes wâ—om you call Catholikes permit within their Dominions the publike exercise of Religion to those Heretikes then the contrarie Surely in my iudgement it is an euident argument that Christian Staâ—es conceiue reason to bee more iealous of the one then of the other neither is the reason farre to be sought â—ince the one acknowledgeth no Supreme forreine power which the other doth but the Pope you say condemned the Powder-plot by his Breue I much desire to see that Breue of the Popes which condemnes it I suppose it is most like to be found on the backside of Constantins donation as an Ambassador of Venice told the Pope touching his right to the Adriatique Sea or we may say of it Breuis esse laboro obscurusfio hee is so briefe and obscure in it as we can find no such matter Two Breues of Clements I remember I haue heard of for the withstanding of his Maiesties entrance to the Crowne and two others of Paulus V. against the taking of the oath of allegiance which I marueile M. Doctour neuer vouchsafed so much as once to remember through his Letter but any against the Powder-plot I cannot call to minde I haue seene or so much as heard of Lastly wheras you beare vs in hand that the Popes fauourites stand vpon none other authoritie for their Master then such as is spirituall and necessary for the vnity of the Church I guesse their meaning to be Bellarmines indirect power in temporals or temporall power in ordine as spiritualia in relation to spirituall dueties which is in trueth vpon the matter as much as can be demanded by them
and more then must be granted by vs it reaching to the deposition of Princes from their thrones and the disposition of their Crownes when his Holinesse shall iudge it fit for the vnity of the Church as well appeared in his Buls both against King Henry the father and Queene Elizabeth the daughter And thus farre Cardinall Perron that peaceable man and your great Patron expressed himselfe in the last assemblie of the three estates of France for which the Pope gaue him and the rest of the Clergy who stucke to him in that businesse as great thankes as if they had saued Saint Peters shippe from sinking both the Cardinall and the Pope supposing as it seemes that those sparkes flew into France from the fire of England howsoeuer sure it is they were quenched by the water of Tyber B. C. 15. So that whereas my hope was that by finding out the corruptions of the Church of Rome I should grow further in loue with the Church of England and ioyfully returne home and by inueighing against the Papists both enioy my present preferments and obtaine more and more I saw the matteâ— was like to fall out cleane contrary It is true indeed that there are many corruptionsâ— in all States God hath not his wheat field in this world wherein the deuill hath no tares growing and there are not tares more ranke then those that grow among the wheat for optimi corruptio pessima and where grace aboundeth if it be contemned there sinne aboundeth much more But seeing my reading and experience hath now taught me that the trueth of Christian Religion taught and practised at this day in the Church of Rome and all the obedient members thereof is the very same in substance which was preâ—igured and prophesied from the beginning of the world perfected by CHRIST himselfe deliuered to his Apostles and by them and their Successours perpetually and vniuersally practised vntill this day without any W substantiall alteration and that the new religion in X England wherein it doth differ hath no ground but either the pleasure of the Prince and Parliament or the common crie and voyce of the people nor no constancie or agreement with it selfe what should I now doe It is not in my power not to know that which I doe know nor to doubt of that which I haue spent so much time and taken so much paines and bestowed so much cost and made so many trials to find And I know if I should yeeld to be reconciled to the Church I should be in this world in all likelihood vtterly vndone and which grieued me more I should bee reiected of your Maiestie my most redoubted Lord and Master and despised by all my deare friends and louers in England G. H. 15. W The Church of Rome holds indeed the substance of Christian Religion in profession but yet by consequence shakes the foundation of it as it holds the death of Christ to be satisfactory for sinne and yet adding thereunto her owne meritorious satisfaction consequently by the latter she ouerthrowes the former for If righteousnesse be by the Law then Christ died without a cause and in reason impossible it is if traditions be held of equall valew with the Scriptures for the constituting of substantiall points but that in short time there should ensue a substantiall alteration and he that knowes not that the Church of Rome holds many things now as parts of the Catholike faith which it helds not in former ages knowes little what hath bene anciently held or now is X If by the religion of England you vnderstand that which is by Law established as in coÌ„mon construction you cannot otherwise be vnderstood you coÌ„demne your selfe out of your owne mouth in as much as you acknowledge before that the religion established by law in England was the same saue onely it was somewhat defectiue which now is and euer had beene held in the Catholike Church and yet here you say it hath no ground but the pleasure of the Prince and Parliament wheras in trueth we build vpon the Rocke of the Scriptures but you vpon the sand of traditions and which of vs hath the sounder foundation I appeale no farther then reason it selfe to iudge You as though you were not yet dead from the ordinances of the world burden your selues with traditions as touch not taste not handle not which all perish with the vsing and are after the commandements and doctrines of men but we haue a most sure word of the Prophets taking heede thereto according to S. Peters counsell as to a light that shineth in a darke place and as our ground is sure so is our agreement constant and vniforme in all points materiall and necessary to saluation whereas in the building of your tower of Babel such diuersitie of languages is heard that there is hardly any exposition of Scripture or point in controuersie which hath not bene or is called into question either directly or by consequent by some that liued and died in that Church which you call Catholike as will easily appeare to him who shall turne ouer the volumes of of Cardinall Bellarmine which is the true reason as I suppose that his workes are not allowed to bee read of all but of publike professours and such others as haue speciall permission from their Superiours B. C. 16. These were my thoughts at the Spaw which did so vexe and afflict my soule as that the waters could doe my body no good at all but rather much hurt neuerthelesse I auoided the company of Catholikes abstained from the Church and did both dispute and write against the Church of Rome as occasion was offered I still hoped that time would giue better counsell and therefore resolued to goe from the Spaw to Heidelberge to doe my duetie there in the meane time I thought with my selfe it may be God hath mooued his Maiesties heart to peace and reconciliation I knowe his disposition was so in the beginning and I remember M. Casaubon told me when I brought him out of France that his errand was nothing else but to mediate peace betweene the Church of Rome and the church of England Therefore I thought before I would submit my selfe to the Church of Rome I would write vnto M. Casaubon such a letter as he might shew vnto your Maiestie containing such conditions as I thought might satisfie your Maiestie if they were performed by the Church of Rome The copie of which letter is too long here to set down But when M. Casaubon answered me that he knew your Maiestie was resolued to haue no societie with the Church of Rome vpon any condition what soeuer and that it would be my vndoing if those my letters should come to your Maiesties hands or of those that bare the sway I began to despaire of my returne into England vnlesse I would ouerthrow both the health of my bodie and the quiet of my
words so many and forcible arguments to the contrarie be deduced I must confesse I know not what belongs to Logike and for other passages in the same speech which seeme to fauour your cause you must either iniuriously wrest them from the authors meaning or make them by reasonable construction sutable to these Howsoeuer your selfe being a Churchman and one of those whom he sharpely taxeth for changing their coats through curiositie affectation of noueltie or discontentment in their priuate humours cannot possibly be ranked amongst them to whom as to minds only retaining the liquor they first dranke in out of his speciall clemencie he proposeth more fauourable conditions and yet among these too he hath since discouered an vnnaturall disposition whom he hoped to find by moderate gentle vsage in the matter of naturall subiection quiet and well minded men and therefore no marueile if his Maiestie be since more exasperated and farther off from any reconciliation with that Religion then before But Mr. Casaubon you say tolde you that his errand hither was nothing else but to mediate peace betweene the Church of Rome and the Church of England It is certainely false that Mr. Casaubons errand was by his Maiestie intended to bâ— such and most vnlikely to be true that it was by Mr Casaubon so reported to you considering his direct and expresse writings both before his comming ouer and since against the chiefe Patrons and controuersed points of the Church of Rome and among the rest in the conclusion of his Epistle to Cardinall Perron where hee assures him from his Maiesties mouth and in his name that his constant purpose and full resolution was as long as the Church of Rome yeelded not to antiquity and trueth to entertaine no society with her at all which you might haue read before your departure and spared the paines of writing to M. Casaubon whome that I may yet more fully cleare from this imputation being not able now to speake for himselfe I will here set downe his Letter written with his owne hand to my Lords Grace of Canterbury vpon this very occasion in which hee termes the report no better then the slander of a wicked Apostate Illustrissimo Reuerendissimo Praesuli Domino Cantuariensi totius Angliae Primati Domino meo summa obseruantia colendo Illustrissime Reuerendissime Domine HEri quum essem in Aula ostendit mibi Regia Maiestas librum à Carerio sibi missum in quo mira quaedam de me narrantur puto Serenissimum Regem tuae Reuerentiae illa ostendisse Ego Dei gratia puto me sic vixisse priusquam in hoc regnum venirem postquaÌ„ veni in Angliam vt curare non debeam quid perditus apostata deâ—me garriat aut scribat apparet ipsum grauissimâ— iratum esse mihi propter Epistolam quam illi scripsi vt ab hoc insano consilio eum reuocarem propterea id agit vt meum nomen apud Regiam Maiestatem tuam Reuerentiam infamet Sedspero meliora de Regesapientissimo de te Illustrissime Presul apud quem si mihi opus esse apologia crederem omnia omisissem vt tuae Reuerentiae praesens me purgarem Sed non puto adeo infoeliciter mecum agi vt inâ—andi apostatae calumniae aliquid apud te contra existimationem meam valeant Si iusseris statim adero et ad omnia tuae Reuerentiae satisfaciam Interim quam sim occupatus in colophone imponendo operimeo narrabit tuae Reuerentiae Vederburnus noster verè pius iuuenis tua beneuolentia Presul Illustriss non indignus Deus immortalis te seruet Ecclesiae suae In Musaeo XIV Kal. Ian. MDCXIII Tuae Illustriss Reuerentiae obseruantissimus cultor ISA. CASAVBONVS Right Reuerend my Gracious Lord YEsterday being at Court the KINGS MAIESTIE shewed mee a booke sent him from Carier wherein certaine strange things are reported of me I thinke his MAIESTIE hath shewed them vnto your Grace I hope I haue by the grace of GOD so liued both before I came into this Kingdome and since I came into England that I ought not to care what a forlorne Apostate pratleth or writeth of me It appeares he is very angry with me for a letter I wrote him to reclaime him from that mad course thereupon he goes about to traduce me to the KINGS MAIESTY and your Grace But I hope better both of that most wise KING and of you most renowned Prelate Vnto whom if I thought there were need of Apologie I would laying all other things aside in person purge my selfe vnto your Grace But my case I trust is not so vnhappy that the slanders of a lewd Apostate should be of any force with you against my reputation If you command I will forthwith repaire vnto you and satisfie your Grace vnto the full In the meane time how busily I am occupied about the conclusion of my worke my friend Vederburne a very religious yong man and not vnworthy of your Graces fauor can shew your Grace God Immortall preserue you vnto his Church From my study Decemb. 19. 1613. Your Graces most respectiue Obseruer ISA. CASAVBON And that it may appeare how auerse hee was from vnion with that Church I will hereunto adde a former Letter written likewise to my L. Grace of Canterbury touching the same businesse before he was thus prouoked by D. Carier vpon occasion of a Letter written to the same effect from the Doctor to him Illustrissime Reuerendissime Domine MItto Reuerentiae Epistolam de quâ inaudiuisti Ego acceptam Epistolam vt Regi communicaretur putaui premendam neque ostendendam cuiquam mortalium Non enim possum probare consilium viri illius eruditi qui epistolam scripsit Quare respondi illi statim multis cum illo egi vt ab eo proposito desisteret Multas rationes ei attuli cur certò crederem amentiam esse aut potiâ—s furorem boni aliquid sperare à Romano Phalari nam hoc verbo vsus sum qui nostra mala si quae sunt inter nos ridet Proposui ei ob oculos quà m essent alieni proceres Romanae Ecclesiae ab omni aequitate imprimis Bellarminus de cuius impietate plura ad eum scripsi Posui illi ante oculos quanto cum suo periculo patronum Papae videretur agere Attuli testimonia Matthaei Paris de summâ Angliae infoelicitate quando Papae Ro. paruit Addidi exemplum illius Narbonensis qui nuper ad Ser. Regem similis argumenti librum miserat me iussum à Rege loqui eum librum detestatum esse D. Regem voluisse in latere libri animaduertere Posthaec quid factum sit Carerio nescio Hoc ego volui Reuerentiae tuae significatum Sed expectabam donec ad vrbem redijsses nam me libri mei editio domi tenet Sunt alia quaedam grauia de quibus acturus sum cum tuâ Reuerentiâ post vnum aut
alterum diem Deo volente Qui te seruet Illustrissime Domine Londini VIII Eid Sept. MDCXIII Tuae Reuerentiae obseruantiss cultor IS CASAVBONVS Right Reuerend my Gracious Lord I Send vnto your Grace the Letter whereof you haue heard The Letter was sent me with intent it should be communicated vnto the King but I thought it fitter to bee suppressed and to be shewed vnto none For I cannot approue the drift of that learned man who wrâ—te the Letter Wherefore I answered him forâ—â—with and with many words aduised him to desist from that purpose I brought him many reasons why I certainely beleeued it was folly or rather frensie to hope for any good from the Romish Phalaris for that very terme I vsed who laughs at our euils if there be any amongst vs. I laid before his eyes how auerse the Peeres of the Romish Church are from all equitie specially Bellarmine of whose impiety I wrote at large vnto him I set before his eyes with how great danger to himselfe he seemed to become the Popes Patron I alledged testimonies of Matthew Paris of the great misery of England when it was vnder the Popes obedience I added the example of that Narbonois who of late sent vnto the Kings MAIESTY a booke of the like argument that being commanded by the KING to say my mind I professed my detestation thereof and that it was his MAIESTIES will to haue some animaduersions set in the margent of the booke After which what became of Carier I know not This I thought good to signifie vnto your Grace but I expected vntill you were returned vnto the Citie for the publishing of my booke stayes meat home I haue other weighty matters whereof to aduise with your Grace within this day or two God willing who preserue you my gracious Lord. London Sept. 6. 1613. Your Graces most respectiue Obseruer ISA. CASAVBON B. C. 17. There is a statute in England made by King Henry the VIII to make him supreame head of the Church in spirituall and Ecclesiasticall causes which Statute enioynes all the subiects of England on paine of death to beleeue and to sweare they doe beleeue that it is true and yet all the world knowes if King Henry the VIII could haue gotten the Pope to diuorce Queene Katherine that he might marrie Anne Bullen that Statute had neuer been made by him and if that title had not enabled the King to pull downe Abbeys and religious houses and giue them to Lay men the Lords and Commons of that time would neuer haue suffered such a Statute to be made This Statute was continued by Queene Elizabeth to serue her owne turne and it is confirmed by your Maiestie to satisfie other men and yet your Maiestie yeeldeth the Church of Rome to be the mother Church and the Bishop of Rome to bee the chiefe Bishop or Primate of all the Westerne Churches which I doe also verely beleeue and therfore I doe verely thinke he hath or ought to haue some spirituall iurisdiction in England and although in mine yonger dayes the fashion of the world made me sweare as other did for which I pray God forgiue mee yet I euer doubted and I am now resolued that no Christian man can take that oath with a safe conscience neither will I euer take it to gaine the greatest preferment in the world G. H. 17. The Statute here intended can be none other then the Sâ—tute 26. of H. VIII Cap. 1. for that is the first Statute that medleth with the Supremacie which Statute is as the Common Lawyers terme it Statutum declaratiuum not introductiuum noui iuris as doth clearely appeare by the Preamble which hath these words Albeit the Kings Maiestie iustly and rightfully is and ought to bee taken and accepted supreame head of the Church of England and so is recognized by the Clergie in their Conuocation yet neuerthelesse for corroboration and confirmation thereof Be it enacted that the King shall bee taken and accepted Supreme head c. So that the Doctor is fowly mistaken to say that there was a Statute made by K. Henry the VIII to make him Supreme head for it was his ancient right that made him so and it was his Clergie that had acknowledged him to be so before the making of this Statâ—te nay the very phrase and letter of this Statute it selfe doeth purposely renounce the power of making and assumes onely the authority of confirming Whereby it is cleare that Henrie VIII made not a statute to make himselfe Supreme in Ecclesiasticall causes as Mr. Doctor affirmeth but to confirme those Statutes and Rights which his noble Progenitors as iuâ—tly challenged to belong to their Crown as the Bishops of Rome vniustly pretended to be annexed to their Myter And where he sayes that the Statute which according to his vnderstanding made him Supreme head did also enioyne the Subiect to beleeue and sweare it tâ— bee true it is manifest that there is not any mention at all of any oath in that Statute but it is true indeede that in the 28. of Henry VIII chap. 10. there is an oath of Supremacie ordeined the refusall whereof by some certaine persons enioyned by that Act to take it was made high Treason And herein againe is the Doctour deceiued nay which is worse seeketh to deceiue others for onely some certaine persons were bound by that Statute to take the oath and not all the Subiects of England as he falsely surmiseth Anno 35. Henry VIII cap. 1. the oath of Supremacie ordeined by 28. was repealed and a new forme of oath prescribed and extended to more persons but neuer to all in generall The same Parliament Cap. 3. enioyneth that the stile of Supreme head be receiued and vsed and this was all that was done by Henry VIII in the point of Supremacie by way of Statute So that to say as Master Doctor doth that all the Subiects in England are bound vpon paine of death to beleeue the Supremacie is a malicious fiction in two respects First touching the persons enioyned to take the oath and lyable to the punishment and then againe as touching the offence for that beliefe alone which is a secret inclination of the minde knowne onely to God the searcher of the heart and not issuable nor tryable by any Law humane should be made an offence punishable by death is in it selfe so absurde as it cannot but appeare to bee a false imputation to charge our Law-makers therewithall Lastly whereas hee sayes that Henry the VIII would neuer haue made that Statute if he could haue gotten the Pope to haue diuorced Queene Katherine that he might haue married Anne Boleine it is cleare and all the world may know that if King Henry would haue ioyned with Francis the French King in the warre of Naples against Charles the Emperour the Pope would not haue stucke to haue giuen way to that diuorce for the better procuring of which Combination hee did not onely
