with his roaring as S. Peter sayth Brethren (a) 1. Pet. 5. be temperate and vigilant for your Aduersary the diuell walketh his round seeking whom he may denoure whom you must resist being strong in fayth They must not be intemperate or inconsiderate who are subiect to haue such an enemy and the sheep who find themselues inuironed by such a roaring Lion are much to watch and pray to our true pastour Iesus Christ. But what are the weapons by which this enemy is ouercome that so he may goe confounded out of this warre as he did out of the last These weapons are fayth as S. Peter and S. Paul haue sayd For when a foule through the loue of God which is the life of fayth despiseth both the prosperity and aduersity of the world and doth belieue and confide in God whom she doth not see the diuel must not thinke to haue an entrance there And besides inâ—egard that this light of faith teacheth men that are in daÌ„ger to confide in the mercy of God yf he that is assaulted will serue himselfe well thereof he shall get great courage to fight against the diuell which is a thing very necessary for this warre For (b) Note if the faint-harted man be not fit to fight euen against visible enemies for which reason God commaunded that such persons should retire from the warre how much lesse shall they be so to fight not against flesh and bloud but against Diuells who are the Princes of darknesse as Saint Paul saith And although in the high presence of God we are to be prostrate and in feare least he abandone vs for our sinnes yet in tyme of warre when we are assaulted by our enemy it is wholy fit that we be full of courage despising him and imploring the assistance of our Lord. In this sort do we read that our Lord himselfe prayed to his Father before his apprehension being prostrate and full of anguish and from thence he went so full of courage as that himselfe passed out to meete his enemies The prime intention of the Diuell in this battaile is to depriue our hart of courage to the end that so we may giue ouer the good course begun This he procureth by taking sometymes the figure of a Dragon or of a Bull or some other beast disturbing our prayer with noise or hindring the quietnesse of our repose as we read him to haue done to Iob and casting a man into a profound internall feare which maketh him tremble though he be neuer so valiant and sometimes he will euen sweat with anguish And other effects there are like these which giue restimony how that infernall wolfe is not far off It is plaine that since all the mystery of his warre workes by feare the principal weapon that we are to haue is strength of hart being encouraged not through our confidence in our selues but by a faithfull trust in our Lord. This is the thing which in this warre doth make vs victorious for confidence ouercommeth feare as it is written I (c) Isa 12. will do it confidently and will not feare And be well assured that thou shalt neuer repent thy selfe for hauing placed thy firme trust which is a couragious kind of hope in God neither shalt thou be able to say He hath deceiued me since it did not succeed as I hoped For hope as S. Paul (d) Rom. 5. sayth putteth not to shame nor shal he that hopeth in our Lord be confounded Neuer (e) A vertuous life is the ground of giuing coÌ„tiouaÌ„ce to a good hope doth if fayle a man if he be not wanting to himselfe but then only it faileth when he looseth charity which is the life of hope and of all vertue And those (f) I he old Hetmiâ—â— Ancients of the desert knowing how neceslary a hart full of courage was towards a not being ouercome in these skirmishes against the Diuell which amongst them were very vsuall they went by night to pray alone amongst the sepulchers of dead men that so they might purchase a being free from feare the dominion of which feare ouer vs doth vse to bring vs extrem preiudice If we wil take the counsell of Christ we shal liue very secure from this feare for he taketh it fioÌ„ vs saying I (g) 〈◊〉 â—0 will tell you whom you are to feare him feare who after the body is dead hath power of casting into hell feare him He that feareth not God shall by reason of his euill conscience feare the world and the Diuell but he that feareth God feareth not the Diuell for to feare him is in some sort to be subiect as to one that can do him hurt And (h) Note because he hath not power to reach euen to a hayre of a mans head vnlesse God giue him leaue there is no cause why we should feare him but our Lord by whom the leaue may be giuen For this reason it is that we always must be humble and with holy feare in the presence of God but with the Diuell we must be full of courage through our hope in God and full of a holy kind of pride And how much more full he is of brauing so much more feare thou God and recommend thy selfe to him and so much lesse must thou feare the Diuell So do we read of S. Anthony that great conquerour of Diuells who seing himselfe enuironed by them in the forme of cruell beastes which seemed as if they would haue swallowed him Yf you had saith he any power any one of you would be able to ouercome a man but because you are defeated God hauing taken your forces from you you procure to ioyne many togeather and so to fright vs. Yf our Lord haue giuen you power â—uer me heere I am come and swallow me vp but if not why do you labour thus in vayne And so this Saint vsed to say that against Diuells the signe of the crosse the faith of our Lord which somtims signifieth Confidence is a wall vnto vs that cannot be scaled And though our forces being compared with that of the Diuell are very slender and weake yet faith doth tell vs if we be not deafe That God is the defendour of all such as hope in him And since he is so good as to promise vs his defence and succour and to plant his hart and eyes vpon the Church which is figured in the temple of Salomon and is both true of his word and of power to performe his promises there being none eyther in heauen or earth that can refist eyther him or any man who is assisted by him that Christian should not esteeme of God nor of his sincerity nor goodnesse nor power as a ChristiaÌ„ ought if he belieued not of him that he for his part performeth well the promises of his succour But these and the like thinges which he doth must be vnderstood with this condition that a man at that tyme be in the state of grace or
as yet they of the (d) The children of Israel desert were obliged to belieue that God would giue them victory against those enemyes who were in the Land of promise if they would haue gone out to fight against them But at other tymes holy men and euen the common vse of speach doe call Belieuing the holding an opinion which is caused by reason or coniectures This do they call credulity and if it be vehement it is called fayth And this manner of credulity doth he possesse who belieueth by probable coniectures that he is pardoned by God that he is in state of grace and that God will help him in that whereof he shall haue need in the future and this which passeth in the vnderstanding doth help men to haue confidence hope which are in the will And therefore sometymes Incredulity is taken for Disconfidence and credulity for confidence And thus it may be sayd that he who because God had deliuered him out of other dangers and for other motiues also had reason to belieue though not with certainty that God will also deliuer him out of this danger is subiect if he do it not to incredulity not against the Catholike fayth but against that which riseth out of coniecturs But because the (e) The Caluinists were scarce known in this Authours tyme though their case be all one with that of the Lutherans LutheraÌ„s take one of these wordes for the other we Catholikes must speake distinctly calling fayth and confidence by their proper names declaring how we are to vnderstand either belieuing or being incredulous since (f) A wise proposition and being wel applyed will serue to many good purposes that which at some one tyme may be securely expressed by such words at some other tyme must be auoyded Returning therefore to our purpose thou must five from disconfidence and from being changeable which the (g) Eccles 17. Scripture reprehendeth in the foole who is as the Moone And procure thou to partake of that stability for which the iust man is praysed thus As the Sunne shall he remaine Which signifyeth that he shall be euer after the same manner Learne (h) Note by one tyme how thou art to carry thy selfe in others and as the Scripture sayth In (i) Eccles 11. the day of thy prosperity forget not that of thy aduersity and in the day of thy aduersity forget not that of thy prosperity That so tempering the prosperity of one with the aduersity of the other thou mayst grow to liue in an (k) A happy state of mind equality And that neither thou mayst be drawn down in the tyme of thy tribulation by the weight of disconfidence and sadhes nor yet grow giddy-headed by excesse of ioy in the tyme of spirituall consolations So do we read of that holy Anna the Mother of of the Prophet (l) 1. Reg. 1. Samuel who after hauing prayed in the Temple of God still kept her face the same way The meaning is that she conserued her hart in equality Isaias (m) Isa 4. sayth That one should haue such a habitation as might giue shade against the heate of the Sunne and security or defence against the storm and the raine And it were well that thou didst procure to liue in this (n) Happynes is euer in this house house that so hauing strength of hart and confiding in the mercy of God it might giue thee assurance in those places and passages of busines wherein there vseth to be (o) Of trouble danger As it was prophesied of the tyme of the new Law That (p) Ezech. 34. men should sleep securely in the thickest woodes And although it seem a strang thing to be at rest and to haue security in this place of our exile and indeed it must be very little in comparison of that which is in heauen yet if we ranke it by those feares which the vvicked of the world are subiect to it is very great and deserueth greatly to be esteemed And particulerly S. Paul (q) Heb. 6. sayth that the vertue of hope is as a firme and secure anchor of the soule Because although we haue an enemy of the Diuell who hath a mind to fright to discomfort vs by meanes of these combats we haue yet withall a friend who is both more stoute and more wise then he And if the former do abhorre vs much incomparably more doth Christ loue vs and if he sleepe not endeauouring still how to do vs mischiefe the blessed eyes of God do watch ouer vs to help vs to saue our selues as sheepe for which he gaue his pretious bloud Since (r) Note then we haue the arme of the Omnipotent why shall we feare the Diuell vvhose power is meere weakenes in comparison of the other How shall he be able to feare the Diuell who doth cordially belieue this truth if he vvill serue himselfe of fayth as vvas sayd before that the diuells can do vs no manner of harme vnles first they haue leaue from God Could the diuels peraduenture touch Iob or any thing that was his or could they drowne the swine of the Genesarits without first obtayning leaue Or shall he perhâ—ps who may not touch the swyne touch the children Do you therefore comfort your selues in our Lord as S. Paul requireth in the power of his vertue take in hand the weapons of God that you may standon foot against the craâ—ty enterprises of the diuel And hauing spoken of some of the particuler weapons he addeth saying In all things take to you the shield of faith whereby you may quench all those dartes that burne likeâ—â—re For as this enemy is of more strength then we so we must helpe our selues by the shield of faith which is a supernatural remedy defending our selues with some what that belongeth thereunto as with some worde of God or by receauing the Sacramentes or following some instructioÌ„ of the Church And beheuing firmely with the vnderstanding that al power is of God We must also be comforted with the head piece of hope so being offered vp to God by the loue of him taking with a good wil whatsoeuer he shall send and by which way soeuer it come we shal make a scorne of our enemy and we shall adore our Lord who gaue vs the victory against him and that not only by himselfe but by meanes of the succour of his holy Angells who fight for vs as was declared to the seruant of the Great (s) 4. Reg. 6. Elizaeus who being in much (t) An example to proue the assistance that we haue by the holy Angellâ— feare of a great army of men who came to take his maister the Prophet bad him not feare for fayth he there are more for vs then against vs. And whilst I lizaus prayed and sayd Open thou O Lord the eyes of this young man that he may see God did open his eyes and he saw that there was a
