some would impute it to a hot head others to a weak Judgment and a third sort perhaps to discontent that you were not gratified according to your great merits Herein Sir I only plaid the part of a Rehearsal For my own part in imputing what I had heard of you to a fit of the Spleen I gave an evidence of my Charity in regard you had formerly complain'd of such a fit as had unhing'd your faculties and stifled your Pen into a long silence and sure I could never reckon that for a fault in you which I knew to be your infelicity and affliction Hitherto therefore my carriage was very innocent And when I long'd so much to hear from you if I were a little impatient at the disappointment yet a little ingenuity would have given it a better interpretation than the want of common prudence and a fast Friend would have taken it for an argument of a fincere affection However I must lament my own loss that what you intended for my information was by such an unfortunate misadventure cast into the common lot of waste Paper But whatever the conception was which those Letters miscarried with these give me an intimation of your present change And to question whether this were Mutatio dextrae Altissimi a change wrought by the right hand of the Most High were no doubt in your Judgment to make a breach upon Charity and Prudence both together Yet seeing you applaud your self as all such Proselytes use to do that you have changed Opinion into Faith and Doubtfulness into Infallibility give me leave for once to enquire into the real advantage you flatter your self to have purchased by your Separation from us In order hereto I pray resolve me where the Infallibility is lodged which you so much boast of I presume you will not say you have it in your own bosom for that would smell a little too rank of arrogance if you say 't is lodged in the person of the Pope that is rendred very improbable because it was not long since one of them professed that he was no Theologue and consequently not fit to determine a point of Faith and if we may believe some of the Roman Writers besides Schism Heresy Infidelity and Atheism have been found amongst them And this Doctrine is so false and scandalous that Mr. White makes it more criminal and dainnable than destouring of holy Virgins upon the Holy Altar †Vide T. bulae Suffragiales 2. If you place your Infallibility in the diffusive body of the Clergy or of Christians in general That will be of no more advantage to the determination of Controversies than the private Spirit that is utterly unprofitable and useless for why may we not find it then in Bishop Andrews as well as in Bellarmine in Bishop Sanderson as well as in Cajetan and in Dr. Hammond as well as in Stapleton 3. If you lodge it in General Councils there we are ready to joyn issue with you For those which are truly such we have the greater veneration for And I will give you one instance in matter of Faith that shall make it evident beyond contradiction for matter of Jurisdiction afterward In the Third general Council held at Ephesus Concil 3. Generale Ephes habit Can. 7. Justell Codex Canon Eccles Univers Can. 177. Decrevit Sauct a Synodus no◠licere cuiquam aliam fidem afferre vel scribere vel com ponere praeter cam quae à Sanctis Patribus Nicaeae Congregatis in Sancto Spiritu desinita est c. The Holy Synod hath decreed That it shall not be lawful for any one to bring in or alledge to write or compose any other Faith besides that which is defined by the Holy Fathers assembled at Nice with the assistance of the Holy Ghost This Canon which the Church of England observes inviolable the Church of Rome doth egregiously prevaricate witness the Faith composed after the Council of Trent by Pope Pius the Fourth which is solemnly sworn by all the Clergy in the Church of Rome at this day If you say this was not another Faith nor any addition to the Ancient Creed but only an explication of it the very letter of that Symbol will evince the contrary and to use your own expression that defence dwindles into more Evasion Let the Reader judge by the matter of Fact and the Observations following The Confession of Faith by Pope Pius according to the Council of Trent set forth 1564. 1 A. B. do stedfastly believe and profess all and singular the Contents of that Symbol of Faith which the holy Roman Church useth That is to say I believe in one God the Father Almighty maker of Heaven and Earth and of all things visible and invisible and in one Lord Jesus Christ the only begotten Son of God begotten of the Father before all worlds God of God light of light very God of very God The Council of Nice consisted of 318 Bishops from all parts of the World East and West and was held in the year 325. And of Constantine M. the Tenth The Council of Trent was not held till the year 1545. and ended not till 1563. wherein were in all with Legates Cardinals Abbots and Proctors but 255. and most of them Italians the Popes Creatures Lud. Bail