his Angels charge ouer thee but suppressed that which made against him to keepe thee in all thy wayes now if any man farther desire his Maiesties meaning in calling Rome the Mother Church hee hath fully expressed himselfe in his Premonition Patriarchs saith he I know were in the time of the Primitiue Church and I likewise reuerence that institution for orders sake and amongst them was a contention for the first place And for my selfe if that were yet the question I would with all mine heart giue my consent that the Bishop of Rome should haue the first seat I being a Westerne King would goe with the Patriarch of the West whereby it is cleare that his Maiesties meaning was and is to yeeld the Bishop of Rome ouer other Westerne Bishops in case they should meet iâ— Councell a prioritie in sitting not a superiority in commanding a primacy or precedency in order not a supremacie in power and iurisdiction it beeing the marke which Mr. Doctour driues at and from thence labours cunningly but malitiously to inferre contrary to his Maiesties both minde and words I conclude this point with a Reuerend Prelate His Vicarship to Christ must be proued by stronger and plainer euidence then you haue yet shewed before wee may grant it and for his Patriarkeship saith he which you now take hold of by Gods law he hath nne in this Realme for â—ixe hundred yeeres after Christ he had none for the last sixe hundred as looking to greater matters hee would haue none aboue and against the swâ—rd which God hath ordained he can haue none to the subuersion of the faith and oppression of his brethren in right reason and equity he should haue none you must seeke farther for subiection to his tribunall this land oweth him none B. C. 18. There is another statute in England made by Queene Elizabeth and confirmed by your Maiesty that it is death for any English man to bee in England being made a Priest by authority deriued or pretended to bee deriued from the Bishop of Rome I cannot beleeue that I am a Priest at all vnlesse I be deriued by authority from Gregory the great from whence all the Bishops in England haue their being if they haue any being at all G. H. 18. The Statute intended is the 27. of Eliz. Cap. 2. which indeed in the body thereof hath words sounding to that purpose but the sense is malitiously peruerted and the inference thereupon for he that shall reade through that Statute and consider all the parts shall clearely perceiue that therby none other Priests are intended then Popish Priests made and ordeined by Popish Bishops and not such as Mr. Doctour was made in England by any of our Bishops here Though perhaps it were true that our Bishops did deriue their first authority from Gregory which we do not yeeld vnto considering that Augustine from whom they are pretended to deriue it was not consecrated by him but by Aetherius Archbishop of Arles if wee may beleeue our own Venerable Bede for the title of the Statute is An Acte against Iesuites Seminary Priests and such other like disobedient persons and the preamble of the acte hath these words Whereas diuers persons called or professed Iesuites Seminary Priests and other Priests which haue beene and froâ— time to time are made in the parts beyond the Seas by or according to the order and rites of the Romish Church haue of late yeeres commen and bene sent into England c. So that if according to the rule Praefatio est clauis Statuti we shall interprete the body by the title or preamble howsoeuer the wordes in the body of the acte bee somewhat generall yet what Priests are intended by the Law-makers is euident enough and except M. Doctour were a Priest according to the Order and Rites of the Romish Church by shauing anoynting and imposition of hands by a Popish Bishop and that since the first yeere of Queene Elizabeth he needed not to haue feared the danger of the Law B. C. 19. There is another Statute in like maner made and confirmed that it is death to bee reconciled by a Catholike Priest to the Church of Rome I am perswaded that the Church of Rome is our mother Church and that no man in England can be saued that continues wilfully out of the visible vnitie of that Church and therefore I can not chuse but perswade the people to be reconciled thereunto if possibly they may G. H. 19. This Statute also is either purposely or ignorantly mistaken and is not distinct from that following but are both one namely 23. Eliz. cap. 1. The title of it is An Acte to retaine the Queenes Maiesties Subiects in due obedience and the preamble recites that whereas diuers ill affected persons haue practised to withdraw the Queenes Subiects from their naturall allegeance the purueiw of the Acte followeth that all persons which shall put in practise to â—bsolue perswade or withdrawe any of the Queenes subiects from their naturall obedience to her Maiestie or to withdraw them for that intent from the religion established and so foorth shall be traitours and the person willingly absolued or withdrawen as aforesayd to be likewise a traitour so that the withdrawing of the Subiect from their naturall obedience or for that intent from the religion established is the offence made treason and not simple exhorting to the Romish religion as is alleadged And yet to speake a trueth I see not how any exhortation to an absolute submission of the vnderstanding and the will to the Bishop of Romes Iurisdiction which now is made the onely essentiall forme of that religion can well be seuered from such an intent But Rome you say is the mother Church and no man in England can bee saued that continues wilfully out of the visible vnitie of that Church Where if you terme it the mother Church in that sense that his MAIESTIE doeth wee imbrace it but if your meaning bee that shee is our mother either in regard that wee receiued the first life or still should receiue the nourishment of religion from her wee denie it our nation being first conuerted to the Christian faith by Ioseph of Arimathea who intombed the Corps of our Sauiour and lieth himselfe interred at Glastenbury together with twelue disciples his assistants where they first preached the Gospel as Gildas affirmeth in the life of Aurelius Ambrosius and Malmesbury in the Booke intituled The Antiquitie of Glastenbury written to Henry of Bloys brother to King Steuen and Abbot of the same place and it is consented vnto by the learned Antiquaries of later times as namely Mr. Cambden Iohn Bale Matthew Parker Polydore Virgil and others grounding themselues vpon the authoritie of the best approued and most ancient writers and withall considering our keeping of Easter and other Ceremonies were after the fashion of the Easterne Church and not of the Westerne at the comming of Austin I may very well coniecture that our
first conuersion to Christian religion was from the Iewes or Grecians and not from the Romanes so that if Rome bee rightly â—ermed oâ—r mother Church it must be in regard of later supplies from Eleutherius and Gregory not of our first Conuersion howsoeuer the holy Citie being now become an harlot wee haue no more reason to reuerence her as a mother but as a strumpet till she repent and amend to shunâ—e all vnion with her S. Paul writing to the whole Church of Rome and giuing them their due praise for their deuotion and zeale and entring at last into the reiectioÌ„ of the Iewes for their vnbeliefe he warneth expresly the Romans in these words Boast not thy selfe against the branches and if thou boast thy selfe thou bearest not the roote but the roote thee Thou wilt say the branches were broken off that I might be graft in well through infidelity they are broken off and thou standest by faith be not high minded but feare For if God spared not the naturall branches take heed lest he spare not thee Behold therefore the goodnesse and seuerity of God toward them which haue fallen seueritie but towards thee goodnesse if thou continue in his goodnesse otherwise thou also shalt bee cut off Now whether the Apostle spake generally to the Gentiles and inclusiuely to the Romanes or namely to the Romanes and proportionably to the rest it is all one to vs one of the twaine he must needs Origen saith vpon these words of Paul I say to you Gentiles Now hee plainely turneth his speach to the Gentiles but chiefly to those of the citie of Rome that beleeued S. Paul speaking then to the Romanes no man may except the Romans and they being included his admonition to them if there could bee no danger in them of swaruing from the faith was vtterly superfluous and the condition implied ridicâ—lous and the commination odious and the reason friuolous Now that which S. Paul there threatned we find come to passe so that we cannot we dare not ioyne hands with her nay wee are so farre from beleeuing that none can bee saued that continues out of the visible vnitie of that Church that on the other side we coÌ„stantly beleeue that the means to be saued is to separate our selues from the vnity of that Church till she separate her selfe from her errors specially since in your vnderstanding the continuing in the visible vnity of that Church is in a manner nothing else but the acknowledging of the Bishop of Rome to bee the visible head of it and if none can bee saued without that what shall become of your honest brethren of the English Clergie whom you professe you are so farre from condemning as you doe account your selfe one of them what of so many millions of soules in the Easterne and Westerne Christian Churches more in number by many degrees then those that yet continue in that visible vnitie and better both in life and beliefe then those who acknowledge it or the visible head himselfe of it B. C. 20. There is another Statute in like manner made and confirmed that it is death to exhort the people of England to Catholike religion I am perswaded that the religion prescribed and practised by the Church of Rome is the true Catholike religion which I will particularly iustifie from point to point if God giue time and opportunitie and therefore I can not choose but perswade the people thereunto G. H. 20. For the Statute here pretended I haue already answered that it is none other then a branch of the former And for your promise of iustifying from point to point the religion prescribed and practised by the Church of Rome if it be performed when wee shall see it published I doubt not but a Confutation will be found as particular and plaine and more true then your Iustification but in the meane time I cannot but wonder what you can say more herein then hath often been sayd by as earnest and more learned Proctors of that Church then your selfe Besides how comes it to passe you should be suddenly expert and so peremptorily confident in all the controuersed points except you were resolued in most of them before your parting hence I remember Duke Humfrey discouered a notable piece of knauery in a beggar who pretending blindnesse from his birth vndertooke to iudge of colours instantly vpon the recouery of his sight this your vaine offer to iustifie all points in controuersie presently vpon your breathing of outlandish ayre cannot but giue vs iust occasioÌ„ to suspect the like hyopocrisie Lastly if the religion prescribed and practised by the Church of Rome be in all points the only true religion why would his holinesse permit the exercise of ours with little or no alteration as afterward you beare vs in hand vpon conditions his MAIESTIE on the other side would admit of his supremacie and the Masse B. C. 21. It may bee these are not all seuerall Statutes some of them may bee members of the same for I haue not my bookes about mee to search but I am sure all of them doe make such felonies and treasons as were the greatest vertues in the Primitiue Church and such as I must confesse my selfe I cannot choose if I liue in England but endeuour to bee guilty of and then it were easie to finde Puritanes enough to make a iury against me and there would not want a Iustice of peace to giue sentence and when they had done that which is worse then the persecution it selfe they would all sweare solemnly that D. Carier was not put to death for Catholike Religion but for felony and treason I haue no hope of protection against the cruelty of those lawes if your Maiesty be resolued vpon no conditions whatsoeuer to haue society at all nor no Communion at all with the Church of Rome and therefore while the case so stands I dare not returne home againe But I cannot be altogether out of hope of better newes before I die as long as I doe beleeue that the Saints in heauen doe reioyce at the conuersion of a sinner to Christ and doe know that your Maiesty by youâ— birth hath so great an interest in the Saints in heauen as you shall neuer cease to haue vntill you cease to be the sonne of such a mother as would reioyce more then all the rest for your conuersion and therefore I assure my selfe that shee with all the rest doe pray that your Maiesty before you die may bee militant in the Communion of that Church wherein they are triumphant And in this hope I am gone before to ioyne my prayers with theirs in the vnity of the Catholike Church and doe humbly pray your Maiesty to pardon me for doing that which was not in my power to auoide and to giue me leaue to liue where I hope shortly to die vnlesse I may hope to do your Maiestie seruice and without the