thinges togeather by saying He (g) Marc. vâ—â—uno that shall belieue and be baptized he shall be saued The same Lord of ours sayd also to his Apostles when he instituted the Sacrament of Pennance Whose (h) Ioan. 10. sinnes you shall pardon they are pardoned c. and consequently grace and iustice is giuen by this Sacrament since there can be no pardon of sinne vnles grace be giuen withall which is signifyed and contayned in all the seauen Sacraments of the Church And it is giuen to him that receaueth them welâ— euen with more abundance then (i) To which dispositioÌ„ out of the Sacrament there would not be allowed so great a grace though yet still the receaâ—â—â— must haue good dispositioÌ„ if he meane to acquire new graâ—e and not to coâ—â—â—t a new â—acri ledge there is disposition in the receauer in regard that they are priuiledged workes which by the very being receaued do conferre grace Therefore ought they to be receaued and renewed in extraordinary manner as the Catholike Church doth belieue and teach vs. Now (k) This is worthy oâ— great consideration if Fayth were in the beginning of the Church so frequently mentioned preached it was fiâ— to be so because the fayth was then newly planted and the endeauour was to make infidells receiue it and to enter by it as by the first gate which sheweth the way to saluation that when once they were come in they might be informed more particulerly both of what they were further to belieue and what they were to do So also was it necessary in those tymes to expresse after a particuler manner the mystery and high valew of the passion and death of our redeemer Iesus Christ who with extreame dishonour had then byn crucified and how the fayth of this mystery maketh men belieue and confesse That vpon that wood which to outward appearance was so dishonourable that diuine life was hanged and that there in the middest of the earth God wrought by meanes of his death the recouery and saluation of the world This fayth being such doth honour the dishonour of the Crosse and is the exaltation of that basenes which was exercised thereon in a strang and extreame manner For which reason it was fit to make often mention of the name of fayth and that with great respect since it resulted to the honour of Iesus Christ our Lord of whose person and merits she (l) The Church giueth testimony by preaching the height thereof So as if the Scripture say That men are iustifyedly fayth it is not meant as if that alone were sufficient but because it is the beginning and foundation and rote of all that is good as the Councell of Trent defineth and (m) O how true is this they who attribute iustification to fayth alone do but seeke for comfort in their tepidities or in the impiety of their liues desiring to secure themselues by the way of belieuing that their Circle may be the wider in the way of liuing And the peace and confidence of a good conscience which is caused by perfect charity these men will needs obteine without the taking of such paines as the perfection of vertue doth require Yea and they content not themselues herewith but although according to the very truth no man can be entirely certayne in this life whether he be worthy of loue or hate though yet according to the grace verâ—ue which he hath more or lesse he may haue more or fewer reasons of confidence yet these men who giue that certainty to such as belieue according to their owne imagination that they are pardoned by God which a Christian man is to haue in belieuing an article of fayth are people deceaued by the diuell and these things are belieued by such as haue neyther any firme ground of fayth nor any sanctity of life but are haters of all obedience and who being blindfold go groping after the mysteries of God and indeed if they were not blinded the diuell could not so easily deceaue them CHAP. XLV Why our Lord did resolue to saue vs by the meanes of Fayth and not of humane Reason and of the great subiection which we must yield to those things which our Fayth doth teach of the particuler deuotion which we owe in especiall manner to that which our Lord Iesus taught vs by his own sacred mouth THE methode of the words of this Treatise did require that after the first word therof I should declare the second to thee but the order of the sentences whereof the first and the third say the same thing requireth that forbearing at the present to touch the second I now declare the third which sayth thus Incline thyne care By this thou art to note that so great is the height of the mysteries of God and so low poore is thy reason and so easily subiect to deceite that for the security of our saluation God resolued to saue vs by our faith and not by our knowledge And this not without most iust cause because since the world as Saint Paul sayth did not know God by meanes of wisedome but sell impertinently vpon many crrours asâ—â—â—bing the glory of God to the Sunne and Moone and other creatures And because others who by the trace of those creatures came to know God tooke such a deale of pride in their way of tracing the knowledge of a thing so high this light was taken away for their pride which our Lord had giuen them through his goodnesse and so they fell into the darknesse of idolatry and into a multitude of other sinnes such as they had fallen into who neuer had knowne God For which reason as after the fall of the wicked Angells God taking as a man may say a kind of warning by that he would not suffer any creature to remaine in heauen that could be able to sinne perceiuing how ill the creatures serued themselues of reason and because the world as S. Paul sayth did not know God by wisedome he would not leaue the knowledge of him the saluation of themselues in the hands of their wisedome Therefore as soone as the holy Ghost had giuen vs counsaile by the two words already mentioned of Heare and See he doth instantly aduise vs by a third which sayth Incline thyne eare Whereby he giueth vs to vnderstand that we must submit our reason most profoundly not be too confident therin if we meane that our hearing and our seeing which were giuen vs for our good may not be the occasion of our eternal perdition Certayne it is that many haue heard the word of God and haue had an excellent sight and notice of high and subtile things but yet because they rested vpon the curiosity of their sight more then they did â—â—cline the eare of their reason with obedience their sight grew to be starke blindnes they went stumbling in the light of Noone-day as if it had beene in vtter darkenes If therefore
as if it were some great and wholesome Truth A (*) Heresy is one of the most terrible iudgmēts which God inflicts for the punishment for other sinnes great and extreame iudgment of God is this and since he is iust that sinne must needs be great whereof the punishment is such and what this sinne is S. Paul (e) Thess 2. himselfe declareth to vs by saying Because they receaued not the loue of Truth to be saued thereby For if thou consider how powerfull the Truth is of that which we belieue for the helping vs to serue God to be saued soone wilt thou acknowledge it to be a great fault not to loue this Truth and not to follow that which it teacheth and much more to worke wickedly against it How (f) A good and iust consideration far should he be from offending God who belieueth that for such as offend him there is prepared an euerlasting fire with other innumerable tormentes wherewith such an one is to be punished as long as God shal be God without all hope of the least remedy How will he presume to sinne who belieueth that when sinne entreth into the soule by one dore God goeth out by another And what kind of creature a man is without thee O Lord he well knew who prayed O (g) Psal 4◠Lord depart not thou from me For when God is gone we remaine in the first death of sinne which is but an introduction to the second death of infernall paine With great reason did Iob (h) Iob. 6. say Who can find in his heart to taste that which being tasted bringeth death Without doubt it is but reason that since we would not taste of any food which a Physitian whom we belieued should tell vs did carry death therin we should lesse taste of sinne since God hath sayd That (i) Ezech. 18. the soul which finneth shall dye For the Fayth or beliefe which thou hast in the word of God doth not worke that effect in thee which the word of that Physitian doth worke and yet this later both can deceaue and vseth sometymes to do it which God neuer doth And since God hath sayd That he is the eternall reward of such a seruant why doth not this make vs all go towards his seruice with great diligence and courage although we were to passe through many labours and that it should cost vs euen our liues Why do we not loue our Lord whome we belieue to be supreame goodnesse and whom we know to haue loued vs first yea and that so farre as to dye for vs And so (k) Note we should discourse in all other things which this holy Fayth doth so powerfully teach vs and inuite vs to for as much as concerneth it our selues are in great fault for leauing to follow it yea and for doing the very contrary things to it Can there be a more prodigious thing in the world then that a Christian should belieue the things which he belieueth and that yet he should do so wicked things as many of them do In punishment therefore of this that they did not loue the Truth whereby they might haue byn saued putting in practise that which they were taught thereby it is a most iust iudgement of God VVho (l) Psal 65. is terrible in his counsailes ouer the sonnes of men That this Fayth be taken from them they be permitted to belieue errour And if thou do consider how God doth suffer the snare to be prepared whereby Iewes and heretikes are chastised as we haue sayd it will appeare to thee that it is a thing rather to be trembled at then to be talked of Aske any of these that are so peremptory in following the obstinacy of their errour vpon what it is that they ground themselues The (m) Almost all heretikes do offer to shrowd thēselues vnder holy scripture one sort will say that it is the Scripture of the old Testament and the other of the New and thou shalt plainely see the prophesy of Dauid accomplished when he sayth The (n) A passadge of holy Scripture excellently pòdered Table of these people shall be turned into a snare and into a punishment and into a stumbling blocke Didst thou euer see a thing of so contrary appearance as that the Table of Life should be turned into a snare of death the Table of comfort and pardon into a punishment that Table where there is light which guideth men into a way that leadeth to life to conuert it selfe into a meanes of making one loose the way and fall vpon death Great without (o) A holy contēplation of the Authour of much terrour to such as are in heresy all doubt is the fault which deserueth such punishment that a man should be blinded in the light and that his life should be conuerted into death But thou art iust O Lord and thy iudgements are iust and there is no wickednes in thee but that wickednes is in them who serue not themselues well of thy goodnesse and therfore it is fit that they should but stumble vpon the same goodnes of thyne that the dishonour should be punished which they do both to it and thee A great blessing O Lord an extraordinary blessing is thy Fayth being reuered obeyed and put in excution as al reason doth require And a great blessing didst thou bestow in giuing vs thy holy Scripture which is so profitable and so necessary for vs in the way of thy seruice But (p) Note because the wind which bloweth vpon this sea is a wind that cōmoth from heauen and there haue byn some who would needes sayle by the earthly windes of their owne braynes and studyes they haue beene drowned and thou hast suffered it Because as in the Parables which thou O Lord didst preach on earth those men were secretly taught therby who had a good disposition thereunto whereas others were blinded euen thereby through thy iust iudgment so doest thou also gouerne the profound sea of thy diuine Scripture which is deputed for the shewing of mercy to the lambes of thy fold who may swimme therein to the profit both of themselues and others and so also is it designed for the shewing of iustice in suffering proud Elephants both to drowne themselues others also A fearefull and very fearefull thing it ought to be esteemed to enter into the diuine Scripture and no man ought to runne vpon it without much preparation as to a thing wherein there may be much danger to him Let him that (q) An-vnderstāding exercised in humility a lifeled in piety are good dispositiōs for the reading of holy Scripture with profit entreth into it carry with him the sense of the Catholike Roman Church and he shall auoyd the danger of heresy Let him for his further profit by it carry purity of life as S. Athanasius doth aduise by these wordes Goodnes of life and purity of the soule and Christian piety is
all men yet many of them are in hell not through any fault of his redemption which is abundant but for want of their disposition to receiue it From hence therfore groweth thy despayre To this I answeare That although it be true which thou sayest yet doest thou not serue thy selfe wel thereof S Bernard telleth vs that towards 2 hauing the testimony of a good conscience which may giue a man the ioy of a good hope it sufficeth not to beâ—eeuâ— in generall That sinnes are pardoned by the death of Christ but it is also necessary to haue confidence and good coniectures that this pardon is applied in particuler to such a man by meanes of (b) Contrition Conseâ—â—ie and Sâ—â—â—ofaction those dispositions vvhich the Church doth teach For though he belieue the first part he may yet despayre but that he cannot do if he belieue the second for how can he despaire if he liue in hopes But (c) Behold the solution indeed thou oughtest to consider that it is high reason that when thou seest euen those bowells of the heauenly Father all open for the giuing to thee his sonne as he gaue him seeing that he was at such cost therein and that the diuine Lamb is already dead to the end that thou mayst feed vpon him and not dye thou art to driue from thee all pusillanimity and sloath procure to serue thy self of this Redemption with confidence that God will help thee to it And since for thy being pardoned there is no cause why Christ should put himselfe to new paines or to suffer heereafter more or lesse or to dye for thee any more why shouldest thou thinke it to be any desyre of his that since he hath beene at the charge of such a feast there should be want of guests to sit thereat But it is far from this nor is it his will That the sinner should dye but that he should be conuerted and liue And to the end that he might do so himselfe left his life vpon the Crosse And do not thou belieue that it is needfull for thee towardes the enioying of this Redemption to do any impossible thing yea or euen so hard as that thou shouldst despaire to go throgh with it euen when thou art considering thy weaknes Send but one cordiall sigh to God for hauing offended such a Father and haue thou a purpose of amendment and manifest thy sinnes to a Priest who may absolue thee and the eares euen of thy flesh and bloud shall for thy (d) It is a picture in little of the ioyes of heaueÌ„ which no man knowes but he that feels thâ—â—â— greater consolation heare the sentence which is giuen vpon the ending of thy suite Which shall certify thee in this manner I absolue thee from all thy sinnes in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy Ghost And (c) Note although it should seeme to thee that thy griefe for thy sinns were not so complete as it ought to be and that therefore thou art afrayd of thy selfe yet art thou not (f) So that yet thou be sorrv though imperfectly for that which is past and haue a firme purpose to auoyd the like in tyme to come to be afflicted thereat because the desire which our Lord hath of thy saluation is so great that he supplyeth our wants by the priuiledge which he gaue his Sacrament which maketh a man of attrite contrite And (g) Note yet againe if it seeme to thee that thou art not able to do euen so much I tell thee once for all that thou must not presume to do it of thy selfe but call vpon thy heauenly Father and beseech him by his Sonne Christ Iesus that he will help thee both to grieue for thy life past and to purpose an amendment for the tyme to come and to confesse thy selfe well and lastly for all that whereof thou hast need And (h) Deus cutus nâ—tâ—â—a bonitaâ—â— cutus Voluntas potentia cuâ—us opus misâ—râ— or dâ—◠〈◊〉 S. Leo. he is of such