Sum. Cōcil Tom 1. p. 600. B. 1. Edit Paris 1659. begotten not made being of one substance with the Father by whom all things were made who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary and was made man and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate he suffered and was buried and rose again the third day according to the Scriptures and ascended into Heaven and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father and he shall come again with Glory to judge both the quick and the dead whose Kingdom shall have no end And I believe in the Holy Ghost the Lord and giver of life who proceedeth from the Father and the Son who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified who spake by the Prophets And I believe one Catholick and Apostolick Church I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins and I look for the Resurrection of the dead and the life of the World to come Amen Thus far is the Faith of the Council of Nice to which the Pope adds these Articles following I do stedfastly admit and embrace Apostolical and Ecclesiastical Traditions with the rest of the Observations and Constitutions of the same Church I admit also of the holy Scripture according to that sense which hath been held and is held by the holy Mother the Church whose office it is to judge of the true sense and interpretation of the Holy Scriptures Nor will I ever receive or interpret the same but according to the unanimous consent of the Fathers I profess also that there are seven Sacraments of the
new Law truly and properly so called instituted by Jesus Christ our Lord and necessary to the Salvation of Mankind though all of them be not necessary for every man That is to say Baptism Confirmation the Eucharist Penance Extreme Unction Orders and Matrimony and that they do confer Grace and amongst these that Baptism Confirmation and Orders cannot be repeated without Sacriledge I do also receive and admit all the received and approved Rites of the Catholick Church in the solemn administration of all the aforesaid Sacraments I do receive and embrace all and singular the things which were defined by the holy Synod of Trent concerning Original Sin and Justification I profess likewise that in the Sacrifice of the Mass there is offer'd unto God a true proper and propitiatory Sacrifice for the living and dead and that in the most holy Sacrament of the Eucharist there is verily really and substantially the Body and Bloud together with the Soul and Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ and that there is made therein a change of the whole substance of the Bread into his body and of the whole substance of the Wine into his bloud which change the Catholick Church calls Transubstantiation I do also confess that Christ whole and entire and the true Sacrament is received in either kind alone I do stedfastly hold that there is a Purgatory and that the Souls detained therein are relieved by the Suffrages of the Faithful Likewise also that the Saints reigning together with Christ are to be worshipped and prayed unto and that they do offer up prayers unto God for us And that their Reliques are to be had in veneration I do most stedfastly affirm that the Images of Christ of the Blessed Virgin the Mother of God and of other Saints are to be had and kept and a due honour and veneration to be given unto them Also that the power of Indulgences was left by Christ unto his Church and I affirm that the use of them is very salutary and beneficial to Christian people I acknowledge the holy Catholick and Apostolick Roman Church to be the Mother and Mistress of all Churches And I promise and swear true obedience to the Pope of Rome successor to B. Peter Prince of the Apostles and the Vicar of Christ I do also undoubtedly receive and profess all things else which are delivered defined and declared by the sacred Canons and general Councils and especially by the most holy Synod of Trent And I do likewise condemn reject and anathematize all things that are contrary and all Heresies whatsoever which are condemned rejected and anathematized by the Church This true Catholick Faith without which no man can be saved which at this present I do freely profess and truly hold by Gods help I will most constantly to the very last breath of my life intirely and inviolably hold and confess the same and take care as much as in me lies that the same shall be held taught and preached by all my Subjects or all those under my care and charge in respect of my Function This I A. B. do promise vow and swear So God be my help and these his holy Gospels This is the Creed of Pope Pius according to the Council of Trent Now betwixt these Articles and those of the Church of England there is a vast difference both 1. In the matter and 2. In the imposition and 3. In the end of them 1. For the Matter of these Articles Those of the Church of England are not to be believed as Articles of Faith no further