preiudice of any honest man in England to see some vnity betwixt the Church of England and her mother the Church of Rome And now hauing declared the meanes of my couersion to Catholike religion I will briefly also shew vnto you the hopes I haue to doe your Maiesty no ill seruice therein G. H. 21. It is true indeed that those Statutes which you alledge are not seuerall in themselues but members of the same And it appeares well though you had not professed it that at the writing hereof you had not your bookes about you you affirme things vncertaine so confidently and things certaine so falsly But you are sure you say they make such fellonies and treasons as were the greatest vertues of the Primitiue Church whereas wee are more sure that the greatest vertues and fattest sacrifices and shortest cut to heauen as they are now esteemed in the Church of Rome were in the Primitiâ—e Church held none other but murders and parricides and felonies and treasons Thou doest promise saith Augustine to Patilian that thou wilt reckon many of the Emperours and iudges which by persecuting you perished and concealing the Emperours thou mâ—anest two iudges or deputies why didst thou not name the Emperors of thy Communion wert thou afraid to bee accused as guilâ—y of treason where is your courage which feare not to kill your selues To say the Emperours perished for persecuting was treason in his time in our age you thinke it much that reproching of Princes as tyrants and heretiques and aiding the Pope with your perswasions absolutions and rebellions to take their Crownes from them should be punished or adiudged treason how beit a certaine trueth it is that there is no conspiracie so pernitious and dangerous to the state as that which is whispered into mens eares and conueyed into their hearts vpon a sense of deuotion and outwardly couered with a shew of religion notwithstanding as true it is that in England none are put to death for Caâ—holâ—ke religion no nor for the Romish which you call Catholike as hath beene at large iustified in a booke written by a Peere of the Realme intiâ—uled the defence of the iustice of England and is verified by his Maiesty in his Apologie for the Oath of Allegiance in the very entrance of his answere to the Popes first Breue where he not onely cleareth himselfe at large from this imputation but the late Queene that blessed defunct Lady as he there calleth her in whose proceedings saith he who list to compare with an indifferent eye the manifold intended iâ—uasions against her whole kingdome the forreine practises the internall publike rebellions the priuate plots and machinations poysonings murthers and all sorts of deuises dayly set abroach and all these wares continually fostered and fomented from Rome together with the continuall corrupting of her Subiects aswell by temporall bribes as by faire and spaciâ—us promises of eternall felicitie and nothing but booke vpon booke publikely set foorth by her fugitiues for approbation of so holy dâ—signes who list I say with an indifferent eye to looke on the one part vpon these infinite and intollerable temptations and on the other part vpon the iust yet moderate punishmeÌ„t of a part of these hainous offenders shal easily see that that blessed defunct Lady was as free from persecution as thâ—y shall free these hellish instruments from the honour of Martyrdome And againâ— his Maiestie maintaineth the same in his Premonition to Christian Princes not farre from the conclusion As for the cause of their punishment sayth he speaking of Romish Catholikes I doe constantly maintaine that which I haue sayd in my Apologie that no man either in my time or the late Queenes euer dyed here for his Conscience for let him be neuer so deuout a Papist nay though he professe the same neuer so constantly his life is in no danger by the Law if he breake not out into some outward act expressely against the words of the Law or plot some vnlawfull or dangerous practise or attempt Priests and Popish Churchmen onely excepted that receiue orders beyond the Seas who for the manifold treasonable practises that they haue kindled and plotted in this countrey are discharged to come home againe vnder paine of Treason after their receauing of the sayd orders abroad and yet without some other guilt in them then their bare home comming haue none of them beene euer put to death Hitherto his Maiestie Whereas on the otherside wee iustly complaine that they execute our professours though strangers for Religion and only for Religion and in that most bloodie and barbarous manner specially where the Inquisition is in force that whore of Babylon being drunke and yet not filled with the blood of the Saints And whereas you impute crâ—elty to our Lawes what tragicall cruelties were exercisâ—d in Queene Maries dayes euen vpon women and children nay which is most odious and vnnaturall vpon women great with childe I pray God as well forget as some yet aliue well remember Now as you holde and handle our Martyrs worse then Traytors So your most notorious Traâ—tors must stand registred in the Calender of Martyrs Not many dayes before Garnet suffered there came to visite him at his lodging in the Tower certaine choise Diuines amongst whome the chiefe were My Lordes the Bishops of Bath and Wells of Lincolne and Leichfield as now they are among other questions one of them proposed this Whether if the Church of Rome afâ—er his execution should declare him a Martyr hee did approoue thereof hee deepely sighing and shrinking vp his shoulders made this answere Me a Martyr O what a Martyr but the Church will nâ—uer doe it and I pray God it be neuer so much as thought vpon Indeed if I had dyed for the Catholike Religion and vnhappie man had beene acquainted with nothing else but that which was reuealed mee in Confession I might perhaps seeme not vnworthy the honor of Martyrdome and merite the iudgement of the Church but now as the case stands I must acknowledge my fault and confesse the sentence of death pronounced against me most iust Then againe doubling and trebling his sighes and shewing tokens of vnfained sorrow I would to God sayeth he what is done might be vndone I could wish that any other chance had befallen me rather then my name should thus be stained with the blot of Treason which offence though most grieuous yet I distrust not but it may be washed away with the teares of repentance and that Christ will haue mercie on me Sure I am that if I had all the world in my power to bestow I would willingly giue all that I might be freed from the guilt and imputation of treason which lies heauie vpon my conscience shall stand recorded in the sentence of my condemnation Notwithstanding all this is hee recorded a Martyr apologized by Eudemon and by Delrio paralelled with Denis the Areopagite What would Mr. Doctour say to this now had wee
if you pretend both and in the end performe neither it is the worst piece of seruice you can doe B I suppose there is no gouernour in the world who deserues that name but that a chiefe part of his care is to make his subiects at leastwise morally good that so he may find them the more obedient and some of those very heathen kingdoms which S. Augustine describes in his bookes of the city of God specially that of the Romanes yeelded more rare examples of morall goodnesse namely of iustice and temperance then it doth at this day though it professe Christ. And for the seruing of the times and turnes of those that beare the sway I doubt not but as many may be found in those kingdomes which you call Catholike who are as able and willing to doe it for their owne aduantage as amongst the heathen themselues C It is true that the happinesse of the whole State extends to euery particular member of the same in as much as they all belong to the same body but that the happinesse of euery particular member should reach to the whole body of the State is not alike certaine But to grant both I must confesse my dulnesse I conceiue not how from thence it followes that the vertue of a good man and a good citizen is alwayes and necessarily the same Once I am sure that Aristotle who defends the one denies the other Bodin both a Christian a Catholike of your owne in my iudgement truely obserues that the best men for the most part are the worst Statesmen in as much as being caried vp to heauen by contemplation they shunne societie and seeke out deserts and solitary places for their abode And I would faine know of your Monkes and Friers and Hermites and Anchorites who presume by their vertue and goodnesse not onely to merite for themselues but to supererogate for others what good they doe as members for the Common wealth but onely by meanes of that imaginary Supererogation which is no lesse hard for a wise man to beleeue then for a good to performe But to let passe the examination of the trueth of both those positions and the dependance of the later vpon the former your inference therupon to iustifie your selfe and your owne proceedings is both in it selfe more vntrue and in regard of the premises more loose and inconsequent in as much as by leauing your station and betaking your selfe vnto and consulting with the enemies of his Maiesty and the State for the ruine and destruction of both which you maske vnder the glorious titles of honour of our Sauiour common saluation vnity peace reconciliation seruice to his Maiesty good of his kingdome you neither performe the part of a good Common wealths man not yet of an honest man consequently indanger as farre as in you lieth not onely the happinesse of the State in which you liued Church in which you were baptized but of your owne together with them but aboue all a marueile it is that acknowledging your selfe a member of the Church of Rome you notwithstanding still professe your selfe a Minister of the Church of England since your common opinion of vs is that amongst vs there is no lawfull calling to the Ministery no sucâ—ession or conferring of holy Orders no Ephod no Teraphim but that our Ministers are in the state of Lay-men and none other Of this cunning dealing I can conceiue none other reason but that you may with more ease and least suspition conuey your poyson into the readers minde B. C. 2. And although it be sufficient for a man of my profession to respect onely matters of heauen and of another world yet because this world was made for that other I haue not regarded mine owne estate that I might respect your Maiesties therein And after long and serious meditation what religion might most honour your Maiestie euen in this world I haue conceiued vndoubted hope that there is no other Religion that can procure true honour and securitie to your Maiestie and your posteritie in this world but the true Catholike Roman Religion which was the very same whereby all your glorious Predecessours haue beene aduanced and protected on earth and are â—uerlastingly blessed in heauen G. H. 2. The deuill howbeit he be rather a Polititian then of any other profession yet when he came to tempt our LORD tooke vpon him the habite of a Diuine but you in tempting the LORDS annointed lay aside the habite of a Diuine and wholy take vpon you the person of a Polititian But herein if I should tell you you played Phormioes part before Hannibal you would thinke your deepe Policie much impeached Now as you differ from the Deuill in that he turned himselfe in appearance into an Angel of light being indeede a Spirit of darkenesse but you being an Angel in profession turne your selfe into a tempter so in this you both agree as if you had learned your methode from him and proposed him as your patterne that as hee being beaten from Scripture betooke himselfe as being his last refuge to the shewing of the kingdomes of the world and the glorie of them to our Sauiour promising him all if hee would but fall downe and worship so you perceiuing belike all other arguments to bee spent in vaine at length you purpose to try what vse may bee made of the deuils last motiue by promising his Maiestie all worldly honor and securitie for himselfe and his posteritie if he would but fall downe and worship your Lord the Pope but as the deuil promised that which was none of his to giue so doth your Lord too in the disposing of those kingdoms and the glory of them which no way belong vnto him except it bee by the title of being heire apparent to the god of this world and the prince that ruleth in the aire but were it not for feare of interrupting of your deepe and serious meditations I should make bold to put you to the question whether these were the baits that Saint Peter angled with to catch soules or the weapons that Saint Paul fought with when he professed that they were not carnall but mightie through God to cast downe holdes they proposed not honour and securitie to the disciples of CHRIST but hazard and basenesse I insist the longer vpon this argument because the whole following discourse is stuffed with nothing else but reasons of this nature as if in the profession of Religion not the sinceritie and trueth of it were so much to be regarded as those secular and temporall commodities which sometimes attend it as the shadow doth the bodie His Maiesties owne words to his sonne of fresh blessed memorie touching this point are most remarkeable worthy to be written in letters of gold and to be ingrauen in a pillar of brasse or marble If sayeth he my conscience had not resolued mee that all my Religion presently professed by mee and
her singular vertues and excellencies erected to her euerlasting memorie a princely Monument in the magnificent Chappell of her grandfather Henry the seuenth inscribed with this ensuing Epitaph of her greatnesse Sacred vnto memorie Religion to its primitiue syncerity restored Peace throughly setled Coine to the true value refined Rebellion at home extinguished France neere ruine by intestine mischiefes relieued Netherland supported Spaines Armado vanquished Ireland with Spaniards expulsion and traitors coercion quieted both Vniuersities Reuenues by a law of prouision exceedingly augmented finally all England enriched and xlv yeeres most prudently gouerned ELIZABETH a Queene a Conqueresse a Triumpher the most deuoted to pietie the most happie after lxx yeeres of her life quietly by death departing hath left here in this most famous Collegiate Church which by her was established and refounded these remaines of her mortality vntil at Christs call they shall againe rise immortall Shee died the xxiiij of March the yeere of Saluation MDCII of her reigne xlv of her age lxx For an eternall memoriall Vnto ELIZABETH Queene of England France and Ireland daughter of King Henrie the VIII grandchild to K. Hen. the VII great grandchild to K. Ed. the IIII the mother of this her Countrey the Nurse of Religion and Learning for perfect skill of very many languages for glorious endowments as well of minde as body and for regall vertues beyond her Sex A Prince incomparable IAMES of Great Britaine France and Ireland King inheritor both of her Vertues and Kingdomes to her so well deseruing piously hath this erected Which I haue the rather set downe at large aswel for the reuerence I bare her memorie in whose reigne it is not the least part of my comfort that I was borne and baptized as to commend to posteritie his Maiesties Royall disposition in giuing her right so farre as were it not authorized by his princely testimonie future ages would thinke it fabulous but specially to shew that hee ascribeth all her honour and prosperitie not to the Church of Rome as Mr. Doctor doth or to the religion by him called Catholike but to her deuotion and pietie and the restoring of religion to its primitiue syncerity For with it as shee made the entrance of her reigne so doth hee of her Epitaph both esteeming it as the head spring from whence all that ensuing happinesse did flow and was deriued neither can it in mine vnderstanding bee otherwise ascribed to Rome then in granting that the reputation and renowne which shee wanne was in part gained and much increased by escaping through Gods especiall prouidence euer watchfull ouer her the manifold treasons and frustrating the barbarous attempts that were hatched at Rome and to bee acted by Romish vassals aswell against her person as estate which made her greatest enemies confesse the finger of God is heere and surely had not Rome endeauoured by might and maine to quench and eclipsâ— her light witnesse the Bull of Clement the 7th while shee was yet in her mothers wombe and afterward of Pius and Sixtus and Cardinall Comoes letter to Parrie and Cardinall Allens booke to the Nobilitie of England in the yeere 1588. I am clearely of opinion the beames of her honour had not shined so clearely and gloriously to the world as they did Lastly those singularities which you bring of being a woman a maiden Queene and the last of her Race they were indeed aduantages of admiration but such in my iudgement as rather shew that shee was blessed from heauen then by any earthly meanes in as much as liuing and dying both without the helpe of an husband and hope of an heire from her owne body she notwithstanding proiected and effected so great matters and so much good to the State she gouerned B. C. 5. As for the honour and greatnesse of the Turke and other Infidels as it reacheth no farther then this life so it hath no beginning from aboue this world And if we may beleeue S. Ambrose in Luc. 4. alibâ— those honours are conferred rather by Gods permission then his donation being indeed ordained and ordered by his prouidence but for the sinnes of the people conferred by the Prince that ruleth in the ayre It is true that the Turkish Empire hath now continued a long time but they haue other principles of State to stand vpon the continuall guarde of an hundreth thousand Souldiers whereof most of them know none other Parents but the Emperour the tenure of all his Subiects who holde all in Capite ad voluntatem Domini by the seruice of the Sword their enioyned silence and reuerence in matters of Religion and their facility in admitting other Religions aswell as their own to the hope of saluation and to tolerate them so that they be good Subiects These and such like are principles of great importance to increase an Empire and to maintaine a temporall State But there is no State in Christendome that may endure these Principles vnlesse they meane to turne Turkes also which although some be willing to doe yet they will neither hold in Capite nor hold their peace in Religion nor suffer their King to haue such a guard about him nor admit of Catholike Religion so much as the Turke doeth G. H. 5. You might with the Turke aswell haue ioyned the King of China the Sophie of Persia the Chame of Tartarie the great Magore Presbiter Iohn the like whose estates few Christian Princes exceede or can match in riches and greatnes But that they should haue their estates Conferred on them by the Prince that ruleth in the aire neither Ambrose affirmes it nor is it in it selfe true Saint Ambrose his words are these A Deo potestatum ordinatio amalo ambitio potestatis The ordaining of the power is from God but the ambitious desire not the conferring of it from the diuell Indeed it is his challenge in that chapter To whomsoeuer I will I giue it speaking of the power and glory of earthly Kingdomes but it is the voice of God speaking in the person of wisedome in the 8 th of the Prouerbs By mee Kings raigne and Saint Paul teacheth vs There is no power such as himselfe liued vnder but of God to which purpose it is well sayd of S. Augustine whom M. Doctor pretendeth to follow most among the ancients Qui dedit Mario ipse Cesari Qui Augusto ipse Neroni Qui Vespasiano vel patri vel filio suauissimis imperatoribus ipse Domitiano crudelissimo ne per singulos ire necesse sit Qui Constantino Christiano ipse apostatae Iuliano Hee that gaue it to Marius gaue it to Caesar He that gaue it to Augustus gaue it to Nero He that gaue it to Vespasian the father or his sonne most sweet Emperours gaue it also to Domitian the most cruell and that I should not need to reckon vp the rest in particular He that gaue it to Constantine the Christian gaue it to Iulian the