a nature as that there is no cause why we should expect any other thing at his hands then sweetnes and succour since he who giueth the pardon is the same who doth first inspire vs with a disposition to demand it And if withall this thou do not find comfort euen after hauing heard the sentence of absolution yet (i) In the seruice of God a man must haue a patient noble courage be not thou dismayed thereat nor giue ouer that which thou hast begun For if in one confession thou hadst no comfort thou shalt be sure of it in others and that shall be fullfilled in thee which was sayd by that penitent King (k) Psal â—0 Dauid Thou shalt giue ioy and comfort to myne eares my bones which are humbled shall reioyce It is certainly so that although the wordes of sacramentall absolution do not giue a man such a certainty of pardon as that he can beleeue (l) Not as an article of Faith it by fayth or know it by expresse euidence yet do they giue such repose and consolation as wherwith the powers of our soule may be recreated which by sinne were humbled and oppressed And let no man giue ouer to aske pardon for if he persist in his desire the Father of mercyes will go out to meete his prodigall sonne and will giue him pardon and will cloath him with the heauenly garment of grace and he will take pleasure to see him so recouered by pennance who was lost by sinne Nor (m) Note let any man thinke it to be incredible that God should liue with sinners vnder the laws of so great tendernes sweetnes which are penned by his owne goodnes most faythful loue since he executed lawes of so great rigour vpon his Sonne as that louing him as he loued himselfe and being the person that he was and paying for the iniquity but of others he did not yet acquit him of any one only sinne for which his iustice was to be satisfyed And for this reason as (n) A comparison which is both significaÌ„t sweet a Lyon who how fierce soeuer he be if he yet be satisfyed and fully fed doth no harme to inferiour creatures which yet he would swallow vp if he were hungry so the iustice of God being satisfyed with that which was payed by Iesus Christ that diâ—ine lambe he doth them no hurt whome he findeth â—o approach towards him that so they may be incorporated to his body nor doth he hinder his mercy from working in them according to his custome And from hence it groweth that insteed of being an angry iudge to vs he becommeth a Father full of paâ—ty CHAP. XXI He proceeds in the discourse of Gods mercy which he sheweth to them that cordially aske pardon This is a consideration of power to conquere all Despaire A Cup (a) What a hideous thing sin is if it be truly
procure to be so not only by belieuing the promises in generall nor yet by belieuing that in particuler they are applied to him but by pennance also other meanes which are taught by the Catholike Church Not but that we do neuerthelesse assuredly belieue that many in the same Church are in the state of grace to whom without all doubt God fulfilleth the promises of being their defendour who hope in him but yet for as much as no man can be infallibly sure without speciall reuelation that himselfe is in that state of grace he is to belieue by the Catholike fayth that the diuine assistance is neuer wanting on the part of God but himselfe may and must feare that it will not perhaps take effect in him through his fault or negligence in doing his duty So that with some feare of himselfe and by confidence in our Lord he must procure to encourage and help himselfe by the word of God who promiseth succour to such as fight for him And (i) Note this feare or vncertainty in which God hath left vs of not knowing assuredly that we are in his fauour though it may seeme painefull is very profitable towardes the conseruing of our humility and the not vndervalewing of our neighbours and to spur vs vp towardes good workes And with so much the more caution and consideration must we do it as we are lesse certaine whether we be pleasing to our Lord or no. But do not for all this conceaue that thy hart must be dismayed with vaine feare for as much as this truth which I haue told thee did not keep Dauid from saying If (k) Psalâ— 15. whole armies shall rise against me yet shall not my hart be afraid if warre shal come vpon me yet wil I hope in God So also doth S. Paul (l) Heb. 13. admonish vs that we should serue our selues of those wordes which God sayd I will not forsake thee I will not abandon thee in such sort as that we may confidently say Our Lord is my helper and I will not feare what man can do These and the like wordes do not wholy take away all the feare which a Christian for his owne part ought to haue but it taketh away all excesse thereof by the confidence which is to be placed in God And thus we are to walke between hope and feare and so much more as the loue increaseth so much doth the hope also increase and so much also is feare diminished And (m) An excellent rule therefore if thou haue a mind to feele in thy selfe that courage of mind and the little feare which perfect men do find cast thou away al tepidity from thy selfe take the businesse of vertue to hart and then in that very hart of thyne thou shalt read that courage which now thou readest but in Bookes Then shalt thou be able to fight boldly against the Diuell although he circle theâ— round about to deuoure thee for thou shalt haue a hope to be defended by Iesus Christ who is the strong Lyon of Iuda He alwayes ouercommeth in vs if we do not loose our confidence and if like cowards we do not deliuer vp our selues with our hands bound behind vs to our enemies without resoluing to fight Our Lord doth not suffer these warrs and temptations to come to his friendes but for their greater good as it is written Blessed (n) laâ— 1. is the man who suffereth temptation for he being so proued shall receaue the crowne of life which God promiseth to such as loue him He was pleased also that patience in troubles and the standing fast on foot for his honour in tentations should be the touchstone whereby his friends were to be tryed For (o) Note it is no signe of a true friend if he only accompany another in occasions of case but to stand fast by him in tyme of tribulation And as all men would be glad to haue approued friends to stand fast by them in the tyme of affliction and triall accounting of it as their owne iust so doth God desire to haue his and like a thankfull person he sayth to them You are the men who haue remayned with me in my temptations And as an aboundant rewarder he sayth further to them I (p) Lue â—â— dispose of my kingdome to you as my Father disposed of it to me that you may eate and drinke at my table in my kingdome companions heere in payne and afterwards in the Kingdome of glory Thou must encourage thy selfe to fight manfully in the warrs which are made against thee to deuide thee from God since he is thy helper on earth and thy reward in heauen Remember how S. Anthony being cruelly vvhipped and beaten by the Diuells lifting vp his eyes to heauen saw the roofe of his Cell all open whereby a beame of so admirable light did enter as at the presence thereof all the Diuells fled away and the payne of his wounds forsooke him with profound internall sighes he sayd to our Lord who then appeared to him Where wert thou O my good Iesus where wert thou when I was so ill handled by the enemies why wert thou not heere in the beginning of my combat that so thou mightest haue preuented or cured all my soares Wherunto our Lord answered Heere I was froÌ„ the very beginning but I stood looking on to see how thou diddest carry thy self in thy combate And because thou hast fought manfully I wil euer help thee thou shalt be famous throughout the whole earth By these wordes and by the vertue of our Lord he rose vp so full of courage as to find by experience that he had gotten then more strength then he had lost before In (q) A most comfortable and true doctrine this sort doth our Lord treat his friends and he leaueth them oftentimes in traunces of so great danger as that they scarce know where to set a foot nor do they find one hayre of strength by which they can take hold nor are they able to help themselues by the memory of those fauours which in former tymes they had receaued of God but they remayne as if they were naked and in profound darcknes being giuen ouer to the persecution of their enemyes But suddainly when they least looke for it our Lord doth visite them and deliuer them and leaue them with more strength then they had before thrusteth those enemies vnder their feet And the soule howsoeuer it be more weake in nature then the Diuell doth feele in it selfe such a powerfull strength that it seemeth to teare him euen in pieces as a thing that is but weake and without resistance and not only groweth it not able to fight against one but against many Diuells so great is the courage which it feeleth to haue comfreshly towards it from heauen and wherewith it doth not only defend it selfe but it sayth with Dauid I will persecute my enemies and I will take them I will
not returne till they be conquered and deseated that they may no more remaine vpon their feet but they shall fall vnder mine What is there of greater profit then that which S. Augustine beggeth when he sayth O Lord make me know thee with an (r) Yea his prayer was heard amourous knowledge and let me also know my selfe Now (f) The excellent vse fruit of tēptations desolations what meanes is there so proper for the making him know himselfe as to see himselfe experimentally in such traunces That he may touch as a man may say with his owne hands his owne weakenesse and that so very truly as to be wholy vnbeguiled of any estimation which he might make of himselfe And on the otherside he findeth by experience how faythfull God is in fulfilling the promises of his succour in the tyme of necessity and how powerfull he is in deliuering his seruantes from so great weakenesse by the suddaine gift of so admirable strength and how ful he is of mercy in visiting and pittying them who are so extreamely afflicted By this meanes a man doth fall flat vpon his face acknowledging his pouerty and misery and he adoreth his God by both louing him and hoping for succour from him when he shall find himselfe in new dangers S. Paul (t) Rom. 5. affirmeth that it hapned to himselfe after this manner I will not sayth he haue you ignorant my Brethren of the tribulation that we suffered in Asia whereby we were afflicted aboue measure and aboue our owne strength so (u) We must not be deiected in being much afflicted since S. Paul himselfe was discomforted farre as that euen to liue was a trouble to vs and we did within our selues belieue assuredly that there was no meanes for vs to escape from death And this hapneth so to the end that we might not haue confidence in our selues but in God who giueth life to the dead He who hath deliuered vs out of so great dangers and by whom hereafter we also hope to be deliuered CHAP. XXX Of many reasons which there are why we must hope that our Lord will deliuer vs out of all tribulation how greiuous soeuer it be and of two significations which this worde Belieue may be accounted to haue It is true which S. Gregory sayth That the accomplishment of thinges past giueth assurance concerning things to come And since men are wont to trust others vpon taking pawnes we seeme not to do much for God if we hope for a deliuerance out of future tribulation since he hath so often done it in tymes past It (a) A liuely comparison wherin we ought to take much comfort is certayne that if any man should haue made vs find his loue and fauour in succouring vs ten or twelue seuerall times in our troubles we should belieue he loued vs and that still he would do vs fauour if in other afflictions of ours we should haue need And why then shall we not haue a confident beliefe that God will defend vs in all our dangers since they are not twelue but many more tymes that we haue taken experience of his succour in our tribulations Remember well how often he hath drawen thee with victory out of those sharpe skirmishes of thyne against thy aduersaries and thou wert gratefull vnto him for it and thereupon thou didst conceaue a reason to belieue and confide that he loued thee since after the tempest he sent fayre weather and ioy after teares and since he had byn thy true Father and defendour And why then if now he please to try thy confidence thy loue and thy patience by a present tribulation as if he hid himselfe because he answereth not to thy cryes dost thou let thy selfe fall into such weakenesse as that the present triall which commeth to thee maketh thee loose the confidence which in many former proofes thou hadst gained It is true that we feele those things most which at the present lye vpon vs and if thou markest the straytes wherin thou findest thy selfe and how our Lord doth not free thee of them thou wilt perhaps conceaue that our Lord hath layd aside the care which formerly he had of thee and thou wilt say as the Apostles did in that great sea-tempest to our Lord who then was sleeping Maister (b) Marc 4. doest thou not care though we perish and thus wilt thou be ouertaken by the reprehension of that scripture which sayth The foole changeth like the moone Because it is sometymes after one manner and sometymes after another And thou wilt be like a Vane vpon the top of a house which is subiect to many changes in one day because it is gouerned by euery wind Thou wert in possession of our Lord as one that was carefull of thee and thy defence in the tyme of trouble because then he breathed vpon thee by the wind of his mercy and comfort wherewith he gaue thee deliuerance and thou didst pay him with thankes And because now there blowes another wind wherewith our Lord is pleased to prooue and trouble thee thou art no longer of that beliefe and confidence which before thou hadst So that thou doest belieue but what thou seest thou dost not valew our Lord but according to that which at the instant tyme he doth towards thee without helping thy selfe of that which thou hast tried at many other tymes that so at the present thou mayst be comforted in our Lord. A strange incredulity was theirs who hauing seene the meruayles of God in Egypt and the victories and fauours which he wrought for them in the desert would not take his word whereby he told them that they should enter into the land of promise For this sayth S. Paul they entred not And so is it true though not according to equality yet with some resemblance that the disconfidence and pusillanimity of that man is great who notwithstanding that God hath deliuered him many tymes frō dangers past groweth not yet to confide that he shall not be abandoned nor confounded in the danger eyther present or future since as we haue sayd the hope which one putteth in our Lord if the man be not infault wil neuer faile nor wil there be cause that a man should say I was deceaued Now it is to be vnderstood that sometymes this word (c) Note Belieue is taken for that worke which the vnderstanding performeth by setling it selfe in the truthes of the Catholike fayth with a supreme kind of certitude as formerly hath been sayd And he that belieueth against this fayth is called with a full mouth and is indeed an Heretike and an incredulous person and such an errour belieued hath the name of an heresy or of incredulity But the disconfident person of whome we haue spoken hitherto is neither incredulous nor is he subiect to incredulity because he hath no obligation to belieue in quality of an article of fayth that God will deliuer him out of that present trouble