than they can approve themselves to be contained in the holy Scriptures for thus we are taught in the Sixth of these Articles Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation so that whatsoever is not read therein nor may be proved thereby * Licet interdum à fidelibus ut pium conducibibile ad ordinem decorum admittatur In the Margin of that Article is not to be required of any man that it should be belived as an Article of the Faith or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation But amongst the Articles of Faith enjoyed by Pope Pius some are quite beside the Holy Scripture some against it some are mere speculations of the Schools and others but probable and matters of doubtful disputation For instance 1 The multiplication of Advocates and Ghostly Patrons 2 The Sacrifice of the Mass 3 The Adoration of the Host 4 The power of Indulgences as they are maintained and practised in the Church of Rome These are at least besides the Holy Scripture 1 The Invocation of Saints and veneration of Images as practised generally by the Common people according to their Books 2 The publick Service of the Church in an unknown Tongue The administration of the Lords Supper ordinarily to the people but in one kind And that the Church of Rome is the Mother and Mistress of all other Churches These are against Scripture 3 Transubstantiation whatsoever it signifies more than a Real presence and the benefits which flow from it with the unaccountable hypotheses which depend upon it And Purgatory as it is blown up into Climaerical flames by the Schoolmen with the means and manner of deliverance out of it are no better than Scholastical speculations And many of the rest valued but as probabilities or matters of doubtful disputation 2. For the imposition of these respective Articles the difference is vast For those of Pope Pius we have not only I receive admit and embrace this Faith not only I do affirm and aknowledge constantly hold and most stedfastly assert it not only I do with a stedfast Faith believe and profess it but under the high and solemn obligation I do promise vow and swear to hold teach and preach the same to the very last breath of my life and to procure all others under my charge to do the like But to the Articles of Religion in the Church of England subscription is only required without any obligation to teach profess or assert them further than they are contained in the Holy Scripture or may be proved thereby to be Articles of the Faith or admitted for discipline and good order And it is moreover to be observed That his Majesty in his Declaration before these Articles printed 1630 though he forbids the offering violence to the liberal and Grammatical sense of these Articles yet he seems to allow a modest liberty without contention in putting the most favourable construction upon them The words are these Though some differences have been ill raised yet we take comfort in this that all Clergy-men within our Realm have always most willingly subscribed to the Articles established which is an Argument to Us that they all agree in the true literal meaning of the said Articles and that even in those curious points in which the present differences lie Men of all sorts take the Articles of the Church of England to be for them which is an Argument
that none of them intend any desertion of the Articles established Where we see his Majesty took notice that men of all sorts took these Articles to be for them and he declares that he took comfort therein Which argues that the imposition was not strict and rigid as to the sense and meaning of the Articles And though in the Synod 1640. Can. 6. an Oath was enjoyned yet it was with as much modesty and tenderness as any sober and peaceable Subject can desire for thus it runs I A. B. do swear that I do approve the Doctrine and Discipline or Government in the Church of England as containing all things necessary to salvation Where two things are very observable 1 The assertion is only this That I do approve the Doctrine c. the 2 Only as containing all things necessary to salvation for which we are referred to the authority of the Holy Scripture by the Sixth Article as was observed before 3. As to the end of these respective Articles Those of Pope Pius are declared to be necessary to salvation not only Necessitate praecepti sed Medii necessary as well upon the account of a Means as of a Precept for the Pope declares Hanc esse veram Catholicam fidem Extra quam nemo salvus esse potest That this is the true Catholick Faith without which no man can be saved But the Articles of the Church of England generally are intended for a decorum and order matters of necessary Faith being herein restrained to the Holy Scriptures to keep out disputes and vain jangling and to preserve peace and concord in her Communion Thus much is intimated in the very Title prefix'd to those Articles but much more clearly in his Majesties Declaration before