apostata So then in Saint Augustines opinon God did not onely order those honours by his prouidence as you would haue it but conferre them by his bounty Neither haue we any reason to thinke but that he who called Cyrus his Shepheard and his Anointed and gaue him the treasures of darkenesse and assured Nabuchadonosor by his Propheâ— that himselfe had giuen to him a Kingdome and power and strength and glorie may as truely bee sayd to haue conferred that gouernment vpon the Turke which now he holds But it seemes you aime through the Turkes sides to strike at Queene Elizabeth and through her at King Iames Infidels and Heretikes being in the Roman language ranked together So that their king domes being not by Gods donation they might lie loose and by occasion fall as it were by excheate to his holinesse gift Your reasons of the largenesse and long continuance of the Turkish Empire are as farre from the purpose as your whole discourse is from any sound Diuinitie for not to stand vpon the sifting of the trueth of them which in some of them may not vniustly be questioned your inference is that such principles are of great importance to increase and maintaine a temporall estate But the point is whether any can be of sufficient importance to vphold any estate when God for the dishonouring of his CHRIST is purposed to ruine it and as the Psalmist speakes of a fruitfull land to make it barren for the iniquity of the people that dwell therein before you speake of a Supernaturall iudgement of God in destruction and here of a Naturall and humane inuention for preseruation which can hold no more proportion with the former then a Venice glasse with an yron pot or an earthen vessell with a brasen Lastly what states you should meane that are willing to become Turkish I know not but what they are that inioy their estates in capite Ecclesiae ad voluntatem Domini Papae and enioyne the greatest silence and outward reuerence in matters of Religion and withall are content to admit the toleration of Iewes and Turkes too in their Dominions rather then of Christians your selfe when you wrote this could not bee ignorant Nay some of the Popes themselues as namely Alexander the VI. and Paulus the III. if we may credite Thuanus had secret commerce with the great Turke against the Christian Princes and the former of them if Iouius and Guicciardin mistake not tooke vnder hand of the Turke Baiazets two hundred thousand Crownes to kill his brother Gemen And Alexander the III. wrote to the Soldan that if he would liue quietly he should by some sleight murther the Emperour Frederike Barbarossa and to that ende sent him the Emperours picture B. C. 6. It is most true which I gladly write and so giue out with all the honour I can of your Maiesty to speake that I thinke there was neuer any Catholike king in England that did in his time more imbrace and fauour the true body of the Church of England then your Maiesty doth the shadow thereof that is yet left and my firme hope is that this your desire to honour our blessed Sauiour in the shadow of the Church of England will moue him to honour your Maiesty so much as not to suffer you to die out of the body of his true Catholike Church and in the meane time to let you vnderstand that all honour that is intended to him by schisme and heresie doth redound to his great dishonour both in respect of his realla and of his mysticall body G. H. 6. You honour his Maiesty much indeed in giuing out that he imbraceth a shadow in stead of a substance as Ixion did a cloude in stead of Iuno and Iacob bleare-eyed Lea in stead of Rachel but in trueth of the Church of Rome wee may safely say that with Esops dog in snatching at the shadow she hath lost the substance of religion she hath so couered ouer all the parts of diuine seruice with the leaues of ceremonies that hardly is the fruit it selfe to be seene she hath so bepainted the face of Gods worship that not easily is the natiue complexion thereof to be â—ound The Poet spake it of the women of his time Pars minima est ipsa puellasui But we may more truely affirme it of the Romish religion her ornaments and apparell are such that a man may seeke Rome in Rome and her religion in her religion and not find either I will giue but one instance for all Bellarmine in the conclusion of his controuersies of the Sacrament of Baptisme maketh no lesse then twelue ceremonies to march before it fiue to assist and fiue to hold vp the traine of which some are profane the greatest part ridiculous and few or none wherein wee differ so much as knowen to the primitiue Church Now if the Church of England haue scowred off the drosse and pared away the superstition and nouelty retaining the substance together with the most comely and ancient ceremonies aswell in this Sacrament as in other parts of diuine seruice and his Maiesty follow her therein shall he therefore be sayd to imbrace the shadow and not the body whereas in truth if euer King of England embraced the body of religion without respect to the shadow of vaine and needlesse ceremonies it is his Maiesty which while he doth there is little feare by Gods grace of his dying out of the body of Christs true Catholike Church whose head is not the Bishop of Rome but Christ himselfe vnderstood in the 10. of S. Iohns Gospel and there shal be one sheepefold and one sheepeheard B. C. 7. For his reall body is not as the vbiquitaries would haue it euery where aswel without the Church as within but only where himselfe would haue it and hath ordained that it should bee and that is amongst his Apostles and Disciples and their successours in the Catholique Church to whom he deliuered his Sacraments and promised to continue with them vntill the worlds end So that though Christ bee present in that Schisme by the power of his dietie for so he is present in hell also yet by the grace of his humanity by participation of which grace onely there is hope of saluation hee is not present there at all except it be in corners and prisons and places of persecution and therefore whatsoeuer honour is pretended to be done to Christ in schisme and heresie is not done to him but to his vtter enemies G. H. 7. By the reall body of Christ I suppose you vnderstand the naturall his mysticall body being also reall but not naturall and I see not but this naturall body may as well bee euery where wherein you taxe the Vbiquitaries as in heauen and on earth and vpon earth in tenne thousand places at the same instant which the Church of Rome maintaines but it seemes by confining of him to the Church on earth your purpose is to exclude him from
and age and wrought by the frownes and threates of Cardinall Poole then Archbishop of Canterbury the Popes Legate and in England the principall Proctor and Champion for the aduancing of his authority was once brought to acknowledge that shee was a Romane Catholike but herein she did no more then St. Peter did whose successour the Bishop of Rome pretendeth himselfe in denying his Master No more then the Prince of Condie the King of Nauarre and his sister who at the massacre of Paris for feare renounced their Religion and were by the Cardinall of Bourbon reconciled to the Church of Rome though after ward being at liberty they reimbraced their former profession Nay no more then Queene Mary her selfe who being terrified with her Fathers displeasure wrote him a Letter vvith her owne hand yet to be seene in which for euer she renounceth the Bishop of Romes authority in England and acknowledging her Father vnder Christ supreame head of the Church of England confesseth his marriage with her Mother to haue beene vnlawfull and incestuous But I would faine know after Queene Elizabeth came to the wearing of the Crowne by what Catholike opinions shee gaue hope to her neighbour Princes that shee would continue Catholike If it were so as Mr. Doctor would beare vs in hand how was it that the reformed Churches through Christendome applauded her comming to the Crowne as it had beene the appearance of some luckie starre or the rising of some glorious Sunne for their Comfort and reliefe and your pretended Catholikes hung downe their heads as if they had seene some Comeâ— or blazing-starre How she was then affected in religion and so professed her selfe may appeare if no where else yet in Osorius his Epistle which he wrote her not long after her comming to the Crowne where he highly commends her for her wit for her learning for her clemencie for her constancy for her wisdome for her modestie but disswades her by all the arguments he could inuent from the opinions she had conceiued and did expresse in the matter of Religion Pius Quartus doth the like in his letter which he sent her about the same time by the hands of Vincentius Parpalia Abbot of Saint Sauiours who as it appeares in the Letters dated the 5th of May 1560 had priuate instructions to impart to the Queene among which the chiefe were thought to bee as it is reported by the most diligent searcher of truth that if she would reconcile her selfe to the Church of Rome and acknowledge the Supremacie of that See the Pope for his part would bind himselfe to declare the sentence pronounced against her mothers marriage to be vniust to confirme by his authority The English Liturgie and to permit the administration of the Sacrament here in England vnder both kindes By which it appeares that at that time shee then maintained the same opinions which during her life shee altered not And here it may be worth the remembring that the fourteenth day of Ianuary about two moneths after her sisters death as shee passed in her triumphall Chariot through the streetes of London when the Bible was presented vnto her at the little Conduit in Cheape shee receiued the same with both her handes and kissing it layd it to her breast saying That the same had euer been her chiefest delight and should bee the rule by which shee meant to frame her gouernment Before this a Proclamation came foorth that the Letanie the Epistles and Gospels the Decalogue the Creede and the Lords Prayer should bee read in all Churches in the English tongue and though it were the 14th of May after being Whitsunday before the sacrifice of the Masse was abolished and the book of the vniformitie of Common Prayer and the administration of the Sacraments publikely receiued and Iuly following before the Oth of Supremacie was proposed and August before the Images were by authority moued out of the Churches broken and burnt so moderately did shee proceede in this businesse of reformation by steppes and degrees yet is it plaiâ—e aswell by the choyce of those eight whom she added to her sisters Counsell beeing all in profession Protestants which Pius 5 tus in his Bull makes a part of his grieuous complaint and those whom she either restored to their former dignities or aduanced to new being likewise as auerse from the Romane Religion as also by the refusall of Nicholas Heath then Archbishop of Yorke the See of Canterbury by the death of Cardinall Poole who deceased the same day that Queene Mary did being then voide and of the rest of the chiefe Bishops to annoint and consecrate her at her Inauguration it being therefore performed by Owen Oglethorpe Bishop of Carlile by these proceedings I say it is plaine that at her first entrance to the Crowne she sufficiently declared her selfe to bee the same in matter of Religion as afterwards they found her Wherunto if full satisfaction be not yet giuen in this point for farther proofe might be added that when Philip of Spaine wooed her for mariage the funerals of her sister being not yet solemnized The French King by his Agent the Bishop of Engolesme laboured if it had gone forward to stop their dispensation at Rome vnder colour that Queene Elizabeth fauoured the Protestants Religion and the Earle of Feria the Spaniards Agent here in England bore our pretended Catholiks in hand that except that match went forward it could not goe well with them so farre was shee at her first entrance from giuing hope to her neighbours as Mr. Doctor would perswade the world of continuing or turning Catholike by shew of Catholike opinions vnlesse her retaining the ancient forme of Ecclesiasticall policie and the godly Ceremonies vsed in the Primitiue Church be accounted Catholike opinions as in truth if wee take the word Catholike aright they may But no maruell hee should thus boldly and falsely charge the dead since hee spareth not in the same kinde his Maiestie now reigning and by Gods grace long to reigne amongst vs to the confutation of such slanders and confusion of such slanderers Hee goes on and tels vs that all her life long shee caried her selfe so betwixt Catholikes and Caluinists as shee kept them both still in hope But herein he mainely crosseth himselfe aswell in that which hee hath deliuered in the Section next saue one going before that if there bee now the same reason of State as there was all Queene Elizabeths dayes there is as little hope that his Maiestie should hearken vnto reconciliation as then there was that Q. Elizabeth would as also in that which afterwards he addes in this Section that being prouoked by the excommunication of Pius Quintus shee did suffer such lawes to bee made by her Parliament as might crie quittance with the Pope and Church of Rome And in the next Section he sayth It was necessary in reason of State to continue the doctrine of diuision as long as the
fire her Nauie and with three thousand Spaniardsâ— subdue Ireland to the Spanish dominion These and many other sufficient reasons to prouoke her we find recorded by Hieronimus Catena in the life of Pius Quintus who was Secretarie to Cardinall Alexandrin that Popes Nephew so that though he haue in that discourse discouered many things to the world of Pius his proceedings against that Queene before vnknowen to our English yet may wee well by reason of his place afforde him credite as also in regarde his booke was Printed and published in Rome it selfe with the Priuiledge and approbation of Sixtus Quintus next Successor to Pius saue one And had she not good reason then to suffer such Lawes to bee made by her Parliament as might crie quittance with the Pope and Church of Rome Yet I will bee bold to say that lesse innocent blood nay lesse blood was shed in her 44. yeeres in maintenance of Christs and her owne authoritie against the vsurpation of the Pope then in her sisters foure yeeres in maintenance of the Popes vsurpation against her owne and her Successours lawfull authority insomuch as an Italian and hee no Protestant as I guesse giues this testimonie of her Tanta extitit eius animi moderatio atque innata clementia vt non immerito c. So great and so apparant was the moderation of her minde and inbred clemeÌ„cie that not vndeseruedly it may be said of her which the ancient histories haue left to posteritie of Alexander Seuerus borne of his mother Mammaea Nempe Anaematon hoc est citra sanguinem namely that shee hath gouerned her kingdome without bloodshed Cum suapte natura semper à caedibus crudelitate abhorreat for euen her nature doth abhorre the thought of slaughter or crueltie so he goeth on in a large discourse of her praise And when he thus wrote she had reigned twenty yeres it being a maruell as the late Bishop of Lincolne in his answere to Parsons hath well obserued their Index expurgatorius had not scowred him ere this and for this nay their owne Priests shall speake for Queene Elizabeths Lawes who say that considering Iesuiticall practises shadowed vnder the cloake of Religion all the Lawes enacted against Catholikes were made with great moderation and clemencie as comming from a Prince most milde and mercifull nor haue they cause to vrge repeale of any Statute made so long as Iesuits take such courses Nay which is more Parsons himselfe in the Preface to the first part of his triple conuersion commendeth Queene Elizabeth for her moderate gouernment and that was in the last yeere of her reigne and yet by the way it is worth the noting that in one and the same leafe hauing so commended her in one page mary then she was aliue in the very next page for then he heard shee was dead in a Preface to his Maiestie he compares her to Dioclesian for crueltie whereas her sobrietie and clemencie was such that her brother King Edward was wont commonly to call her His sweete sister Temperance neither did shee euer heare of any capitall punishment though neuer so deserued vpon offenders euen of such as had sought her own death but it bred a kind of horror and sadnesse in her whereby had not her Counsellers earnestly inculcated the necessitie of some exemplary iustice many dangerous attempters had escaped due punishment which mooued her to say being once questioning with a great Diuine in Oxford about books meetest for Princes to studie on that her reading of Senecade Clementia had done her much good but some would perswade her it had done her State as much harme howsoeuer I will shut vp this point with S. Augustine when he was intreated to mediate for a mittigation of some strait Lawes if Princes serue Christ in making Lawes for Christ they doe what they ought I will not gaine say them and your selfe graunt that this course seemed in poliâ—ie necessary for her who was the daughter of King Henry the VIII by Anne Bulleine borne with the contempt of Rome the disgrace of Spaine and the preiudice of Scotland and it is true indeede that it both seemed and was a necessary course for her not onely in policie but in pietie who was the daughter of him who vpon iust reason vnhorsed the Pope of his pretended authoritie by her who was not onely a zealous professour but a Patronesse of that trueth which wee professe and for her birth with the contempt of Rome and disgrace of Spaine it seemed by her courses shee was not vnwilling to haue it so intâ—rpreted but for the preiudice of Scotland shee was vpon all occasions so farre as shee conceiued it stood with her safetie and honour most willing to expresse the contrary and surely by her liuing and dying in a single State without marriage she rather prepared a way to the furtherance of that Title which wee now see to our great comfort as she would also no doubt to hers Si quis modo sensus in vmbris if there were any feeling or knowledge in the dead of these temporall and transitory affaires seeing it is fallen out to bee as true in that succession as it is in its owne nature strange Mira cano Sol occubuit nox nulla sequuta est B. C. 33. But now that your Maiestie is by the consent of all sides come to the Crowne and your vndoubted Title setled with long succession the case is very much altered for your Maiestie hath no need of dispensations nor will to pull downe Churches nor no dependance at all on Henry the VIII and if this Schisme could haue preuented your Title with the diuorce of one wife and the marrying of fiue more neither your mother nor your selfe should euer haue made Queene Elizabeth afraid with your Right to the Crowne of England and therefore though it were necessary in reason of State to continue the doctrine of diuision as long as the fruit of that doctrine did continue yet now the fruit of Schisme is all spent and that Parenthesis of State is at an end there is no reason but that the old sentence may returne againe and bee continued in that sense as if the Parenthesis had been cleane left out and that God had of purpose crossed the fleshly pretence of Schisme and raised your Maiestie to restore it as your most wise and Catholike progenitor King Henrie the VII did leaue it G. H. 33. If his Maiestie by the consent of all sides bee come to the Crowne why did Clement the VIII the yeere before his entrance and that as his Maiestie witnesseth in the Conclusion of his answere to Paulus Quintus his first Breue contrary to his manifold vowes and protestations at the same time and as it were with the same breath deliuered to diuers of his Maiesties Agents abroad send to Henry Garnet Iesuite their Arch-priest in England two Bulles to the contrary the one to the Clergie and the other