hill full of horsemen and chariots round about Elizaeus who were the Angells of our Lord who came to defend the Prophet In such sort that if we will take the part of God we shal haue a multitude of Angells on our syde one of which number is able to do more for vs then all the powers of hell against vs. Therefore so great assistance should make vs able to despise the diuell and to lay all vaine feare aside and to giue vs the courage of â—ions â—gainst him in the vertue of Christ Who (u) The sweet and stronge power of our Lord Iesus was a meeke Lambe in deliuering himselfe to death was a Lion in dis-peopling hell ouercomming and binding the diuells and with his arme defending his beloued flock And if any man shall thinke that I haue been to prolixe in this argument let him attribute it to the desyre I haue that thou maiest not be one of the many whom I haue seene who for feare of the Diuell haue giuen ouer the seruice of God I well know that by this enemy some other warres are made euen more cruell then the aforesayd And I also know that in the very extremity of tribulation when already there is growne to be no strength in him that suffers nor wise knowledge in him that guides the shipp and when the infernall Lion and Beare meanes to swallow vp the poore sheep it growes to be comforted and that pitious Dauid Iesus Christ taketh the sheep without harme out of the mouth of the Lion cutting in pieces him that was carrying it away My selfe am a witnesse of greater tribulations then I could possibly haue belieued if I had not seene them and of the meruailous and pitious prouidence of God who doth not in afflictioÌ„ abandon them that seeke him although it be with many frailties and faultes And (x) Note this for thy comfort although I haue seene many of them who feared God to haue byn grieuously assaulted in these fightes I neuer saw one that ended ill And therefore whosoeuer shall find himselfe in these traunces although he seeme conueyed euen into the very belly of the whale let him cal euen from thence vpon Iesus Christ and let him serue himselfe of the good aduise which his Ghostly Father shall giue him And let both of them haue good hope in that good sheephard who gaue his life for his sheep who killeth and quickneth who placeth men as it were in hell and draweth them out aliue from thence For although at one tyme he send troubles at another tyme he taketh them away and that to the great aduantage of him that suffereth the tribulation CHAP. XXXI That the first thing which we are to heare is diuine Truth by meanes of Faith which is the beginning of all spirituall life and which teacheth vs so high things as that they exceed all humane discourse ALL that hitheâ—to is sayd hath byn to giue thee to vnderstand whom thou art not to â—eare and to help thee to these directions which thou hast read It remaineth that now I tell thee whom thou art to heare that so thou mayst fulfill the first word which the prophet speaketh Hearken O Daughter And know that he who deserueth to be hearkned to is only Truth But because there are many Truths the hearing or knowing whereof doth make little to our purpose I tell thee since heere we are to speake of the (a) Note well that when the Authour throughout his whole discourse of Fayth doth speake of Christianity or Christiâ—s he meaneth only such as beleeue professe the holy Catholikâ— Aposâ—olik Roman Fayth as appeareth elswhere aboundantly especially Cap. 4â— Catholike faith which by vs Christians is imbraced that thou art to heare and learne that which God speaketh in his holy Scripture and in his Catholike Church This faith is the beginning of a spirituall life and therefore as I sayd before it is with much reason that we are first admonished by the prophet of that which first it is fit for vs to do since S. Paul (b) Rom. 10. affirmeth That faith comes by hearing This fayth is the first reuerence whereby the soule adoreth her creatour belieuing most highly of him as is fit to be belieued of God For although some things of God may be ariued to by reason which S. Paul (c) Roâ—â— 1. doth call The manifest of God yet the Mysteries which faith belieuedâ— cannot be reached out-right by reason Therefore we say that faith belieueth that which it seeth not and doth firmely adore that which lieth hid from reason And this is giuen vs to be vnderstood by the two Seraphims which couered the face of that great Lord in the Temple which Isaias (d) Isa 6. saw and so also when Moyses came neere to treat with our Lord vpon the mountayne the (e) Ixod â—4 Scripture sayth That he entred into the obscurity or cloude where our Lord was A strang thing it may seeme that God should place his dwelling in darknes since he is most pure and perfect light which endureth no darknesse as S. Iohn (f) 1. Ioâ—â— 1. saith But because he is a light so very bright and so ouershining that as S. Paul (g) 1. Tim. â— doth witnesse he dwelleth in light which is ineccessible he is sayd to dwell in (h) The true reason why we cannot arriue to see God darknesses because no eye created eyther of man or angelâ— can arriue to his mysteries by the force of reason And (i) Note for this cause in regard of such eyes the light is called darknes Not because such light is obscure but for that it is a light which doth infinitly exceed all vnderstanding As when we see that a wheele doth moue with extremity of speed we vse to say that it stirreth not And we speake in this manner because our eyes are not able to hold pace with so swift a motion not because there is indeed any want of motion but for that it doth outstrip the ability of our sight Not only doth our Fayth reuerence God by beleeuing that which reason cannot reach but besides it doth professe him to be so high that howsoeuer God be clearely seene by his owne light in heauen there is yet no vnderstanding either humane or Angelicall which of him can see all that is to be seene No will no delight although they al should be ioyned in one are able to loue him or enioy him as much as there is reason in him both of loue and ioy Only (k) God only truly vnderstandeth God God is he that comprehendeth himself and creaturs when they haue seene and loued and enioyed and praysed him withall the powers of their hart they do reuerence him also by knowing further that in comparison of that which he is and of that vvhich remayneth to be sayd of him and of that seruice which is his due all that which they know of him and which they do for him
is very little And therefore falling vpon their faces they adore him vvith a profound silence confessing that he only is his own perfect prayse to which they are not able to reach And this silence is an honour very fit for God for it is a confession that such prayse is due to him as cannot be expressed by all the creatures Of this honour Dauid (l) Psal â—4 sayth To thee O God is prayse due in Sion In such sort that although in heauen there be an incessant voyce of diuine (m) Isa 6. prayse saying Holy Holy Holy Lord God of hoastes with other admirable prayses which day and night they yeild to him yet do they also confesse in silence that our Lord is greater then they can either expresse or vnderstand For (n) Psal 17. he mounted aboue the Cherubim and he flew vpon the winges of the wind and there is none how speedy soeuer that must thinke to ouertake him And all they who shall know see him must be faine to say that which the children of Israel sayd when they saw bread comming from heauen Man-hu which signifieth what is this Admiring as the Queen of Saba did that infinite abysâ—us of light whereof although they shall see in heauen much more then they heard therof on earth yet can they not comprehend it all Such is the God whome vve haue and such doth our Fayth teach him to be singing that which Dauid (o) Psal â—0 sayth The heauen of the heauen is for our Lord because the secret of what he is after the aforesayd manner is for himself alone since he only comprehendeth himself CHAP. XXXII How agreable to reason it is to belieue the Mysteries of our Fayth although they exceed all humane reason ALTHOVGH thou hast heard that our Fayth belieueth certayne thinges which by reason alone cannot be arriued to yet take heed thou do not thinke that to belieue them is a thing either against reason or without reason For as it is very (a) For if he could it would not be fayth but knowledg farre from him that belieueth euidently to vnderstaÌ„d that which he beleeueth so is it farre from the beliefe of a Christian to be light or to wauer in belieuing For we haue such reasons to belieue as that we may dare to appeare and giue account of our Fayth before any Tribunall how exact soeuer as (b) 1. Pet â— 5. S. Peter doth aduise that we Christians should be prepared to do This thou shalt easily vnderstand by the similitude which heere I put If thou shouldst heare say that a man borne blind had suddenly recouered his sight or that a dead man were restored to life it is plaine that thy reason could not reach to the meanes of doing this because it would exceed the boundes of nature and reason doth not reach to supernaturall thinges But yet so (c) Note this well for it iustifyeth Catholike giueth ProtestaÌ„ts reason to be both more pious and more prudent many and so well conditioned witnesses might auow the hauing seene it that not only it would be no leuity to belieue it but it would be incredulity and hardnes of hart not to beleeue it For though reason cannot reach to know how a blind man may come to see or a dead man return to liue yet at least it reacheth to this That it is reason to belieue such and so many witnesses And (d) Obserue well these gradations for they are most reasonable and they are all in fauour of Catholiques if they should dye in confirmation of that which they affirmed there would be more reason to belieue it And if they should worke other miracles as great or greater then the former in confirmation thereof the fault of not belieuing it would then be great howsoeuer the thing which they affirmed to haue happened were very strange and high Iust so art thou to vnderstand that there is nothing which reason can lesse reach vnto theÌ„ the cleare vnderstanding of that which is belieued by Fayth nor is there yet any thing so agreable to reason as to belieue it and it is an extreme fault not to belieue it It is certayne that for the true miracles which Moyses wrought the people of Israel belieued him to be the messenger of God and that he spake with God and receaued the law at his handes as giuen by God And so also the Mâ—â—ves who are a bestiall kind of people belieued that Mahomet for a few and they false miracles which he wrought was a messenger of God and as from such an one they râ—ceaued the bestiall law which he gaue them Well then do thou consider the true miracles which haue byn wrought by Iesus Christ our Lord and by his Apostles and by other holy men in confirmation of our faith from that tyme to this and thou shalt find that as easily thou mayst count the sandes of the sea as the multitudes of them and that incomparably they do exceed al the others which haue byn wrought in the world both in quality quantity Three only dead persons were raised to life in the whol course of the old law which continued almost two thousand yeares And if thou consider the new law thou shalt find that S. Andrew alone did raise at once forty dead that so it might be fulfilled which our Lord sayd He (e) Ioan 〈◊〉 14. that belieueth in me shall do greater things then I. And that so his great power may be seene since not only by himselfe but in such other of his seruants as he is pleased to worke he can do what he will though it be nouer so wonderfull I haue related to thee that which one Apostle did at one tyme to the end that hereby thou mayest vnderstand the innumerable miracles which haue byn wrought both by that Apostle and by other both Apostles Saintes of the Christian Church And although in the beginning of the Church there were so many and so great miracles wrought for the confirmation of our faith that the proofe thereof is superabundant yet (f) That true miracles are wrought to this day and the causes why it pleaseth God to worke them so great is the desire which our Lord hath of the saluation of vs all and that we all may come to the knowledge of his truth and that they who do already know it may be comforted and confirmed therein that his prouidence hath care to renew or refresh (g) Of miracles which confirme the faith of Christ this kind of proofe and to giue testimony to the truth by new miracles And so is there hardly to be found an age wherein some Christian or other is not canonized for a Saint which (h) I would to God that any reasonable ProtestaÌ„t would but informe himselfe well of the exact and rigorous care which the Catholike Church doth we when there is question of Canonizing any Saint is neuer done without sufficient proofe of a