mentioned where he saith We hold it most agreeable to our Kingly Office and our own Religious Zeal to conserve and maintain the Church committed to our charge in the unity of the true Religion and in the bond of peace and not to suffer unnecessary Disputations Alterations or Questions to be raised which may nourish Faction both in the Church and Commonwealth We have therefore thought fit to make this Declaration That the Articles c. do contain the true Doctrine of the Church of England agreeable to Gods word which we do therefore ratifie and confirm c. But this is more clear in a Book set forth 1571. called Liber quorundam Canonum Disciplinae Ecclesiae Anglicanae SS de Concionatoribus Where it is ordered thus Imprimis vero videbunt c. Let the Preachers take care that they teach nothing in their Sermons which they would have the People hold and believe as a matter of Religion but what is consonant to the Doctrine of the Old or New Testament and what the Catholick Fathers and Ancient Bishops have gathered out of the same And because those Articles of Christian Religion which were agreed upon by the Bishops c. are without doubt collected out of the Sacred Books of the Old and New Testament and do in all things agree with the heavenly Doctrine contained therein Also because the Book of Common Prayers and the Book of the Inauguration of Archbishops Bishops Priests and Deacons do contain nothing that is contrary to that Doctrine whosoever shall be sent out to teach the People shall confirm the authority and belief of those Articles as well by their subscription as in their Sermons Qui secus fecerit contrariâ doctrinâ Populum turbaverit excommunicabitur Whosoever shall do otherwise and disturb the People with any contrary Doctrine shall be excommunicated Here indeed the Clergy are implicitly enjoyned to preach up the belief and authority of these Articles But withal 1 The belief and authority of them is required not as grounded upon the Declaration and Sanction of the Ecclesiastical Governours though a hearty submission and obedience is due thereto in matters of Religion Discipline and Order upon the account of a Divine precept but upon their Congruity with the Holy Scriptures according to the sense of the Ancient Fathers 2 That such as transgress these Articles are punish'd for want of good manners as disturbers of the publick Peace Wherefore though the Author of the Guide in Controversies* * Disc 3. cap. 7. hath made it his business to strain every Sentence Phrase and word in the Canons as well as the Articles of the Church of England to make those Articles seem to run parallel in the Charge of a new Imposition of Faith with those in the Creed of Pope Pius the Fourth aforementioned yet by what hath been observed it is evident that the Articles of the Church of England were not intended as those of that Pope clearly were for an Addition to the Faith declared by the Fathers at Nice which with all Christian Churches we profess as Catholicks but for information to direct our publick discourses generally as occasion serves in matters of Religion as we are united in the Communion of the particular Church of England after a deliberate and sober Reformation which to attempt and perform as far as in them lies no doubt all Bishops are as well obliged in duty by Christ's Command Apoc. 2 3 Cap. as prescribed to do it orderly by the 34. of the Apostles Canons †Episcopos uniuscujusque gentis nosse oportet eum qui in eis est primus existimare eum ut caput nihil facere magni momenti praeter illius sententiam illa autem sola facere unumquemque quae ad suam paroeciam pertinent pagos qui ei subfunt To leave this long though not unnecessary digression This Infallibility in the latitude the Roman party pleads for is so very improbable that Mr. Cressey in his Neophytism was not able to swallow it till he had shrunk it up into an Indefectibility wherein we can heartily close with him And for all that great priviledge which make so much noise in the world I do very well observe that in many cases they are glad to rest satisfied with a probable Conscience And in spight of that Infallibility They must stand to the courtesie or hazard of a probable Opinion to secure themselves according to their practice from the peril of Idolatry And this is acknowledged by the Jesuite Ant. Terill our Countryman in his Tractate de Conscientia Probabili Edit Leodii 1668. p. 387 c. His words are these Quid magis ad mores c. What does more concern manners and the strictness of the Law of Nature than that the worship due to God be not bestowed upon a Creature and yet it is lawful many times out of a probable Opinion only to bestow Divine worship upon the Eucharist and to adore God when he is but probably latent there For there is no true certainty but only a Probability that this numerical Host is rightly consecrated First It is not certain that he who did consecrate was a Priest both because it is not certain that