to any man of iudgement whereof a chiefe one is his Maiesties vndertaking the cause in writing wherein wee are bound to blesse God that hath set such a King ouer vs whom he hath indowed with such singular gifts as to giue occasion to such an Obiection Hee was no foole that pronounced that CoÌ„mon-wealth happy where learned men had the gouernment or the gouernors were learned and another who holds those wise men in the Gospel who came from the East are therefore held Kings because they were learned which I speake not to derogate froÌ„ other Kings but to thanke God for our owne whose drops that fall both from his tongue and Pen are as the Prophet Dauid speakes in another case like raine falling vpon the mowen grasse or as showers that water the earth We haue read in our own Chronicles of one Bladud a Brittish King who studied at Athens of Alured a Saxon King who translated the Psalter into his own language of Henry a Norman King who for his great schollership was surnamed the Beauclarke but for a King only Dauid and Salomon excepted that hath written so much and so well as his Maiestie exposing it to publike censure hath left it as an euerlasting monumeÌ„t of his name to posterity for mine owne part I must confesse in my small reading I haue not met with any either in our owne or forreine History Some Kings haue done some what in this kinde but hee excelleth them all so that for a Christian King to write and to publish his writings to the world euen in matter of Religion is not without example The Booke of Charlemaine in defence of the decree of the Synode of Frankeford which himselfe had thither called and against the Canons of the second Nicene Council touching the controuersie of adoring images is yet extant to bee seene in the Palatine library so is it acknowledged by Augustinus Steuchus in his second booke of Constantines donation where hee presses some things in that Booke for the Popes aduantage Howbeit Bellarmine in his second Booke of Images and 15th Chapter labourto prooue the contrary granting that it was sent by that Emperour to Pope Adrian but not as his owne His Maiesties Bookes aswell the former in defence of the Oath of Allegeance as the later by way of Premonition to the Christian States are no doubt as great corrasiues and eyesores to you as to vs they are cordiall and comfortable and cannot be but to him as dishonourable if hee should recall them as now they are honourable if hee continue constant to himselfe and them Now that they should proceede rather from the instigation of others then his owne disposition is a surmise of your owne I know not whether more foolish as being ignorant of that which hee had both written and spoken and done since hee came to yeeres of discretion conformably thereunto or dishonest in calling his Maiesties singular wisedome into question in suffering himselfe to bee so farre abused as vnwittingly to bee sent on other mens errands and to serue other mens turnes Howsoeuer there is nothing you say in that booke by which you cannot but vnderstand both the Premonition and the Apologie both bound together in one volume and titled together in one front why his Maiestie may not when he please admit the Popes Supremacie in Spirituals wherein first you dash though peraduenture vnawares against your great Cardinal who in his Letter to Blackwell professeth that in whatsoeuer words the Oath of Allegeance in defence of which his Maiestie wrote his Apologie bee conceiued it tends to none other end but that the authorie of the head of the Church of England may bee transferred from the Successour of S. Peter to the Successour of K. Henry the VIII this indeed he affirmes falsly but both in his Tortus against his Maiesties Apologie and in his Apologie against his Maiesties Premonition hee affirmeth truely that the vsurped Supremacy of the Bishop of Rome is in them both impugned And I cannot but marueile at such shamelesse impudencie as dares thus to write to his Maiestie touching his owne writings whose very words toward the later end of his Apologie are these discoursing before of the Supremacie of K. Henry the VIII in Church-matters for which Bishop Fisher and Sir Thomas Moore were pretended to haue suffered I am sure saith hee that the Supremacie of Kings may and will euer be better maintained by the word of God which must euer be the true rule to discerne all weighty heads of doctrine by to bee the true and proper office of Christian Kings in their owne dominions then hee will euer be able to maintaine his annihilating Kings and their authorities together with his base and vnreuerent speaches of them wherewith both his former great volumes and his late bookes against Venice are filled Where he goes on and proues this Supremacie aswell by the Old as the New Testament and the practise both of the Kings of Israel and the Christian Emperours in the Primitiue Church both explaning and iustifying the Oath of Supremacie as it is by him imposed and taken by vs and in his Premonition written afterward though set before in the Booke he is so cleere in this point that Mr. Dr. cannot but stand conuinced either of grosse negligeÌ„ce in not reading or vnpardonable forgetfulnes in not remembring what he had read His Maiesties words are these But as I well allow of the Hierarchie of the Church for distinction of orders for so I vnderstand it so I vtterly deny that there is an earthly Monarch thereof whose word must be a Law and who cannot erre in his sentence by an infabilitie of spirit Because earthly Kingdomes must haue earthly Monarchies it doth not follow that the Church must haue a visible Monarch too for the world hath not one earthly Temporall Monarch Christ is his Churches Monarch and the holy Ghost his Deputie Reges gentium dominantur eorum vos autem non sic Christ did not promise before his Ascension to leaue Peter with them to direct and instruct them in all things but he promised to send the holy Ghost vnto them to that end And for these two before cited places whereby Bellarmine maketh the Pope to triumph ouer Kings I meane Pasce oues and Tibi dabo claues the Cardinall knowes well enough the same woâ—â—s of Tibi dabo are in another place spoken by Christ in the plurall number and hee likewise knowes what reasons the ancients doe giue why Christ bade Peter Pasce oues and also what a cloud of witnesses there is both of ancients and euen of late Popish Writers yea diuers Cardinals that doe all agree that both these speeches vsed to Peter were meant to all the Apostles represented in his person otherwise how could Paul direct the Church of Corinth to excommunicate the Incestuous person Cum Spiritu suo whereas he should then haue sayed Cum Spiritu Petri and how could all the
Kings Henry the VIII and Edward the VI. who by their Letters Patents haue warranted the same of which landes and possessions if the owners should now be dispossessed the King should be bound to repay vnto them all their money which would arise to such a huge masse that it would be a hard matter for the Crowne to restore it 3 The Nobles and Gentry of this realme most of whom haue sold and aliened their ancient inheritances to buy these new cannot liue according to their degrees if these possessions should be taken from them 4 The purchasers or owners of such lands and possessions in as much as they came to them by iust title according to the ordinance of the Kings of this kingdome haue held and doe still hold a good and iustifyable course in obteining them 5 The enioying of such landes and possessions is so common vnto euery State and condition of men Cities Colledges and Incorporations that if the same bee taken from them there will necessarily follow thereupon throughout the whole Kingdome a suddaine change and confusion of all Orders and Degrees 6 Seeing that the goods and possessions of the Church euen by the authority of the Cannons may bee aliened for the redemption of captiues and that the same may bee done by that Church onely to whom such possessions doe belong It is fit and reasonable that such dispensations should bee granted for continuing of possession already gotten for so great a good of publike concord and vnity of the Church and preseruation of this State as well in body as in soule Those possessions indeed in many places I speake specially of Tenths which by reason of Popish dispensations were first caried from the Church are as the flâ—sh which the Eagle stole from the Altar carying a coale of fire with it to the burning down and quite consuming of the nests of many of them that held them and in this respect Mr. Doctor may well say that the most part of them who now enioy them haue payed well for them in asmuch as the first owners were enforced or their posteritie within a generation or two to sell that which others purchased Now this curse of God I can impute to none other thing then to the alienation of Tenths from their proper vse to which they were and still should be ordained or at leastwise the bare and scant allowance which is made to the Minister of the greatest part of the fattest Impropriations so that commonly no Parishes are worse prouided for then those that pay most the redresse wherof if it should please God to put into his Maiesties heart and the assembly of the Estates in parliament it would bee a worke no doubt honourable in it selfe acceptable to CHRIST and beneficiall to his Church for which he would the rather blesse their other proceedings I speake not for the restoring of Impropriations though that were rather to be wished then hoped their value being little or nothing inferiour to the Benefices but the making of a coÌ„petent allowance out of them for the maintenance of a preaching Minister and I am sory to heare that some of them should be so backward in the former who most vrge the later the rather for that I would not haue it thought our Religion cannot stand but by the spoyle of the Church liuings though the Pope as it seemes by Mr. Doctor cares not who loseth so that himselfe may winne The vertue of the Sacraments expressed in holy Scripture wee preach not against but as for merit of workes and inuocation of Saints they were preached against and that in England long before the lands were taken from the Abbeys and though they are still preached against yet with vs are the Saints reuerenced with the honour due vnto them by our obseruation of the dayes consecrated to the memorials of their glorious and precious deaths And some Churches are built among vs as occasion serues and necessitie requires but more Hospitals Schooles almeshouses Colledges Libraries and the like charitable workes since the beginning of Queene Elizabeths reigne to this present time then in the space of any three score yeeres successiuely taken since the Conquest which I speake not to boast of the fruits of our Religion but to giue God the honour and as for the Hugonotes of France as you are pleased to terme them if they bee guilty of pulling downe Churches wee neither incourage them to it nor defend them in it as neither doe wee the Papists in their barbarous massacres but onely say of them as the parents of the blind man they are of sufficient age let them answere for themselues Lastly because you addresse your discourse in particular to the Nobles in this Section I craue leaue to put them in mind of a peece of a letter written by their predecessors to the Bishop of Rome during the reigâ—e of Henrie the III. I will recite it in the words of Matthew Parris translated The great ones sayth hee by writing to the Pope complained of the scandals bred out of the rapine and auarice of Rome and spread not onely in England but through the Christian world that themselues would not endure that their countrey from thencefoorth should bee so rudely handled no though the King himselfe should winke at it and vnlesse say they these matters bee speedily redressed by you let your Holinesse know for certaine that it may not vniustly bee feared that such a danger is likely thereby to ensue both to the Church of Rome and to our Lord the King that no remedie will easily bee found for it My hope then is that our Nobles being now farther enlightned by the beames of the Gospell and the cleare discouery of the trueth in the writings of learned men then their predecessours who liued in those times of darkenesse will like the Noble Theophilus to whom S. Luke dedicates his Gospell and The Actes of the Apostles and those noble Bereans who the more noble they were receiued the word with the greater readinesse hold fast the profession which they haue vowed themselues vnto by resisting the vsurpation and tyranny of that man of sinne and maintaining the libertie and freedome of their countrey In the first Parliament held by Queene Mary after her Comming to the Crowne the Nobilitie of England though they gaue way to the administration of the Sacraments and other doctrinall points as they were vsed and held in her Father Kings Henries time yet could they hardly be induced either by her importunitie whom it most concerned in regard of her birthright made good by the Popes dispensation or by the perswasions of Cardinall Poole her Cosin and by her made Archbishop of Canterbury who had beene for many yeeres maintained for the most part at the Popes charge to yeeld that the Queene should surrender her title of Supreme head of the Church of England or that the Pope should bee suffered to exercise his wonted iurisdiction within her dominions how much more then at
this time should they plucke vp their spirits to the abandoning of that vniust challenge hauing now a Soueraigne who in his writings last published to the world bearing the date of this yeere Consecrates his Scepter his Sword his pen his endeuours vnto God in a thankefull acknowledgment of the grace bestowed on him in freeing him from the error of this age and his kingdome from the Popes yoke which kept it in thraldome in which God is now sincerely serued and called vpon in a language vnder stood of all in which the people may read the Scriptures without any speciall priuiledge and with the same freedome as the people of Ephesus of Rome of Corinth reade the Epistles written by S. Paul in which they pay no more tribute by the Polle thereby to obtaine the remission of there sinnes as they did scarce one hundreth yeeres yet past neither are they inforced to seeke their pardons beyond the Seas and the mountaines God himselfe presenting them to my Subiects sayeth hee in there owne Countrey by the doctrine of the Gospel and if in this regard it bee that the Cardinall termes the Churches of my Kingdome miserable for mine owne part 1 esteeme our misery aboue his happinesse since then wee haue by Gods prouidence such a Soueraigne let that aspersion neuer be fastened vpon our Nobility which his Maiesty iustly casteth vpon the French that in as much as they gaue way to the acknowledging of their King to bee deposable by the Pope it were fit that withall they should diuest themselues of their titles and resigne them to the third estate who were the only men that could neither bee so drawen by promises nor affrighted by threats but that they euer helde them fast to the maintenance of their Kings honour and the surety of his person B. C. 40. But perhaps the Commons of England doe gaine so much by the Schisme as they cannot abide to heare of vnity Indeed when the Puritan Preacher hath called his flocke about him and described the Church of Rome to bee so ignorant so Idolatrous and so wicked as hee hath made himselfe beleeue shee is then is hee wont to Congratulate his poore deceiued audience that they by the meanes of such good men as himselfe is are deliuered from the darkenesse and Idolatry and wickednesse of Popery and there is no man dare say a word or once mutter to the contrary But the people haue heard these lyes so long as most of them beginne to bee wearie and the wisest of them cannot but wonder how these Puritan Preachers should become more learned and more honest then all the rest that liued in ancient times or that liue still in Catholike Countreys or then those in England whom these men are wont to Condemne for Papists Neuerthelesse I confesse there bee many honest men and women amongst them that being carried away with preiudice or pretext of Scriptures doe follow these Preachers more of zeale and deuotion to the Church as my selfe did vntill I knew it was but Counterfeite and these good people if they might be so happy as to heare Catholikes answere for themselues and tell them the trueth would bee the most deuout Catholikes of all other But the most of the people were neuer lead by Sermons if they were the Catholike Church is both able and willing to supply them farre better then the Schisme but it was an opinion of wealth and liberty made them breake at first and if they doe duely consider of it they are neuer the better for either of both but much the worse G. H. 40. From the Nobles you descend to the Commons entring your discourse with the like imaginary Sermon of a Puritan Preacher as before you brought vpon the Stage in the 16th Section of this Chapter you paint him forth describing the Ignorance Idolatry and Wickednâ—sse of the Church of Rome and surely if this make a Puritan Dante 's and Boccace and Petrarch and Mantuan must bee Puritan Poets too and Guicciardin a Puritan historian and Sauanorola a Puritan Preacher though all Italians and most of them well acquainted with the Court of Rome which is now come in a manner to be all one with the Church of Rome The Ignorance of the people is such that they adore it as the mother of deuotion contenting themselues to beleeue as the Church beleeueth Of their ordinary Priests that my selfe meeting some of them in the streets and inquiring the way in Latin they haue replied they vnderstood not my Dutch Of their Friars that they haue a Company termed the Fraternitie of Ignorance of their Bishops and Cardinals that in the Tridentine Councill scarce twenty of two hundreth durst aduenture to speake publiquely but serued only as cyphers to fill vp the roomes and make vp the number of voyces Nay of their Popes themselues that some haue passed their grants with Fiatur in stead of Fiat others haue excommunicated them who helde the Antipodes as Zacharie at the instance of Boniface Archbishop of Mentz did Vergilius the famous Mathematician And lastly some haue condemned them for heretikes who studied the more refined kind of learning or any way smelt of the vniuersitie as Platina reports it of Paulus Secundus in whose time he liued and with the description of his life ended his owne Touching their Idolatrie when I shall see Doctor Raynolds his booke De Idololatria Romana soundly and fully answered I will in my Iudgement free them from that imputation before then I must take leaue to suspend it Lastly concerning their wickednesse I maruell the Doctor would giue occasion to rubbe afresh vpon that sore which if I should throughly open would proue so noisome and vnsauory Now if this make a Püritan Preacher to informe his auditory of these corruptions in that Church and to thanke God for our deliuerance from them if not in whole yet by Gods grace in some good measure I confesse my selfe to be a Puritan Preacher and thinke no honest minded Minister in England wil refuse that title tendred vnder those conditions and if the people doe not acknowledge this inestimable blessing with hearty thankefulnesse to God for it it is to bee feared he will remoue their Candlesticke and in his iudgement suffer them to relapse againe into their former disease B. C. 41. For wealth the Puritan vnthrift that lookes for the ouerthrow of Bishops and Churches Cathedrall hopes to haue his share in them if they would fallonce and therefore hee cannot chuse but desire to increase the Schisme that he may gaine by it but the honest Protestant that can endure the State of England as it is could bee content it were as it was for hee should receiue more benefit by it euery way The poore Gentleman and Yeoman that are burthened with many children may remember that in Catholike times the Church would haue receiued and prouided for many of their sonnes and daughters so as