perfect life that he hath led and of many miracles that he hath wrought Whereof if any man were curious would make search he should find no difficulty euen in our tymes to meete with miracles amongst vs and in the Indies both Orientall and Occidentall in more aboundance CHAP. XXXIII Of how firme and constant and authorized witnesses our faith hath had who haue giuen their liues for the truth thereof IT is possible that some may doubt of the truth of our witnesses which speake and write of the multitude of miracles which haue byn wroght in the Christian Church For as they are people who detest our faith so it seemeth to them that if these witnesses should be true they must not fayle to confesse that we haue much more reason to belieue our Truth then they their Errour But I aske that since they will not giue credit to our witnesses and therefore they refuse to receyue our fayth why giue they credit to their owne witnesses in receiuing their false behefe Whereas (i) A wise and excellent consideration it is certaine and cleere that if they would take the paines to consider it our witnesses do far exceed theirs in all kind of weight of authority There haue byn men in the Christian Church whose (k) The high vertue and piety of many Catholike Christians life hath euidently byn so good as to prooue that they were free from all couetousnesse from all appetite of honour and from all that which flourisheth and is esteemed in the world being full of all vertue and Truth so farre as to dye rather then loose it To what interest can he pretend by the testimony that he giueth who doth not only not pretend to any thing of this world but euen that which he hath of his owne he casteth away What interest can mooue that man to be a false witnesse who giueth his life vnder most greiuous tormentes in confirmation of what he sayth And though some vse to be drawne by force of tormentes to confesse that which the Iudge desires although it be against truth yet if ours would say that which is desired by the Iudge not only should they not loose their goods and life but much more prosperous should they haue remayned by the much which the Iudges promised and would haue performed But despâ—â—ing all this they chose to dy that they might not abandon their faith or vertue which the Iudge would so faine haue had them loose So that they loued no temporall thing nor feared they any thing that was temporall how terrible soeuer No exception therefore can be taken to that which such men say and if it should seeme to any that these proofes were sufficient to make vs hold them for good men and that willingly they would deceaue no body but that themselues were yet deceaued and did so deceaue others without knowing it To this I answeare that in the Church there haue byn men shedding their bloud for Christ so euidently full of (l) The great wisdome of many Catholike Christians who haue suffered death in confirmation of the fayth of Christ wisedom that no reason can be giuen why we should belieue of them that they were deceaued in a matter of so great weight and that so far as to loose their liues for the same For the much interest that a man hath in any thing doth make him looke looke againe what it is that he ratifyeth nor doth a man vse to lay downe his life in confirmation of a truth if he be not sufficiently certifyed thereof And it is a thing notorious that so great wisedome hath byn found among the Christian people as therein they exceed all other generations of men no lesse then wise maisters do ignorant schollers And that there haue byn not one nor one hundred but a mighty number of such persons is a very great testimony of the truth of our faith in confirmation whereof they gaue their liues And (m) Let the false martyrs of foolish Iohn Fox be vnpartially compared with out true ones and their basenesse bestiality will soone appeare although we read of some who also dyed in confirmation of their Errour yet ours do incomparably exceed them in number vertue and in wisedome CHAP. XXXIV That the perfect life of such as haue belieued our fayth is a great testimony of the Truth therof and how farre Christians haue exceeded all other Nations in goodnesse of life SINCE we haue made mention of the goodnes vertue which hath been found in our Christian Martyrs it is not reason that I forbeare to let thee know how great a testimony of their Fayth is the perfect life of them that belieue it Since (a) Another excellent consideration of the perfection of the life of many of them who professe the Christian Catholike Fayth God being good and the maker of all thinges that are good al reason telleth vs that God is a friend to the good since euery one loueth another that is like himselfe euery cause the effect which is produced by it Now if he be a friend he is to help them in their necessityes wherof the greatest of all is the saluation of their soules And c saued they can neuer be without the knowledge of God nor can they know him so as to be saued by him if he do not discouer himselfe vnto them It therefore remaynes that since none of these things can be denyed if on earth there be any such knowledge of God (b) No saluation without fayth which iâ— entirely and precisely true as by which meÌ„ may be saued God giueth this to Christians since amongst them there haue byn and are people of the most eleuated life and most perfect manners that hath beene seene in any tyme or in any generation It seemes that the Philosophers were the flower of Nature and the very beauty thereof where it seemeth that she employed al her streÌ„gth towardes that which concerned liuing well in conformity of reason But laying aside those deformed sinnes which S. Hierome imputeth to the chiefe of those Philosophers and to speake of some who appeared to carry more resemblance of vertue in them then others did so much do they of the Christian Church exceed those others as that we haue weake and young women amongst vs of more vertue then they had who were yet amongst them esteemed for heroicall men For who amongst them will be able to equall the courage and â—oy wherewith S. Catherine S. Agnes S. Lucy S. Agatha with innumerable others like to them did offer themselues to most grieuous torments and to death it selâ—e for the loue of Truth and Vertue And if in the vertue of Fortitude which seemeth to be so much estranged from the weakenes of that sexe these did so farre exceed those others as well in number as in the greatnes of the torments and their â—oy in suffering them how much greater will the excesse be in Humility Charity
prouided a day for thy selfe wherein thou wilt complaine of this offence and say My name is blasphemed vpon your occasion amongst the infidells and to chastize him with seuere punishment who in steed of gathering togeather with thee that which was scattered as he ought to haue done doth eyther scatter that which was gathered or doth hinder it from being so And (l) Let men be as wicked as they will God will stil be iust good then wilt thou make the whole world vnderstand well mough that thou art good though thou haue seruantes that be wicked For the sinnes which they commit displease thee And thou doest forbid them by thy commaundmentes and thou doest seuerely punish them CHAP. XXXV That the very conscience of him that deâ—yreth to obtaine vertue doth testify that our Faâ—th is true and how the desire of leading an euill life doth both procure the loosing of Faith and hinder the getting it BY how much more the witnesse of any thing in question is nearer to vs and well knowne by vs so much doth his credit increase towards the making vs belieue that be sayth true And therefore since I haue â—old thee of some of the meanes which giue testimony of the truth of our Fayth Hearken heere to some others and those not past but present And they againe are so neere thee that they are in thy very hart if thou wilt receaue them and take particuler knowledge of them as thou vsest to take of those thinges which passe there This is grounded vpon the word which our Lord spake If (a) Ioan. 7. any man will doe the will of my Father he shall know whether my doctrine be of God or no. Blessed be thou O Lord who art so assured of the iustice of this thy cause that is the Truth of thy doctrine that thou leauest the sentence which is to proceed vpon it in the hands of whosoeuer will whether he be friend or enemy with this only condition That he who shall make himselfe the Iudge thereof will do the will of God which is but that he should be vertuous and so be saued It is (b) Note this well for it is a wise and most certayne truth certaynely so that if a man should cordially desyre to be good both towards God and towards himselfe and towards his neighbours and would seeke out the fittest doctrine that he could find for making himselfe such if before such an one I say they should lay all the Lawes and doctrines which are in the whole world both true and false to none of which he already carried any particuler affection or passion but did only ayme at the finding out of Truth this man laying aside all the rest would take in hand the Ghospell doctrine of Christ if he (c) According to the true sense therof which is only taught by the holy Catholique Church vnderstood it as a thing which might addresse him better to the end of his iust desires then any other And as he were practising the vertue that he aspired to he would be making experience of the efficacy of this doctrine how fit it were for all that is good for the soule and how wel it were framed for the reliefe of our necessityes and in how short a tyme with how great clarity it did help a man to be vertuous So that such a man comming on by the very experience of the power of this doctrine would confesse as our Lord hath sayd That it came from God and he would also say that which others sayd when they heard Iesus Christ our Lord preaching to them neuer did man speake so well And if euen they who know not Christ by fayth did but heare that admirable charitable word which our Lord himselfe did vtter with so loud a voice If (d) Ioan 7 any man be thirsty let him come to me and drinke and if they would come and make triall of that delicious fullnes and so take experience of this doctrine with desire of being vertuous it is certaine that they would not remain in their infidelity and blindnes But (c) Behold heere the most true cause why Catholik Religion is no more imbraced in England for as much as they are friendes of the world and not of true and perfect vertue nor do they seeke with care the certainty of Truth and the knowledge of God they continue without hearing receauing it And although they heard it yet would it not be receaued by some because it would be contrary to the things which they desire And for this our Lord sayd to the Pharisees certaine wordes which I cyted once before How (f) 1. Ioan. 5. will you be able to belieue since you seeke honour one of another and seeke not the honour which is of God alone And not without great waight of reason did S. Paul (g) 1. Tim 〈◊〉 affirme That some had lost their faith by giuing themselues to couetousnes Not that a man doth instantly loose fayth by committing of any sinne except heresy but for that a hart which is affected to thinges of the world disaffected from vertue when it finds in Christian doctrine certaine Truthes which are contrary to the wicked desires of the same hart and which condemneth vnder so grieuous paynes the thinges which it selfe desires to practise it growes by little and little to seeke other doctrine which may not be of so bad tast in the mouth nor keep such a barking against the ill affections actions thereof And (h) The case of most Protestants who are intelâ—â—gâ—â— so the will being ill inclined is wont to be a meanes of putting blindnes vpon the Vnderstanding and preuailes so farre at last as to make a man giue ouer that Fayth which cryeth out against wickednes that he may follow and belieue other doctrines wherin he may be more at ease and liue how he listes And as this corrupted will is a meanes sometymes to make him loose Fayth that hath it so is it also a meanes to deâ—aâ—ne him from it that hath it not For both these those carry a fastidious kind of mislike against perfect vertue without alleaging in very deed any other cause but only That it is vnsauoury or too highly good so they haue also such a mislike against the Truth of Fayth as being contrary to that wickednes which they loue CHAP. XXXVI That the admirable change which is made in the hart of sinners and the great fauours which our Lord doth to them who follow him with perfect vertue and do call vpon him in their necessityes is a great testimony to the Truth of our Fayth IN how much better case are they who with desire to serue God haue chosen to imbrace this perfectioÌ„ of vertue though al they that serue him do enioy otherwise if they will marke it many testimonyes which Fayth placeth in their hart But especially do they enioy it who serue him with a profiting and
doth know but he that feeleth it For as much as Isaias (d) Isa 4â— sayth That the peace of such persons is as a riuer as the very gulfes of the sea And S. Paul (e) Philip. 4. sayth That this peace of God doth exceed all vnderstanding And S. Peter saith That this ioy cannot be recounted A hidden manna it is which is giuen to him that manfully ouercometh himselfe and they only know it who receiue it And from whom now doth this so perfect vertue proceed and this rest of mind which is the earnest-penny and introduction to eternall felicity Certainely it is not by meanes of the Diuell For (f) Note although sometymes the Diuell as we haue sayd haue counselled some to doe some particuler good that by meanes of those counsells he might gaine credit to himself wherby the better to deceiue them afterward yet to make a man perfectly good and a fulfiller of the law of nature which cannot be denied to be good since God is the authour of nature it selfe is a worke which neither the Diuell doth not can effect who cannot giue that goodnes which himselfe hath not Nor yet is it the worke of man alone for as much as to haue vertue and much more to haue perfect vertue wherby God may perfectly be serued is the guift of the Father of lights from whome euery perfect guift descendes And (g) See therefore how vniustly the Catholike doctrine is charged by the Caluinists to be a doctrine of presumptioÌ„ the same man doth find by experience more then once that he is deliuered from sinne out of which he was not able to depart and that he is fauoured with certaine graces which it was not in his power to compasse Since therefore this perfect vertue commeth neither from the Diuell nor from the spirit of man it remayneth that we conclude it to be infused by God when (h) The perfection is only to be found in the holy Catholique Church he is inuoked serued as the Catholike Church doth teach And man findeth by experience that this vertue commeth to him by the meanes of Fayth in confirmation of the truth thereof for out of a lye such profit of light or knowledg could not come for the procuring of perfect Vertue and for the inuoking of God to fauour him in the pursuite thereof S. Paul vseth this proofe when he speaketh thus to the Galathians I desire only that you will tell me The holy Ghost which you receaued was it by meanes of the workes of the Law or els by means of fayth As if he should haue sayd Since I preaching Fayth to you and not the old law and you belieuing it and disposing of your selues thereunto by your will did receaue the holy Ghost why do you now returne to the old Law since you find by experience that without it and by meanes of Fayth and of pennance vpon the receauing of Baptisme you haue receaued the holy Ghost with the graces benefits therof And so to proue the thing which we haue in hand That perfect verene which is obteyned by the right vse of Fayth and by those other meanes which it teacheth vs doth giue testimony that it is true because towardes the obtaining of so good a thing it was a meanes and it taught vs also other meanes And so these persons who are so rich through the graces which come to them by Christ Iesus are so adherent to him so enriched by him that they haue no thought of looking for the Messias whom the Iewes expect nor of enioying that paradise which Mahomet doth entice men by For as they despise those bestiall delights of the flesh which Mahomet in his paradise doth promise and those other transitory benefits of the earth which the Iewes by their Messias do expect so they willingly take their leaue both of the one and the other howsoeuer they be intreated to the contrary And they remember how it was prophesied that in the tyme of the Messias They (i) Ezech. 