themselues might haue liued and died in the seruice of God without posteritie and haue helped to maintaine the rest of their families which was so great a benefit to the Common-wealth both for the exoneration and prouision thereof as no humane policie can procure the like The Farmer and Husbandman who laboureth to discharge his payments hath little or nothing left at theyeres end to lay vp for his children that increase grow vpon him may remember that in Catholike times there were better penny-worths to bee had when the Clergie had a great part of the Land in their hands who had no neede to raise the Rents themselues and did what they could to make other Lords let at a reasonable rate which was also an inestimable benefite to the Commons so that whereas ignorant men carried with enuie against the Clergie are wont to obiect the multitude of them and the greatnesse of their prouisions they speake therein as much against themselues as is possible for the greater the number is of such men as be mundo mortui the more is the exoneration of the Commons and the more the land is of such as can haue no proprietie in them the better is the prouision of the Commons for themselues can haue no more then their food and their regular apparell all the rest either remaines in the hands of the Tenants or returnes in hospitalitie and reliefe to their neighbours or is kept in a liuing Exchequer for the seruice of the Prince and Countrey in time of necessitie so that the Commons doe gaine no wealth at all but rather doe lose much by the Schisme G. H. 41. You proceede and assure the Commons that our separation from Rome makes much against their wealth and libertie for proofe whereof you beginne with the Puritan vnthrift who lookes for the ouerthrow of Bishops and Churches Cathedrall hoping to haue his share in them Now I denie not but some such vnthrifts there may bee shrouding themselues vnder the vizard of those whome you call Puritans but their power is not so great God bee thanked as wee neede feare them nor I hope shall bee whiles his Maiestie and his posterity sway the Scepter who is so farre from pulling them downe or giuing any way vnto it that hee hath not onely to his immortall fame bound his hands from withdrawing any thing from them but restored them in Scotland and both often and openly professed No Bishop no King and as for them which looke for that ouerthrow let their eyes drop out of their sockets with looking and the yong rauens deuoure them I haue heard of a platforme of our Church gouernment deuised by Parsons if the Pope should once againe recouer his footing amongst vs in which one especiall piece of his proiect is the pulling downe of the Bishopricks Churches Cathedrall that his Holinesse and the Padres may bee all in all so that the Iesuites may most properly bee termed those Puritan vnthrifts And I make no doubt but if his Holinesse could dispence with those who withhold the Tenths of the Church he might as well dispence with the pulling downe of Bishoprickes and Cathedrall Churches Now for those honest Protestants who for matter of religion could be content it were as it was conditionally themselues might receiue more benefit their heads may bee in England but sure their hearts are in Rome deceiuing themselues aswell in vndervalewing the benefit they haue as in expecting that they haue not nor are euer like to haue the faire pretexts and promises made them from Rome being like the Apothecaries boxes haâ—â—ng Catholicon set on their front in capitall letters as if they conteined a soueraigne medicine for all diseases but within are full of deadly poison or like the apples of Sodome which are to looke to beautifull buâ— being touched onely with the finger presently are turned into dust The first apple you present the Commons if they yeeld to the reentertaining of Popish religion is increase of wealth But before we goe any farther in the triall of this point I shall desire all ingenuous Papists rightly to informe both themselues and others what the two Monkes Matthew Paris and Matthew of Westminster haue left vpon record touching the Bishop of Romes most intolerable exactions in this kingdome whiles his authority here preuailed and then to iudge indifferently whether by submitting our neckes to that yoke which our fathers were not able to beare it be likely the wealth of our land should be increased That which one of the Popes pronounced touching our Countrey was doubtlesse the opinion of them all I speake of latter times Verè hortus noster deliciarum est Anglia verè puteus inexhaustus est vbi multa abundant de multis multa possunt extorqueri England is our Paradise of pleasure a well neuer to bee drawne drie and where much abounds much may be taken It was the speach of Innocent the IV. reported by Maâ—thew Paris anno 1245. about which time S. Edmond Archbishop of Canterbury vndertooke a voyage to Rome to complaine of the great vexations and extortions offered the Clergie and people by Caâ—dinall Otho his Legate who hiding himselfe in the tower of Ousnie Abbey for feare of a tumult of the Schollers of Oxford they termed him Vsurer Simonist rent-racker money-thirster peruerter of the King subuerter of the kingdome enriching strangers with the spoiles of the English but Edmund returning home without successe in his complaint and weary of his life in England by reason that hee could not redresse the Popes oppressions made choise of a voluntary banishment at Pountney in France where hee died with the honour and opinion of a Saint Not long after his Holinesse desirous to see England caused his Cardinals to write their letters to the King that it would be a thing tending much to his honour and safety and to his kingdomes immortall glory to enioy the Lord Popes presence who did long to view the rarities of Westminster and the riches of London but the Kings Counsell told him plainely that the Romane rapines and simonies had enough stained the English puritie though the Pope himselfe came not personally to spoile and prey vpon the wealth of this Church and kingdome the like deniall of entrance hee had found both in France and Arragon it being said that the Pope was like a mouse in a sachell or a snake in ones bosome who but ill repay their hosts for their lodging and the infamies of his Court deserued none other whose filth saith our Monke sent foorth a steame and stench as high as the very cloudes These and worse were the effects of the Bishop of Romes vsurpation here in England by imposing continuall taxes and tallages being sometimes the tenth sometimes the fifteenth sometimes the third sometimes the moity of all the goods both of the Clergie and Laity vnder colour of maintaining the Popes holy warres against the Emperour and the Greeke Church who were then
lawfull to the Confessor to publish that which he heard in confession but none saith hee of those holy Fathers euer decreed that constitution of Ecclesiasticall discipline with such strictnesse as thereby to make the Law of God of none effect They knew well enough that if the case so stood as the Law of the Church enioyned silence and the law of God vtterance wee should rather obey God then man They knew well enough that Dauid is commended of the Sonne of God to whom properly belongs the interpretation of the lawe himselfe being the author of it for the eating of the Shew-bread which otherwise was not lawfull saith Christ for him to eate rather then hee would suffer himselfe to starue with hunger To like effect is that which my Lord of Ely hath in his last booke against Bellarmine Let that reuerence which is due to that seale be preserued inuiolate but towards penitents not wilfull proceeders in thier mischieuous plots neither is that saith hee the seale of God and CHRIST but of Satan and Antichrist with which so horrible villanies are masked But will Mr. Doctor say these are but the opinions of priuate men I demaund the authority of your Church for the seale of secresie but if he had â—in as skilful in the decrees Canons of our Church as he would beare vs in hand he was he would surely haue forborne that demaund the 113. Can. of those which were agreed vpon in Conuocation anno 160â— ratified by his Maiesties royal assent concluding thus Prouided alwayes that if any man confesse his secret hidden sins to the Minister for the vnburthening of his conscience and to receiue spirituall consolation and ease of mind from him wee doe not any way binde the said Minister by this our Constitution but doe straightly charge and admonish him that he do not at any time reueale and make knowen to any person whatsoeuer any crime or offence so committed to his trust secrecie except they be such crimes as by the Lawes of this Realme his owne life may be called into question for concealing them vnder paine of irregularitie So that neither is Mr. Doctors Assertion true that the people with vs are freed from the possiâ—ility of Confessing though they are from the necessitie nor his reason because wee haue taken away the seale of secrecie the abuse being onely by vs remouâ—d but the vse aswell by publike authoritie as priuate opinions retained and maintained But to conclude this point the libertie which the people haue gained by separation from Rome stands not so much in forbearance of Confession rightly vsed as in that libertie wherewith CHRIST hath made them free for if the sonne haue made them free then are they free indeed if they intangle not themselues againe with the yoke of bondage my counsell is that which the Apostle there aduiseth Stand fast and to like effect though in another place and case Art thou free seeke not to bee bound and as many as walke according to this rule peace shall bee vponthem and mercie and vpon the Israel of God B. C. 43. As for the libertie of making Lawes in Church-matters the common Lawyer may perhaps make an aduantage of it and threfore greatly stand vpon it but to the Common people it is no pleasure at all but rather a great burden for the great multitude of Statutes which haue been made since the Schisme which are more then fiue times so many that euer were made before since the name of Parliament was in England hath caused also an infinite number of Lawyers all which must liue by the Commons and raise new families which cannot bee done without the decay of the old and if the Canon of the Church and Courts of Confession were in requâ—st the Lawyers market would soone bee marred and therefore most of your Lawyers in this point are Puritans and doe still furnish the Parliament with grieuances against the Clergie as knowing very well that their owne glory came at the first from the Court Infidel and therefore cannot stand with the authoritie of the Church which came at the first from the Court Christian I speake not against the anciâ—nt lawes of England which since King Ethelberts time were all Catholike nor against the honest Lawyers of England I know many and honour all good men among them and doe looke for better times by the learning wisedome and moderation of the chiefest But I am verely perswaded that the pretended liberties of the Commons to make Lawes in matter of Religion doth burden the Common-wealth and doth trouble and preiudice your Maiestie and pleasure none at all but the Puritan and petti-fogging Lawyer that would faine fetch the antiquity of his Common Law from the Saxons that were before King Ethelbert So that whether wee respect the spirituall instruction and comfort or the temporall wealth and libertie of the Commons of England if the Puritan Preacher and the Puritan Lawyer who both seeke the ouerthrowe of the Church and deceiue and consume the people would let them alone there would quickely appeare no reason of their state at all why they should hate the Catholike Church that is so comfortable and beneficiall vnto them or maintaine the Schisme that with sugred speaches and counterfeit faces doth so much abuse them G. H. 4â— The next priuiledge which you pretend to the Commons is the liberty of making Lawes in Church-matters as if they could make lawes without the consent of the Lords both Spirituall and Temporall or they all without the royall assent of his Maiestie and for the multitude of Statutes which you speake of the multitude of erroneous opinions deuilish practises from Rome haue caused a great part of them and the malice both of the deuil as knowing his time to be but short and of men in this last and worst age of the world generally increasing must needes giue occasion to more lawes Hee that shall looke into the bodie of the ciuill law may find that those lawes multiplied faster from Constantines time to the ende of Iustinians which was about 200. yeere then in foure nay in fiue hundred yeeres before though the one were vnder a Christian gouernement and the other vnder an heathenish whâ— tooke their beginnings as wee knowe onely from the lawes of the twelue tables which were brought out of Greece Did not God himselfe besides those twelue precepts grounded vpon the law of nature adde many lawes therunto for the gouernement of his Church and that which hee did by the Ministry of Moses vnto that speciall people the same power hath hee left to the gouernours of particular Churches conditionally all their lawes bee conformable or at leastwise not repugnant vnto his law the rule and square of all humane lawes how hath the Canon law it selfe to which Mr. Doctors drift is wholly to resubmit vs in Church gouernement growen vp to a great bulke and massie bodie and