14. 16. Ierem. 31. should know that our Lord was God by his breaking the chaynes of the yâ—â—kes of men and that God would giue men new hartes and that he would write his Law in the very howells of them that would receaue it Now because they make very great coniectures that they haue a part in these blessings it is a testimony to them that Christ is come By these and other effects which cannot be related and which they haue within themselues they are so full of ioy and peace and confidence in Iesus Christ as that if men should tell them of another Christ that were (k) Matt. 14. in the desert or in the secret closets of the house or that he were farre off or neere hand they would neuer bestow the seeking of him For since the true Christ is but one and that they find the conditions of being true in him in whom they do belieue with the same fayth wherby they accept the one they reiect the rest But (l) Note yet I say not this to the end thou shouldest thinke that Christians belieue by the only experimeÌ„tal motiues which they find within themselues for they only belieue through faith which is infused by God as heer after I will shew But this I haue only sayd that thou mayst know the many motiues that we haue to belieue since we are treating of this subiect And one of them is The experiments which perfect men do find in their soule which since they are thinges that passe vp and downe in their hart thou art not to looke for them in bookes or in the liues of others but in thy owne priuate conscience by striuing to attayne perfect vertue That so as I was saying in the beginning thou mayst haue witnesses both neere thee and well knowne by theo as remayning vvithin thee and that thou mayst fullfill what the Scripture sayth Drinke the water of thyne owne Cisterne and thou shalt see such meruailes vvrought within thy selfe as shall take from thee all appetite of seeking any vvithout thy selfe CHAP. XXXVIII That if the power and greatnes of the worke of Belieuing be well pondered we shall find great testimony to proue that it is much reason that the vnderstanding of man do serue God by imbracing of Fayth HE (a) A worthy a wise discourse that had light to know and a steedy hand to weigh the very worke of belieuing vvould be in no necessity of other witnesses towards the receauing thereof but euen therein vvould find beauty to make him loue it reason to imbrace it For who is he that will not conceaue it to be wholy fit that a creature should serue his Creatour with all his power vvithal his meanes And so also do all men know that although we owe him this seruice withall that we haue yet specially since God is a spirit the prime seruice that we are to do him is with our spirit
through the liknes which it hath to God And because in our spirit there is reason and there is a will and that it cannot be denyed but that a man oweth God seruice by his will for the same cause the seruice of the vnderstanding must not be denyed For there is no reason that man shold serue God with the lesser facultyes that he hath within him and not serue him with the cheife which are his vnderstanding and his will Nor yet is it reason that (b) Note well since the seruice that the will doth to God is by obeying him the vnderstanding should remaine without obedience to God And as the obedience of the will consisteth in denying a mans owne will for doing of the will of God so the seruice which the vnderstanding is to do him is to deny it selfe for the belieuing of the truth of God For if the seruice of the vnderstanding did consist in conceauing or consenting to any thing which it might be able to reach by the only hand of reason eyther it would not deserue the name of seruice or at least but seruice of an inferiour rancke since therein there were no obedience Or if there were any obedience it would be but of the will which God might commaund to impose vpon the vnderstanding that it should thinke this or that But to the end that the seruice and obedience of the vnderstanding may be proper only to it selfe it is necessary that it consent to somewhat which it selfe doth not vnderstand and thereby it doth truly abase and deny it selfe and obey and make it selfe captiue and do reuerence to the supreame God Fulfilling that which S. Paul (c) 1. Cor. 10. requireth That we must captiuate our Vnderstanding to the seruice of Fayth which in another place is stiled The obedience of faith So (d) Note this well also as the goodnes of God exacteth at our hands that we loue him and his liberality requireth that we hope for mercy from him in the same manner doth his truth require to be belieued since there is no lesse reason for the one of these then for the other And as the obedience which we giue to God by our loue presupposeth that we deny the loue of our selues and as the hope we haue in him is to worke by an independance vpon our selues in the same manner the obedience which we are to yeald to his truth is performed by a departure from our owne seeming and a beliefe of what he affirmeth with greater constancy then if our selues did vnderstand it For otherwise what should one be beholding for to another in belieuing that which that other sayth not because he sayth it but because himselfe doth so vnderstand it But belieuing beyond vnderstanding deserueth prayse as carrying difficulty with it as one would trust without a pawne or walke without a staffe or loue an enemy for Gods sake If therefore it be done for God it will be true vertue and worthy to be offered to God and to receiue a reward at his hands And since the will of a man is dedicated to God and sanctified by the abnegation of it selfe the vnderstanding must not rest as if it were profane by belieuing it selfe without obedience to God Since in heauen it is to be made happy by the cleare vision of his face For as S. Augustine sayth the reward of fayth is to See so that no discourse of reason will permit that the vnderstanding should forbeare to do seruice here on earth now the seruice which is proper to it is by belieuing CHAP. XXXIX Wherein answere is giuen to an obiection which some make against our Fayth by saying that God teacheth things which are too high SOME man may say being mooued eyther by these or other reasons That it is fit for a man to belieue that which he vnderstandeth not because God sayth it But that since this may be performed by belieuing diuers other things there is no cause why yet we shold belieue that which is belieued by Christians But tell me O you blind men what is the fault you find in that which we Christians do belieue And if your selues know not how to say what you thinke I will tell you what it is The (a) Note and take heed articles which of the height of God are to be belieued do seeme so high thinges to you that euen because they are so very high you belieue them not And the low or meane things which we belieue of the humility of God are so very low that euen for that very reason you hold them not to be worthy of God and so neither do you belieue them For tell me in that highest mystery of the most holy Trinity what other thing doth offend you but that it is so incomprehensible and that the sight of your vnderstanding being beaten back againe vpon your selues by the A bysse of that infinite light and the height of such a mystery you shut your eyes and with saying How can this be you forbeare to belieue it whereas it were agreable to all reason that we should thinke most highly of the most high and that we should ascribe to him the most high being and the most excellent being to which our vnderstanding could arriue And wheÌ„ we shal haue arriued to things very high we must yâ—â— belieue that in him there are stâ—l things higher which do wholy exceed our capacity This is to honour God and to hold him for God and for a great one For if our Vnderstanding could reach to all the height of God God would be little and consequently he could not be God For he could not be vnles he were infinite and the infinite is incomprehensible by any thing that is finite And since it is better that there be in God a supreme Communication since supreme Communication is due to a supreme goodnes and if this must also be it must be by communicating the very true and totall essence of it selfe and so there will be in God supreme fecundity as it is fit for God and not sterility which is a thing very far from him as he sayth (b) Isa 1â— by Isaias I who giue power to others that they may engender shall I perhaps remaine barren And although by making of Angells and men and the whole world he communicateth many fauours to it yet neither is this any such fecundity nor a Communication of an infinit Gooâ—â— because he giueth not his essence But he only giueth them the being and vertue which they hauâ—â— nor shall God leaue to be a solitary God notwithstaÌ„ding the many creaturs that accompany him since betweene him and them there is an infinite distance Iust so as Adam would not haue fayled to be solitary notwithstanding the many beastes and other creatures which were in the world how neere soeuer they had beene to him And that man might not remain alone God gaue him a companion which might hold resemblance and equality with
him So God is not solitary but in the vnity of Essence there are three persons Nor is he couetous or barren since there is a communication of an infinite Deity Neither must thou forbeare to belieue that so it is although thou know not how it commeth to be so since euen because it is so high it carryeth a kind of trace or sent to be a thing of God And because it is better to be so then not euen for this very reason it is a thing which it is fit for God to haue and that so we should belieue it since of God we are to thinke according to the greatnes of God that is the highest that possibly we can imagine CHAP. XL. Wherein answere is made to thē who obiect against the receauing of our Faith that it teacheth meane and low thinges of God and how in these meane things which God teacheth most high glory is contayned NEITHER yet is there any reason to stumble at the humility which the most high God took vpon him abasing himselfe to become man to liue in pouerty and to dye vpon a Crosse For these workes are not only not to be sayd vnworthy of God but they are most worthy if they be well vnderstood Indeed if he had abased himselfe because he could not chuse or if by that abasement he had lost the height which he had before or if he had been moued to it by any interest of such an abasement But neither did he leaue to be what he was by taking that which he was not nor came he from heauen to earth by any constraint nor was he induced by regard of profit since God cannot increase in being rich But (a) Note this well discourse and learne to loue God greatly by it he was moued to it by his owne only goodnes and by the loue which he bare to men and the desire which he had to recouer them by such meanes as might be of most glory to himselfe and of most aduantage to vs. And such was the meanes he tooke by making himselfe man and dying vpon a Crosse For there is not a greater signe of loue then that a man should dy for his friends Which loue so excellent did not spring from any desert of theirs but from his owne excellent goodnes So that his lownesse and his death do not argue in him any want of power or goodnesse For as much as he being omnipotent and wholy wise might haue giuen vs remedy by many meanes besides this but it argueth in him an immense excesse of loue and goodnes and this so much the more as God who loueth and suffereth this is the greater and as that which he suffered was more grieuous and painefull and they for whome he suffered were the more vnworthy and base And since in louing such persons his excellent goodnesse is manifested this worke is to be called a great height since in spirituall things high and good are all one and when it is the more good so much the more great and high it is And since the greatest honour which we can do any man is to hold him for good more then for being valiant or wise for as much as no mā who is sensible of honour doth not so desire it it is euident that since these workes do manifest his goodnes and loue more then all the rest they giue him consequently more honour and they giue it better then all the rest And (b) In true account nothing doth so exalt Christ our Lord as his abasement if in the opinion of ignorant persons the abasement which God hath made of himselve take honour from his dignity and height it ought in the iudgment of wise men to extoll the honour of his goodnes and consequently of his height and greatnes and so he looseth neither the one nor the other And not only doth his goodnes shine in these workes more then others but so also doth his wisedome and power other his most wonderfull attributes appeare therin For amongst all the workes which God hath wrought or is to work there is none equall in being moruailous nor is there to be found so great a miracle as that God should make himselfe man and suffer afterward for man And whosoeuer belieueth not this doth his best to take from God the greatest honour he hath and greater then if he should take the honour that is due to him for all the other workes which he hath made or is to make in (c) Since the Creation of the world Tyme Consider well of this and thou shalt discerne how the omnipotency and wisedome of Goth doth shine in making two so different extremes to meet in one as are God and man in the vnity of one person And note that his power is more declared in combatting and conquering our sinnes and death by the armes of our weaknes then if he had ouercome them with the weapons of his owne omnipotency as we sayd before whylest we were speaking of despaire And (d) An excellent discourse consider that when God continued in his greatnesse he had but a small people that serued him and the same went also dayly from him to adore strange Gods and euen when it did not so it serued him yet with much weakenes But when God abased himselfe so far as to be man and to dy for him it made such deep impression vpon the minds of men as that they who were high did abase themselues and the weake became strong the wicked good and finally there grew so great a change ouer the world as well in the destruction of idolatry as in the renouation of life and manners that the accomplishment of the word which our Lord spake was plainely seene (e) lo. m. 1◠When I shall be exalted from the earth and placed on the Crosse I will draw all things to my selfe And so it appeares that he obteyned that victory ouer the hartes of men by basenesse weakenes tormentes and death which he obteyned not whylest he remained in the height of his Maiesty And thus was that fullfilled which S. Paul (f) t. Cor. 1. sayth The weaknes of God is more thē the strength of men And so it also appeareth that God doth not only gaine the honour of goodnesse but of wisedome power also by taking vpon him our basenesse and by working that thereby which he wrought not by his greatnes For this it is that S. Paul (g) Rom. 1. sayth That he is not ashamed to preach the Ghospell since it is the vertue of God for the sauing of men For although this humanity hunger dishonour torment death be truly affirmed of God yet there is no cause for a Christian to be ashamed thereof since by meanes of these thinges God obteined the conquest ouer other thinges that were so mighty as are sinne and death and procured that man might obtayne the grace of God and his Kingdome which are the greatest things that could