how hath their multitude intangled the Christian world yet must no man dare open his mouth to complaine of that We reade of Luther that when he heard his books by publike order were burnt in Rome he as solemnely burnt the Canon law at Wittenberge We haue not proceeded neither thinke wee it fit to proceed so farre but haue rather chosen out of that dunghill to seeke for a pearle which hauing found we are content to keepe and as occasion serues to make vse of We haue not wholly abrogated the Canon law but wee retaine it in part though not as receiuing strength from the Popes authoritie who for any thing I know hath no more right of making lawes for vs then wee haue for him but from the gouernours of our owne Church Neither did the Kings of France in the erection of their Vniuersities receiue it any otherwise then to vse at their own discretioÌ„ not to oblige them as a law or if it did the power of it was deriued from their owne approbation not from Romes imposition and therefore haue they expresly and by name forbidden the 6th Booke of the Decretals to bee read in their Vniuersities as lawe as being expresly against the lawes and liberties of the Gallican Church Now if they refuse one part they might in my iudgement by the same reason if they found it inconuenient or disagreeable reiect the whole and I thinke they would not stand much if occasion serued vpon the casting off of the Canon lawe who could by no meanes yet bee induced to the receiuing of the Canons of the Council of Trent A notable instance hereof wee haue euen in the depth of Popery in our owne Countrey At the Parliament of Merton it was proposed that children borne before marriage might bee adiudged legitimate according to the rule and practise of the Canon law They all made answere with one voice Nolumus Leges Angliae mutari we wil not yeeld to the change of the lawes of England by which it appeares that they receiued not in those very times all the Popes Canons as lawes and those which they receiued they had not the force of lawes because the Pope imposed theÌ„ but because themselues entertained them in that nature and to that purpose ratified them Mr. Doctor need not marueile then if our Parliament now make lawes to the same purpose and by the same authority as they ratified those The Summons of Parliament euer since the time of King Henry the V. and how long before I know not haue in one constant forme and tenour made mention that the Parliament is summoned to consult de negotijs statum defensionem Regni Angliae Ecclesiae Anglicanae contigentibus of businesses concerning the State and defence of the Realme and Church of England Among other Kings S. Edward begins his lawes with this protestation that it was his Princely care Vt populum Dei super omnia Sanctam Ecclesiam regat gubernet To rule and gouerne Gods people and aboue all the Church of God And before him Ina kâ—ng of the West Saxons professeth that hee called a Councill of his Bishops and Senators that they might consult of matters De salute animarum Statu regni touching the saluation of their soules and the State of the kingdome And therefore doeth our chiefe Antiquarie rightly distinguish our Courts into Ecclesiasticall Ciuill and mixt which hee makes the Parliament as beeing compounded of both and consequently capable to determine of matters of both natures though I must needes say the case is somewhat altered from â—ormer times when not onely the Arch-bishâ—ps the Bishops the Abbots and Priors whose number was double to thâ—t which now it is and litle inferiour to the â—eâ—porall Lords sate in thhe igher House of Paâ—liament and had conâ—luding voâ—ces but the bodie of the Clergie and Cathedrall â—hurches had their Proctours amongst the Commons as may be câ—llected by diuers of our Statutes in print but noâ— that the number of the Lords Spirituall in the higher House is â—essened and the others are cleane excluded the lower House mee thinkes it should stand with reason and equitie that thâ— liâ—ertie of making of lawes or Canons in Church-matters should bee referred and reserued by his Maiesties gracious fauour and with his Royall assent to Church-men assembled in their Conuocation who are presumed to be most able and willing to establish good and wholesome Constitutions and to reforme what is amisse Thus in the yeere 1603 at his Maiesties first entrance into this kingdome by vertue of hiâ— Prerogatiue Royall and Supreame authority in causes Ecclesiasticall did hee graunt licâ—nce and free power vnto them to treate and agree vpon such Ordinances as they should thinke necessary and conuenient for the honour and seruice of Almighty God and the good and quiet of the Church and afterward being by them agreed vpon and throughly considered by his Maâ—estie out of his princely inclination to maintaine the present estate and gouernment of the Church of England hee not onely coâ—firmed them by his Royall Assent but by the same authoritie commaunded the entertainement and execution of them through the Realme Another matter you fling at is the multitude of Lawyers at this day as iâ— they were exceedingly increased but if you had read and well obseâ—ued Foretescues obseruation in this behalfe who wrote about 200. yeeres since being then Chiefe Iustice of England and had compared this time to that you would haue found that the number of that Proâ—ession in those dayes was litle lesse then at this day certainely their colledges were then more then now His words are Sunt namque in eo decem hospitia minora et quandâ—que verò plura quae nominantur hospitia Cancellariae ad quorum quodlibet pertinent centum studentes ad minus et ad aliqua eorum maior in multo numerus licet non omnes in eis semper conueniant MaioruÌ„ quatuor sunt ad minimuÌ„ eorum pertinent in forma praenot at a ducenti studentes aut propè They haue ten lesser houses which they call Innes of Chancerie to euery of which belong one hundred students at least and to some many more though they be not all continually resident in them of the bigger houses they haue â—oure and to each of them in like manner belong two hundred students or thereabout Whereras at this present in some of the Innes of Court there are not 260. and in the greatest little aboue 300. in commons at one time and for the â—nnes of Chancerie they are but eight in number and in most of them not aboue 50. in commons together But if they are increased it may well be imputed not so much to our multitude of statuts as to our long peace the nurse of homebred quarrels or to the dissolution of our Monestaries and that as I conceiue for foure reasons First for that whereas in those dayes when the Monasteries stood many yonger brothers did
betake themselues to Monâ—sticall liuâ—s they doe now apply themselues to the study of the Law Secondly for that the possessions of the Monasteries being then in Mortmaine could not be aliened whereas now being in the hands of Lay-men they are daily bâ—ught and solde which settetâ— the Lawyer doubly aworke first in 〈◊〉 coâ—ueyances for them and then in alterâ—tion about them Thirdly the Abbots and Priors foreseeing their ruine Set many leases vnder hand which could not but breed a great intanglement in their possessions Fourthly and lastly the dispersing of them into the hands of so many particular men resting before in the possessions of Corporations cannot but proue the cause of much strife and consequently of many suites and controuersies no marueile then if by our increase of people other trades and professions increasing Lawyers should doe the like But if the Canons of the Church and the Courts of Confession were you say in request the Lawyers market would soone bee marred what say you then to those Countreys where both these are in request and yet doe their Lawyers both encrease and flourish more then ours And when both these were in request among vs their number as I shewed before was little lesse if not as great or more then now it is if â— vnderstand the words of that reuerend Iudge aright And if most of our Lawyers bee in this point Puritans that is in refusing the rescripts of the Popes as the Canons of the Church and your seale of Confession as a diuine ordinance for my part I blame them not but for the Canons of our owne Church collected by William Linwood in the reigne of King Henry the 5th and afterwards by 32. selected persons Bishops inferiour Diuines and Cannonists deputed to that worke by King Henry the eight after his death by his Sonne King Edward the sixth as also our present Canons now in force I haue knowen some of our Lawyers much esteeme But if they furnish the Parliament with vniust and vnnecessarie grieuances I defend them not but leaue them to make their owne apologie only thus much I say that the whole body of a profession is not to bee charged with the fault of some fewe specially being imputed by those who desire most to fish in our troubled waters to warme their handes at the fire of our contentions and to rippe vp our woundes if we haue any with smiling countenances Hoc Ithacus velit magno mercentur Atridae Now if the one incroach vpon the other farther then their proper and limited bounds permit I excuse them not but leaue them to the censure of his wisedome and restraint by his power vpon whom they depend both and from whom they both receiue their limits and being Lastly whereas you make him a Petty-fogging Lawyer that would fetch the antiquity of the Lawe from the Saxons that were before King Ethelbert herein you make that famous Iudge before named whom in his time they esteemed a Father of the Law and a learned antiquarie a Petty-fogging Lawyer in as much as in his Book aboue mentioned he thus speaketh The realme of England was first inhabited by the Britanes next after them the Romanes had the rule of the land and then againe the Britanes possessed it after whom the Saxons inuaded it and changing the name thereof did for Britaine call it England after them for a certaine time the Danes had the dominion of the realme and then the Saxons againe but last of all the Normans subdued it whose descent continueth in the gouernment of the Kingdome at this present and in all the times of these seueral Nations and of their Kings this realme was still ruled with the selfe same customes that now it is which if they had not bene right good some of those Kings mooued either with pride or with reason or affection would haue changed them or altogether abolished them and specially the Romans who did iudge all the rest of the world by their owne Lawes likewise would other of the foresayed Kings haue done who by the sword only possessing the realme of England might with the same power haue extinguished the Lawes thereof and touching the antiquitie of thesame neither are the Romane ciuil Lawes by so long continuance of ancient times confirmed nor yet the Lawes of the Venetians which aboue all other are reported to be of most antiquitie for as much as there Iland in the beginning of the Britanes was not then inhabited as Rome it selfe was then also vnbuilded neither are the Lawes of any which worshipped God so ancient wherefore the contrary is not to bee sayd nor thought but that the English Customes are very good yea of all other the very best neither can I conceiue any other reason Mr. Doctor hath thus bitterly to enuie against our Lawes as if they came from the Court infidel and were a burthen to the Common wealth but because some of them are bent against the Popes vsurpation and the admission on of his emissaries from Rome and as the Canon Law carries vp the Arke of the Church that is the Pope fifteene cubits aboue the highest mountaineâ— of Soueraigntie so is the Common Law so fauourable and aduantageous in extending the Prerogatiue of the King as his Maiestie professeth For a King of England to despise the Common lawe is to neglect his owne Crowne and a little after protesteth that if it were in his hand to chuse a new law for this Kingdome hee would not onely preferre it before any other nationall lawe but euen before the very iudiciall law of Moyses So that whether wee expect Spirituall instruction and comfort or the semporall wealth and libertie of the Commons of England if the Iesuite and Seminarie Priest who both seeke the ouerthrow of our Church and deceiue and consume the people would let them alone there would quickly appeare no reason of State at all why they should desire reconciliation to Rome which with sugred speaches and counterfeit faces doth so much abuse them or loathe the reformation which is euery way so comfortable and beneficiall vnto them B. C. 44. I am therefore in very assured hope that by my comming to the Catholike Church beside the satisfying and sauing of mine owne soule I shall doe no ill seruice to your Maiestie neither in respect of your selfe nor your children nor in respect of your Lords and Commons and that there is no reason concerning the state of any of these that is sufficient to disswade vnitie There is onely the Clergie left which if Caluinisme may goe on and preuaile as it doth shall not in the next age bee left to bee satisfied and there is little reason that any man that loues the Clergie shall desire to satisfie such Clergie-men as do vnder-hand fauour Caluinists and maintaine such points of doctrine as if your Maiesties fauour were not would out of hand ouerthrow the Clergie and in stead of them set vp a few stipendary Preachers
G. H. 44. And wee are on the other side as confident that in going to the Church of Rome and forsaking your owne in which you were bred and baptized besides the indangering of your own soule you haue done no good seruice to his Maiestie neither in respect of himselfe nor his children neither of his Lords nor Commons in perswading vnitie with the Church of Rome vnlesse first shee could bee perswaded to the imbracing of the same veritie in Religion with vs. There is onely the Clergie left which if Popery should goe on and preuaile as you desire it should shall not in the next age bee left to bee satisfied or to giue satisfaction but there is little reason that any man that loues the Clergie should desire to satisfie such Clergie-men as your selfe while you were among vs who vnder hand fauour Papists and maintaine such points of doctrine as if his Maiesties authoritie were not would out of hand ouerthrow the doctrine established and in stead thereof reestablish the Papacie B. C. 45. There neuer was is nor shall bee any wellsetled State in the world either Christian or heathen but the Clergie and Priesthood was is and must bee a principall part of the gouernment depending vpon none but him onely whom they suppose to bee their God but where Caluinisme preuaileth three or foure stipendary Ministers that must preach as it shall please Mr. Maior and his brethren may serue for a whole city and indeede if their opinions bee true it is but folly for any State to maintaine more For if God haue predestinated a certaine number to bee saued without any condition at all of their beeing in the visible Church by Faith or their perseuering therein by good workes If God hath reprobated the greatest part of the world without any respect at all of their infidelity heresie or wicked life if the faith of CHRIST be nothing else but the assured perswasion of a mans owne predestination to glory by him if the Sacraments of the Church bee nothing but signes and badges of that grace which a man hath before by the carnall couenant of his parents faith if Priesthood can doe nothing but preach the word as they call it which lay Lay-men must iudge of and may preach to if they will where occasion serues If the study and knowledge of antiquity vniuersality and consent be not necessary but euery man may expound Scripture as his owne spirit shall moue him If I say these and such like opinions be as true as they are among the Caluinists in the world common and in England too much fauoured and maintained there will certainely appeare no reason at all vnto your Parliament whensoeuer your Maiesty or your successours shall please to aske them why they should bee at so great a charge as they are to maintaine so needlesse a party as these opinions doe make the Clergie to be They can haue a great many more sermons a great deale better cheape and in the opinion of Caluinisme the Clergie doe no other seruice they that doe in England fauour and maintaine those opinions and suppresse and disgrace those that doe confute them they although themselues can be content to bee lordes and to goe in Rochets are indeed the greatest enemies of the Clergie and it were no great matter for the Clergie they might easily turne lay and liue as well as they do for the most part but it is a thing full of compassion and commiseration to see that by these false and wicked opinions the deuill the father of these and all other lies doth daily take possession of the soules of your Subiects both of Clergie and laitie These kind of Clergie men I confesse I doe not desire to satisfie any other way then as I haue alwayes done that is by the most friendly and plaine confutation of their errours to shew them the trueth as for other Clergie men that are conformable to the religion established by Law as well for their doctrine as for their discipline if they be good Schollers and temperate men as I know many of them are they cannot but in their iudgements approue the truth of Catholike religion and if it were not for feare of losse or disgrace to their wiues and children they would be as glad as my selfe that a more temperate course might be held and more liberty afforded to Catholikes and Catholike Religion in England These Clergie men I am and euer shall be desirous to satisfie not onely in respect of themselues but also in respect of their wiues and children whom I am so farre from condemning or misliking as that I doe account my selfe one of them and I desire nothing more in this world then in the toleration of Catholike religion to liue and die among them and therefore I haue had so great care in this point as before I did submit my selfe to the Catholike Church I receiued assurance from some of the greatest that if his Maiesty would admit the ancient subordination of the Church of Canterbury vnto that mother by whose authority all other Churches in England at the first were and still are subordinate vnto Canterbury and the first free vse of that Sacrament for which especially all the Churches in Christendome were first founded the Pope for his part would confirme the interest of all those that haue present possession in any Ecclesiasticall liuing in England and would also permit the free vse of the Common Prayer booke in English for Morning and Euening Prayer with very little or no alteration and for the contentment and security of your Maiesty he would giue you not onely any satisfaction but all the honor that with the vnity of the Church and the safetie of Catholike Religion may be required which seemed to me so reasonable as beeing before satisfied for the trueth of Catholike Religion I could aske no more so that I am verely perswaded that by yeelding to that trueth which I could not deny I haue neither neglected my duety and seruice to your Maiesty and your children nor my respect and honour to your Lords and Commons nor my loue and kindenesse to my honest friends and brethren of the Clergie but rather that my example and my prayers shall doe good vnto all G. H. 45. That the Clergie should be a Principall member of the body popolitike we graunt but that they should depend on none but him only whom they suppose to bee their god wee denie Indeed where the authority of the Bishop of Rome swayes looke how many Clergy men there are so many subiects are exempt from the Iurisdiction of the secular power and wholy depend vpon his Holinesse who is to them in regard of the vniuersalitie of his commaund and the infallibilitie of his iudgement in stead of their God but for vs Non habemus talem consuetudinem neque Ecclesia Dei we depend