But as god is far from being a deceauer so in this are we far from being deceaued Glory be to God for euer CHAP. XLIII That such is the greatnesse of our Fayth that none of the aforesayd motiues nor any other that can be deliuered are sufficient to make a man belieue with this diuine Fayth vnles our Lord doe incline a man to belieue by particular fauour HITHERTO thou hast heard some of the reasons which may incline a man to find that the Catholike Fayth is true to satisfy any man that should charge vs as if we were light in belieuing since we haue more â—otiues then any Nation of the world But with all this assure thy selfe that so great is the height of the Christian Fayth that although a man should haue both these and other motiues which might be thought of and although amongst the rest he shold haue also this other to see miracles wroght in confirmation of the Fayth with his owne eyes of flesh yet (a) Faith is the gift of God alone such a man shall not be able by his owne strength to belieue as a Christian must and as God commandeth him to belieue For the teaching hereof dependeth vpon an interiour Maister infusing Fayth into the vnderstanding whereby a man is taught and fortified towards this beliefe as Christ sayth That it is written in the (b) Isa 54. Prophets That (c) Ioan. 6. all shal be taught by God And the same Lord which S Peter had confessed for the true sonne of God and for the Messias promised in the law gaue him to vnderstand that he was not to thanke himselfe but to acknowledge that Fayth and confession as the guift of God and he sayd Plessed (d) Mat. 16. art thou Simon the sonne of Ionas for flesh and bloud hath not reuealed these thinges to thee but my Father which is in heauen And in another place he sayth All (e) Ioan. 6. they who heare and learne of my Father come to me A soueraigne Schoole is this where God the Father is he that teacheth and the doctrine which is taught is the Fayth of Iesus Christ his sonne and in that we are to walke by the paces of Fayth and Loue. This Fayth must not wholy rest vpon whatsoeuer motiues or reasons that may be brought for whosoeuer belieueth only vpon them doth not belieue in such sort as that his vnderstanding is so persuaded as to admit no place for doubt or scruple But the faith which God infuseth doth rest vpon the diuine Truth and maketh one belieue more firmely then if he saw it with his very eyes and touched it with his very hands and with greater certainty then That foure are more then three or the like which the vnderstanding seeth things with so great clarity as to haue no difficulty therein nor ability to doubt thereof though it would Then doth a man say to all the motiues which induced him to belieue as they of Samaria sayd to that Samaritan woman No longer now do we belieue for that which thou saydst for our selues haue seene and known that this is the Sauiour of the world But (f) Note although they say we haue knowne yet do not thou vnderstaÌ„d that they who belieue haue that kind of clarity of euideÌ„ce which the Philosophers cal Science For as before hath been expressed neither can the vnderstanding arriue by the reason thereof to haue clarity in thinges of Fayth nor can fayth haue euidence for so it should not be fayth nor would there be any merit in it It is true that fayth is sayd to be a kind of sight and that it is in the vnderstanding but because it is not with this clarity of euidence S. Paul sayth That we now see as by a glasse but heereafter we shall see in heauen face to face But the Samaritans say that they know Christ to be the Sauiour of the world to giue vs to vnderstaÌ„d That they belieue it with so great firmenes as that which they do most clearly know yea and much more then so For according to what we haue sayd he that imbraceth the fayth being infused by God belieueth it because it is affirmed by the Truth of God And (g) The reason of the infallibility of Fayth the great extent thereof now because this Truth is infinit and more certaine then all other Truths since by the participation thereof all other thinges receaue their strength of truth such a belieuer is so assured that he cannot be deceaued in what he belieueth as he is sure that God cannot faile to be true which certainty is the greatest of all others whatsoeuer And this maketh a man remayne so full of satisfactioÌ„ in this kind that there passeth not so much as a thought in his mind against this fayth or if any passe it passeth on so quickely as that it putteth him to little paine And if he be combatted by scruples or vayne thoughtes yet is he full of repose and quietnes in the interiour part of his vnderstanding for his beliefe is built vpon fine and firme stone which is Truth it selfe which he belieueth for the very Truth and not vpon other motiues Therfore can neither winds nor waters nor riuers driue it downe And if thou meruaile that in the vnderstanding of a man who is so various and changeable in his opinions who with so little firmenesse doth settle himselfe vpon the ground of reason there is yet in him so great a certainty and such a setled firme constancy that neither by meanes of argument or torment or example of others that loose their fayth nor for any thing either high or low he can be made to stirre from his beliefe I say that euen this may make thee know That this busines and this building is no effect of our force which cannot reach so farre A guift of God it is as S. Paul sayth which can neither be inherited nor merited not purchased by humane strength that no man may glory to haue it of himselfe but let them be faythfull in knowing that it is the fauour of God and giuen vs for his Sonne Christ Iesus sake as S. Peter sayth You were made faythfull by him Do not therfore meruaile that vpon the miserable sand of mans vnderstaÌ„ding so firme a building is erected For our Lord affirmeth thus It is the worke of God that you belieue in him whome he hath sent So that as God conducteth man to a supernaturall end which is to see him clearely in heauen so was he not content that man should belieue in him as meerely a man by the force of motiues miracles and other reasons But raysing him vp aboue himselfe and giuing him supernaturall force wherewith to belieue not with doubt scruple as a meere man would do but with certainty security as becommeth the Mysteryes of God And heereby we vnderstand That no man can call vpon Christ Iesus but in the Holy Ghost For
although it be not necessary that for belieuing a man must be in state of grace as heereafter I will shew yet can it not be done without the inspiration of the Holy Ghost For there S. Paul the Apostle is speaking of such workes of graces as these which the Deuines expresse to be giuen gratis This is that Fayth which inclineth the vnderstanding to belieue supreme Truth in that which the (h) Do not willfully mistake the Authour for whensoeuer he nameth the Christian fayth he meaneth the Catholike Roman as he sheweth plainly plentifully by this booke Catholike fayth affirmeth as the wil is inclined by loue to loue supreme goodnes And as the Mariners needle is carryed force of the North to turn straight towards the north so doth God moue the vnderstanding by that Fayth which he infuseth to go towards him by giuing a kind of credit which is (i) A true descriptioÌ„ of true Fayth which sheweth how noble and sublime a thing it is firme quiet and full of satisfaction And when this Fayth is perfect it carryeth in her company a certaine light whereby although it seeth not what it belieueth yet seeth it how fit it is to belieue the mysteryes of God And not only doth it feele no paine in belieuing but much delight as perfect vertue vseth to do which operateth with facility constancy and pleasure This is that Fayth which for much reason is to be prized and honoured since by it we honour God as S. Paul sayth that Abraham did giuing to God the honour of being so mighty as that he can do whatsoeuer he sayth This is that â—ayth which God hath erected in our soule as it were a Tower to the end that moâ—â—â—ng vp by it we may see though it be but as in a glasse that which is in heauen and in hell and that which happened in the beginning of the world and that which is to happen in the end And though a thing may be neuer so hidden yet can it not lye hidden from the eyes of fayth as is plame in the case of the good thiefe who seeing so much contempt and exteriour basenes vpon the person of Christ crucifyed did enter yet by his fayth into that which was most retyred and he knew him for the Lord of heauen and confessed him for such with great humâ—â—â—tâ— and constancy By (k) Note this and reuerence the church of Christ which hath power to declare which are the Sâ—â—â—tureâ— which are to be beâ—â—uâ—d by 〈◊〉 this Fayth we belieue that to be the scripture and word of God which the Church declareth to vs to be such And though it be spoken by the mouth of men we â—et do imbrace it for the word of God And therefore we do no lesâ—â— belieue that Euangelist or Prophet who wrote that which he did not see then him that wrote what he saw For our Fayth doth not cast her eye vpoÌ„ humane testimony which resteth vpon meanes that are humane but vpon this That God inspireth such an Euangelist or Prophet to write the Truth and that God assisted him that so he might not be deceyued in what he wrote Certayne it is that although S. Peter with his owne eares did heare that voyce of the Father which he sounded forth in Mount Thabor This is my wellbeloued sonne and who with his owne eyes saw Christ Iesus shine as brightly as the sunne yet if we should consider him but as a man giuing testimony of what he saw and heard more firmnesse and certainty hath the Scripture or speach of the Prophets who gaue testimony of Christ Iesus to be the sonne of God although they neither saw nor heard him euer with their corporall eyes and eares then that which S. Peter sayd by what he had both heard and seene But (l) Note this welâ— since the letter of S. Peter wherein this is written is declared by the Church to be diuine Scripture and so by consequence that whatsoeuer he sayth therein is the word of God it is certaine that God assisted him in saying it and assisted him so as that he might not be deceiued in what he eyther heard or saw vpon Mount Thaâ—or nor in that which he wrote when he recounted what had passed there And thus the word of the Prophets is not more firme or certayne because he or they did vtter them but because they spake by the instinct of the same holy Ghost who is Truth it selfe This habituall fayth God infuseth into the soules of children when they are baptized and into persons of discretion who want it he infuseth both habituall fayth and actuall when they dispose themselues to receâ—â—e it For he desireth that all should be saued and come to the knowledge of this Truth since without it God cannot be pleased nor man be saued He faileth not to giue it to euery one if there be no fault in him CHAP. XLIV That we must giue our Lord great thanks for the guift of Fayth and that we must vse it to the end for which it was giuen in such sort as that we attribute not that to it which it hath not and what both the one and the other is IT is much reason O thou Child of Christ that all we who are Christians be most cordially thankefull to our Lord who out of his grace bestowed this benefit of Fayth vpon vs whereby we might be gratefull to him Nor must we suffer a day to passe without confessing this Fayth at the least in the morning and euening and without giuing him particuler thankes for this benefit We must procure to conserue it in great sincerity and purity as a thing which importeth vs much considering to what end it was giuen vs both that we might not faile to vse it for that which it is that we attribute not that to it which it hath not It is giuen vs to the end that we may belieue that which God commaundeth vs to belieue and that it may be a light of knowledge which may help to mooue our will towards the louing of God and the keeping of his commandments whereby a man may be saued But if any one will attribute to this Fayth that by it (a) A greiuous errour it is to hold that sayth alone will saue our soules alone we ariue to haue iustice and pardon of our sinnes he shall fall into a (b) Note this discourse very wel for it doth much import grieuous erâ—our as they haue done who did affirme it because as already hath byn sayd by the authority of S. Paul No man can say that Iesus is our Lord but by inspiration of the holy ghost Whereby it is to be vnderstood that the same inspiration is reâ—uisite to belieue all the other mysteries of our Fayth And we know that our Lord sayd to some of them who heard him why do you call me Lord Lord and do not the things that I commaund you Now since they could so much as call