consequents will finde a sufficient answere in the meane time you must giue vs leaue to suspect that Doluâ— latet in vniuersalibus falshood insists vpon generals 5 Wee haue good reason to thinke you were not so much grieued for crossing those great preachers you speake of as that thereby your prefeâ—ment was crossed 1 Such a profound demonsration is that of Bellarmine out of Petrus Damianus to shew the reason why in the Popes old Seales S. Paul was on the right hand of S. Peter because forsooth Paul was of the tribe of Beniamin and Beniamin signifies the sonne of the right hand and for this he quotes Gen. 35. and 42. * Matth. 26. 27. * Iohn 18. 36. 1 It seemes then your Puritane for you tell vs before those preachers were such may be a very honest man yet afterwards you tell vs their principles are such as ouerthrow all honesty 2 As loth as you were to oppose them in publike yet you did as farre as you durst as your selfe afterwards confesse 3 The faith in which you were baptized is the â—ame which now is professed in the Church of England and that I am sure no man expected you should oppugne * Luke 16. 26. 1 I had thought before that a Puritane and a Caluenist a creature of Schisme in your language had bene all one 2 If Dauid himselfe bee a Schismatike as you make him how were the creatures of Schisme to strong for him 3 Those whom you call temperate men we may suspect to bee neutrals made of lincie whoolsie neither hote nor cold but halting betweene two opinions 1. Kings 18. 21. 4 That which you call honest preaching of the Trueth wee take to be the neerest approching that may be to Româ— gates 5 Herein you failed not in that at last you vnmasked your owne hypocriosie * 2. King 9. â— â—â— * Ierem. 51. 9. 1 You might more properly haue applied fiery to your desperate Cath. for such was their practise 2 There needed no great violence to aggrauate the haynousnesse of that plot 3 How comes it then to passe that notwithstanding all this in the next chap. you so earnestly labour the conuersion of his Maiestie and the whole Realme Ex oreâ—tuâ— condemnaberis serue nequam Luke 1â— 22. 1 What needed any great wit or learning for the iustification of that doctrine which by your owne confession holds no point expresly contrary to antiquity 1 To allow the people images for religious vse and then to admonish them that they take heed of idolatry is as if a man should put an hungry horse into a goodly pasture and then command him not to eate or a child vpon the top of a lâ—dder and then bid him take heed of a fall 2 Why do they couer them in Lent then 3 We should indeed haue our conuersation amongst the Saints in heauen but not amongst their images on earth M. Hooker in his 5. booke of Ecclesiastical policie Sect. 65. 1 I tolde you before you were prepossessed with preiudice which made you obiect so weakely 2 Had it taken effect they would haue abhorred it as Sixtus did the Friars murthering of Henry the III. of France in the Consistorie of Cardinals where he compares it to the worke of our Redemption 3 A likely matter that his Maiestie should make complaint in a iudicial proceeding to him in whom he professeth that he acknowledgeth no right of proceeding iudicially in the censure of his owne Subiects 4 All those Writers whom you call Catholikes doe so condemne it as they seeme rather to thinke it vnfortunate in the successe then mischieuous in the plot 5 What authoritie this is will appeare in Pius his Bull whose words are these And him alone hath hee made chiefe ouer all nations and kingdomes who may alone root out destroy scatter waste plant and build that the faithfull people knit together with the band of mutuall charitie might be kept in the vnitie of the Spirit 1 How could your hope bee such since your resolution was to the contrary as appeares by your own words in diuers passages before 2 Your selfe within a fewe lines after acknowledge you found many 3 So that it seemes by your owne confession the greatest corruptions are to be found in the Church of Rome seeing by Gods wheate field in your vnderstanding can bee meant none other but that Church in which in your opinion grace most aboundeth 4 Belike then you saw some broad difference in the circumstance 5 You made sure worke for that by carrying ouer store of monies with you by obtaining pensions from the Pope the Q. Mother of France and Cardinall Peâ—â—on * Gal. 2. 21. * Col. 2. 20 21 22 * 1. Pet. 1. 19. 1 It may bee those afflictions serued to free you from Purgatorie as you presume in the conclusion of your letter otherwise I see not why you should afflict your selfe for chusing the only supposed meanes of your saluation 2 You disputed with such learned men as you could meet with and yet auoided the companie of Catholiks you promise his Maiesty to remember him at the dayly oblation and yet you abstained from their Churches 3 That which you call peace is a betraying of 〈◊〉 the trueth and 〈◊〉 that which you call a reconciliation is a rent froÌ„ forreine reformed Churches 4 I marueile who gaue you authoritie to bring M. Casaubon ouer from France 5 Hauing receiued this answere What moued you to be so saucie and importunate to mooue his Maiestie the second time to entertaine Societie with that Church 6 Though you loued that Romish religion well you loued your life better 1 In what sense Rome may bee termed the mother â—hurch see in mine answere to the 45. Section 2 His Maiestie termeth him the Patriarch but not the Primate of the West 3 Where was your great zeale then to sweare against your conscience for fashion but did you not take it again when you came to yeres of discretion at the taking of your degrees at your institution in your Benefices at your admittance to your Prebendry and Chaplenship and oft recognize the truth of the summe of the said oth in your prayer before euery sermon you made How then comes it now to passe that you would not take it again to gaine the greatest preâ—ermeÌ„t in yâ— world but that you were out of hope to get any or by your owne confession long to enioy it 4 The Bishops in K. Hen. the 8. time thought themselues as good Christians as your selfe yet they tooke it or at least made a shew of taking it with a good conscience besides you call thâ— consciences or the Christianity of your honest brethren of the Clergy into question who haue taken the same oath it may be more then once and yet being good Schollers as you pretend they could not be ignorant what offence they incurred in taking it 1 Master Dâ—â—lington in his inference vpoÌ„ Guicciardines Degression
Page 3. 2 Page 200. 3 Which Dispensation was first granted contrarie to the opinion of all the Cardinals of Râ—me being Diuines Hall ann Hâ—nry 8. 4 In the yeere 1562. and againe in 1571. 5 Apol. for the Oath of alleagiance p. 108. 6 Eusebius lib. 3 de vita Constantâ—i * Psal. 91 11. 7 Such a precedenciâ— hath the Emperour before Christian kings but no command ouer them 8 B. Bilson part 2 of Christian subiection p. 237. 1 This penalty was not inflicted for taking Orders but for returning after Orders taken such a penalty did Solomon impose and execute vpon Shimei 1. King 2. 2 There is lesse doubt of the Episcopall being of our Bishops then of those that deriue their being from the Popes in regard of their manifold schismes and if it came to scanning the Archbishop of Canterbury hath faiâ—er euidence to shew for his right to that See then the Bishop of Rome to the Popedome nay the Pope to the Bishopricke of Rome * Roâ— 11. 18 c. 1 He that examines the writings will easily find you wrote without booke 2 Such a Catholike then as your selfe the Sâ—ate standing as it doth can by your owne confession bee no good subiect 3 As if onely Puritanes were at the making of those Statutes or they alone make care and conscience of the execution of them 4 A mâ—rueile it is that a man of your age and experience should conceiue or affirme that to belong to the office of a Iustice of Peâ—câ— which appertaines to the Iudges or Iustices itenerant 5 Your hope must needes be grounded vpon a vaine presumption of some strange and sudden alteration in his Maiestie considering his full resolution and your many infirmities but your hope is perished with your selfe and so may all they who entertaine the like 6 You speake as if the naturall birth of a man gaue him interest in the Saints of heauen whereas there they put off all carnall affections and become like vnto the Angels 7 The Saints of heauen haue no knowledge of the particular conuersion of a sinner by any ordinary intuition but by reuâ—lation extraordinary 8 Many Saints no doubt are triumphant which were neuer militant in that Church which acknowledgeth the Pope her head 9 Where no offence is committed there needs no pardon to be either demanded or granted 10 The seruice you intended was nothing els but a plotting with the Pâ—pâ— and his Factours how you might betray the liberty of your Countrey and submit your Soueraignes neck to the yoke of his seruice 11 Vnlesse the Church of Rome draw neerer to vs then hitherto shee hath made sheâ— of it cannot bee but with the preiudice of all the honest men in England and honesty it selfe that a neerer vnion betwixt her and the Church of England should be concluded then already there is 1 Contrâ— literâ—â— Patâ—â— 2. c. 92 2 This Booke was written by my L. Burleigh L. Treasourer wherein hee pâ—ouâ—s that no Romish Catholikes were then executed but for iustifying the Bul of Pâ—us V. which Card. Allen replied vnto but so weakely as the trueth is thereby streâ—gthened 3 This samâ— poiâ—t is againâ— confirmed by his Maiesty in his booke Dâ— droâ—â— dâ—s Râ—yeâ— Pagâ— 113. 4 Ego intraproximum trimestro â—el sâ—mestre tot puta quinque vel sex reconciliaui pro quibus spondere ausiâ— quod quaecunque occasiâ— inciderit a parte nâ—stra â—â—turi sint omnes Tâ—rt Torti 138. 1 I suppose your meaning is to be accounted so 2 I haue not met with any that teacheth it but holy Father Aristotle in the entrance of his Politikes 3 That which you call the malice of the times was the iust censure of your superiours procured by your own malice against the trueth 4 What seruice could you do by dying but by remouing a dangerous instrument 5 So then you seeme to confesse that for religion you were of the same mind long before you went hence as since you haue declared your selfe which notwithstanding in diuers other places you contradict 1 Pol. lib. 3. cap. â— In methodâ— histâ— vt apparet in 〈◊〉 ex purgatâ—riâ— 1 That is you haue put off a Diuine to put on a Statesman but the prouerbe is Monachus in aula piscis in arido and your owne saying is that false Religion is but a policie for the temporal seruice of Princes 2 What securitie did it procure to Henry the IIII. and the 7. Emperours or to Chilperike Phil. lebâ—l Lewis the XII or the 2. last Hen. of France and if there be no securitie but in that religion what religion is that which will admit of no security in any but it selfe 3 They were aduanced by the grace of God and their owne right not by the Roman Religion which in a maner is all one with the Bishop of Romes authoritie by which Histories recorde how king Iohn and diuers other his Maiesties predecessours aswell of England as France and Scotland haue bene aduanced and protected 4 Why then if the Roman Religion had remained amongst vs should they still haue beene prayed for as if they had remained in Purgatorie 1 All this must be vnderstood of the Church of Rome which first curseth and then by all meanes laboureth to confound such as oppose against her imputing her owne deuillish plots to Gods working 1 See Lipsius his admiranda or de magnitudine Remani Imp. 1 It is rather Rome that is fallen from the vnitie of Christs Church 2 You are somwhat more fauorable to her herein then Bocius in his 12. booke and 3 chapter of the signes of the Church Terenixa passim pradicatur ex illicito coitu ac propterea fuitincemitijs Angliae publicis decretum vt illi defunctae in regno possent succedere ex huiusmodi concubinatunati A most malicious lie 3 She came vpon the religion professed and established in her sisters reigne which you call remainders of deuotion and wee denie it not but how comes it to passe that her sister was so vnfortunate if the onely comming vpon her remainders made Q. Elizabeth so happy 4 That which you cal maintaining of warre amongst her neighbours his Maiestie in her ensuing Epitaph termes the relieuing of France and supporting the Netherlands hee might iustly haue called it the setting vp of a iust King in his owne kingdome and the freeing of a free Estate from the vniust vsurpation of a forreine power 5 For feare of failing wee are yeerely supplied with a new Mission of shauelings from the fountaine but sure I am perswaded if this current were stopped our peace and prosperitie would be both more honourable and certaine then it is 1 That is as far as the drift of your reason proposed in the 2. and 3. Section of this Chapter 2 To conferre is not properly by a bare permission but by donation 3 Kingdomes may be bestowed vpon wicked men for many other reasons besides the sinnes of the people
afford as many sufficient and learned Preachers and that in a more substantiall and conscionable fashion then the Popes Hierarchie and that London alone affords more then Rome it selfe and their readinesse to supply Sermons is not so much out of any good will they beare that exercise as out of ill will they beare vs. Iohn Aduenâ— lib. 30. Anal. Boio 1 So that in Mr. Doctors Logick an honest Protestant may thus be defined One that can endure the State of England as it is and could be content it were as it was that he might receiue more benefit 2 You tel vs before that all false religions in the world are but humane policies and we as truely returne it vpon you that this humane policie fauours of a false religion 3 Many of them though they professed themselues dead to the world yet were they aliue to the flesh Renulfus Câ—str lib. 7. 1 Indeede by the forme of words yet extant in the masse booke and vsed by the Priest it is supposed that a number should Communicate daily with him but it seldome is so 2 If wee had no vse of confessours yet might and ought inferiors be kept in awe of hell fire by their Preachers and superiours be tolde of their errours in state by their Counsellers but you seeme to assure his Maiestie that if hee will not be told of his errours in confession he shall in rebellion * 2. Cor. 5. 18. 1 Bell de peâ—â—t lib. 3. Cap. 2. 2 Epist ad Front pag. 129. 3 Premon 125 4 See nouell doct in the ende of the Premon the 3. 5 Epist. ad Front pâ—g 140. 6 Pag. 326. 7 That is they doe not binde him to present the party confessing as appeares both in the body and title of the Canon * Gal. 5. 1. 1 If in those middle times when all things ranne in a current course there were not so many Statutes made in Church matters it must be imputed rather to the want of occasion then of power the plantation or reformation of the Church chiefly giuing occasion to the making of lawes in Church matters 2 When the name of a Parliament began in England is vncertaine See my L. Coke in his Preface to the ninth part of his reports 3 I take the raising of new houses to be no hinderance to the Common-weâ—lth the Lawyers themselues being a part of the Commons 4 As 〈◊〉 the Ciuill Law came not from the Roman Infidels â—hich notwithstandâ—ng stand well enough with the authoritie of the Ecclesiasticall Courts 5 What you call Catholike I know not but sure I am that since King Eth. time many Statutes haue been made for the restraâ—ning of the Bâ—shop of Romes vniuâ—t vsurpation neither doâ— finde that hee â—â—â—tered any thing in the lawes of the kingdome saue onely by commaâ—ding them to be turned into his mother tongue 6 Iâ— by better times you meane the restitution of the Romish Religion or the recoÌ„ciliation of our Church to Rome you had certainly very little reason to expect them from the learning wisedome and moderation of those that are now the chiefest in that profession the chiefest of all hauing both fâ—equently and fullâ— declared himselfe to the contrary and suffred for it by the slanderous tongues and pennes of malicious Romanists and namely Eudaemon and Parsons 1 Bod in lib. 1. de â—epub cap. 8. 2 See Monsâ—ir Seruius the Kings Attourney generals speach in the end of the reformation of the Vniueâ—sitie of Paris 3 Spâ—culum Iust. anno 712. 4 Statut. 21. Râ—â— 2. cap. 11. 5 Comment cap. 49. 6 A God containes the Sea within his owne bounds and marches so is it my office to make euery Court containe it selfe within its owne limits see his Maâ—â—sties Speech in Parliament 1609. 7 Cap. 17. 1 What thoâ—â— Clergie men are wee desire to know and who in your sense are Caluinists 2 What those points of doctrine are wee shall see in the next Section 3 That his Maiesties fauour to the Clergie is such as not to giue way to their ouerthrow and in stead of them to set vp a few stipendary Preachers we haue had good triall and are bound to blesse God for it but sore against the will of all Romane Catholikes it is that his Maiestie should fauour them so much 1 How Caluin himselfe though he were a stipendary Minister pleased Master Maior and his brethren let his banishment more then once for his free preaching testifie 2 We are assured that both his Maiesty and his heire apparent are so well resolued in this point as they wil neuer put it to the question 3 Our Sermons are not so cheape as your Masses which notwithstanding are in a manner the very life and soule of your Priesthood 4 The vntrueth of this assertion appeares in mine answere 5 As if all those who are called Lords and goe in Rochets were not by their place conformable to the discipline had often before they come to that place subscribed to the doctrine established by Law 6 They may more easily turne Lay with you where Lay men are admitted to the administration of the Sacrament 7 These kinde of Clergie men desire no satisfaction from you but wish you had bin as carefull to maintaine that trueth which once you professed as to confute their pretended errours which confutation notwithstanding you speake much of but no where performe nor so much as vndertake 8 You may rather call them temporizing then temperate 9 It were well that others knew them too if any such there bee who in iudgmeÌ„t approoue the trueth of that religion which you call Cath. and yet proâ—â—sse themselues not onely members but Ministers of our Church but our hope is that their number is not such as you vaunt of it being vnpossible that honest men and good Schollers should take the oath of Supremacie and subscribe to our articles of religion and yet in iudgement approue the authority of the B. of Rome which is in a maner the substance of that religion 10 Had ours had the like temperate course held with them or the like liberty afforded in Queene Maries dayes they would haue thought themselues happy 11 Their wiues and children are bound to pray for you in regard of your fatherly care of them 12 It is well that you account your selfe one of the honest men and good Schollers but they are so farre I hope from accounting you one of them as they vtterly condemne and mislike your courses 13 But it pleased God you should die among strangers and not liue to see that toleration you desired neither shall any of them we hope that yet liue and desire to see it 14 As if the whole fortune of Greece depended vpon your submission to that Church 15 What assurance can there bee on our parts from them who hold yâ— faith is not to be held with heretikes but you forgot your promise made to my Lords Grace of