thou wilt not loose the way to heauen Incline thyne eare that is thy reason for feare least otherwise thou be deceaued thereby Incline it with a most profound reuerence to that which is sayd by the word of God throughout the whole Scripture And if thou vnderstand it not thou art not for that to thinke that the Holy Ghost which spake did erre but submit thy vnderstanding and belieue as S. Augustine sayth that he did that which by reason of the height of that word thou art not able to vnderstand And although thou art to incline thyne eare by giuing equall credit of Fayth to all the Scripture of God because all of it is the word of the same supreme Truth yet art thou to carry particuler respect care to receaue profit by those blessed wordes which (a) A pious and very profitable aduice the true God incarnate spake heere on earth Open thou with deuout attention both the eares of thy body and of thy soule to euery word of this Lord who was giuen to vs for an especiall maister by the voyce of the eternall Father who sayd This is my well beloued Sonne in whome I am pleased heare him Be studious in reading and hearing these wordes and then thou wilt not fayle to find in them a singular remedy and powerfull efficacy for those thinges which concerne thy soule which thou hast not found in euery other of those wordes which God hath spoken from the beginning of the world And this is so with great reason since that which he sayd in other places was spoken by the mouth of his seruants but that which he sayd in the humanity which he tooke he spake in person opening his owne sacred mouth to speake he who formerly had opened and afterwardes did open the mouth of others who spake both in the old and new Testament And take heed that thou be not vnthankefull for so great a blessing as it is That God should be our Maister giuing vs the milke of his word to sustayne vs he who had giuen vs first a being that we might haue somewhat to be sustayned So great a fauour is this that if we had scales wherewith to weigh it and if it were told vs that at the furthest corner of the world some wordes of God were left for the instruction of our soule we were to make light of all labour and danger to heare some few of those wordes deliuered by that supreme wisedom for the making of vs his disciples Serue thy selfe therefore well of this fauour since God hath giuen it thee so neare at hand and desire of him who taketh care to conduct thy soule in the way of spirit that in holy Scripture and in the doctrine of the Church and amongst the writings of the Saints he will seeke out such wordes as may carry proportion to the necessityes of thy soule whether it be to defend thee against tentations as our Lord did fast in the desert for our example or whether it be to spurre thee vp in the search of those vertues which thou wantest or whether in fine it be to know how to carry thy self as thou oughtest with God with thy selfe and with thy Neighbours whether they be thy betters thy inferiours or thy equalls and how thou art to conduct thy soule in prosperity and how in tribulation And finally how thou art to behaue thy selfe in all that whereof thou mayst haue need in the way of God In such sort as that thou mayst say In (b) Psal 118. my hart I haue hidden thy wordes that I may not sinne against thee Thy word is a torch to my feet and a light to my pathwayes And be sure thou fall not into curiosity of desiring to know more then thou hast need of either for thy selfe or for such as are vnder thy charge For whatsoeuer is more then this thou must leaue to them whose office it is to teach the people of God as S. Paul (c) Rom. 11. admonisheth That our knowledge may be with sobriety CHAP. XLVI That the holy Scripture must not be declared by what sense one will but by that of the Church of Rome and where that declareth not we must follow the vniforme exposition of the Saints And of the great submission and subiection which we must performs to this holy Church THOV art to know that the exposition of holy Scripture must not be made according to the wittes or fancies of particuler men for so although it be most certainely true in it selfe as being the word of God yet for as much as concerneth vs it would be very vncertaine since commonly there are as many opinions as there be heades of men Now for as much as it doth greatly import vs to haue suprem certitude of the Word which we are to belieue and follow since we are to lay downe for the confession obedience thereof whatsoeuer we haue euen our very life our businesse were not well prouided for if notwithstanding the seueral opiniōs which men of themselues are subiect to the certainty of this Word might not be lodged in the hart of a Christian To (a) The only Catholike Church of Christ in the vndoubtedly true Intérpretour of Gods holy Scripture the only Catholike Church this priuiledge is giuen that it may vnderstand and interprete the Diuine Scripture because the same holy Ghost which deliuered the Scripture doth dwell in her And where the Church doth not determine we must haue recourse to the vniforme interpretation of the Saints if we will be free from errour For otherwise how shall that which was spoken by a diuine spirit be vnderstood by a spirit witt which is humane since euery scripture is to be read and declared by the same spirit that wrate it Thou art also to know that the declaratiō of what Scripture is the Word of God that so it may be belieued by all men doth not belong to any other but only to that same Christian Church which by diuine ordination hath the Bishop of Rome for her head And esteeme thou for certayne as S Hicrome (b) Let Protestāts note this tremble sayth That whosoeuer shall eat the lambe of God out of this Church house of God is a prophane person and no Christian And whosoeuer shal be found out of the same will infallibly perish as they who entred not into the Arcke of Noë were drowned in the floud This is that Church which the Ghospell commaundeth vs to hearken to and whosoeuer shall not hearken to her is to be held for a wicked person and for an vnbeleeuer And this is that Church of which S. Paul sayth that shee is the pillar and strength of truth And to belieue that this is so that very Fayth infused by God wherof we spake before doth incline and illuminate vs as to one of the other articles and with a like certainty to that which belōgeth to others and as hitherto it hath byn so belieued
not performe that which it aduised but that which their owne peruerse will suggested And because the Truth of God is a most excellent thing he bestoweth it as a great fauour to the end that a man practising it with affection may honour it and obtaine vertue by it and so be saued and if he consider not â—eerof and do entertaine it in such a fashion as that he neither practiseth those things which it teacheth nor doth lodge it in so faire a place as it deserueth he doth thereby great dishonour to God that gaue it and to the Truth it selfe which was giuen by him And if it had a tongue wherewith to speake it would with a loud voyee demaund iustice against such a man For as much as it being so precious a Iewell and which is able so much to enrich men it is detayned without hearing what it sayth and without doing what it requireth and it is quartered out in the stincking company of sinne wher with the will of such a man aboundes And so in such sort as it is able it doth like the bloud of Abell cry out demanding vengeance Because although such an one depriueth not Truth of life because true fayth is compatible with a life that is wicked yet doth he depriue it of that efficacy which it would haue in working if insteed of hindring he did assist it towardes the performance of those thinges which it teacheth These cryes are heard by God for it is he that sayth The seruant who knoweth the will of his maister and doth it not shall be beaten with many stripes Amongst which the very greatest which he giueth in this world is to permit as we haue â—ayd before that in punishment of his sinnés he fall into errour of beliefe And so were those others punished by being suffered to fall into such blind Idolatry as that they came to worship for God euen birdes and serpents and other beasts And because they robbed God of that honour which was due to him as God and gaue it to such as it belonged not to God redoubled vpon them the punishment of this sinne of Idolatry by suffering them to fall into such other filthy sinnes as breed horrour to thinke of them and shame to name them And although such as are afflicted with this punishment of infidelity without doubt wil fall into other sinnes yet is that fall of theirs into those later sinnes as free as that whereby they fel into the former through their owne will Which yet how many soeuer they be either of one kind or of the other the mercy of God is not shut vp against them if they dispose themselues to retyre into the bowells of his pitty The power of God is manifested in the first of these his wisedome in the second and his goodnes and mercy in the third Now by the (g) The iust iudgments of God both against Iewes Gentilles same reason whereby the soueraigne Iudge did punish the proud Gentills he did also punish the vngratefull Iewes that vpon great cause Because he gaue more knowlege to them then to the Gentills wherof they serued themselues so il as that with infidelity they denyed the very true life it sâ—lfe which is Christ Iesus and they crucified him by the hands of the Gentills And because they had a mind to extinguish that soueraigne light without which there is no light nor Truth they remayned in obscure darknes and they will remayne in eternall perdition vnles they be conuerted to the seruice of our Lord whome they denyed But now let vs see what the motiue was which drew them on to so great a misery as to vnbelieue that light which stood there before their eyes S. Iohn (h) Ioan. 3. makes the answere thus Men loued darknesse more then light because their works were euill euery one that worketh euill abhorreth the light So that because our Lord his doctrine did addresse them to all vertue truth they loued falsehood and lyes they could not endure to heare or see him nor did they wish that there had by many light of doctrine in the world which might be able to discouer that counterfait sanctity which they professed Or that there should be any example of perfect life in comparison whereof their owne might be condemned for wicked And from this root of a will which was so depraued did grow that bitter fruit of denying and murthering that heauenly Phisitian who came to cure them And they found themselues to be such as the Prophet (i) Psal â—8 vers 24. Dauid had painted out long before when he sayd thus of them Let their eyes be obscured that they may not see and let their back go euer bending downeward for their eyes haue remayned without the light of fayth and their will hath been all imployed vpon thinges of the earth CHAP. XLVIII Wherein the former discourse is more particulerly prosecuted and it is declared what dispositions are requisite for the beginning to read and vnderstand the diuine Scriptures the holy Doctours BVT now if God did take into so zealous care the honour of that knowledge which he gaue the Gentills that which he also gaue the Iewes how much will he haue zeale of that which he giueth Christians since incomparably this is more then that which eyther of the other did enioy And (a) God inflicteth grieuous punishments vpon such as liue not according to the true fayth which they haue receaued since men do serue themselues very ill of the knowledge of this so excellent Fayth it is not to be meruayled at if sometymes God strike such persons by suffering them with a great chastisement to fall vpon heresies as he suffered those of former tymes Can it be sayd perhaps that we see not that accomplished with our owne eyes which S. Paul did prophesy of the latter tymes saying That God would send the operation of errour to certayne men that they might belieue a lye and this lye is against Fayth For no man can be ignorant of the miserable and great efficacy wherewith so much people hath cordially imbraced the Lutheran heresy so that we see plainely how God (b) Do not willfully mistake the Scripture or this authour but marke well that which instantly followeth hath sent this efficacy of errour for the belieuing of a lye as S. Paul sayth Not that God doth send these things by inciting men to belieue a lye or to worke any wickednesse For he is not the tempter of the wicked as S. Iames the Apostle (c) Iac. 1. sayth But he is sayd to send the operation of errour wheÌ„ by his iust iudgment he (d) Note suffereth the vnderstanding of men to be deceaued by false discourses or by false miracles which either some man or the peruerse Diuell may worke and withall they find in themselues such force towards the belieuing of that lye as to thinke themselues mooued to the beliefe of it
hartes of such as follow it and of the punishment that they shall incurre pag. 4. Chap. 3. Of what remedies we are to serue our selues towards the contempt of the Vayne-glory of the world And of the great force which Christ our Lord doth giue for the ouercomming thereof pag. 8. Chap. 4. In what degree and to what end it is lawfull for a man to desire Honour in the world and of the extreme danger which there is in holding places of Authority and Commaund pag. 13. Chap. 5. How much we ought to fly from the pleasure of flesh and bloud and what a most dangerous Enemy this is of what helpes we are to serue our selues for the subduing thereof pag. 20. Chap. 6. Of two causes that there are of sensuall tentations what meanes we must vse against them when they rise from the Malice of the Diuell pag. 25. Chap. 7. Of the great peace which our Lord God giueth to them that sight manfully against this Enemy of the much that it importeth vs for the ouercomming of him to fly from familiarity with women pag. 30. Chap. 8. How the Diuell vseth to deceaue spirituall men by meanes of this enemy of our Flesh and Bloud of the course that we are to hold in keeping our selues from errour pag. 33. Chap. 9. That one of the principall remedies for the conquering of this Enemy is the exercise of deuout and feruent Prayer whereby we many find gust in diuine considerations which maketh vs abhorre all worldly pleasures pag. 39. Chap. 10. Of many other meanes which we are to vse when this cruell Enemy doth assault vs with his first blowes pag. 44. Chap. 11. Of other meanes besides the former wherby some grow to loose their Chastity that we may fly from them if we also will not loose ours and by what meanes we may strengthen our selues pag. 49. Chap. 12. That God vseth to punish such as are proud 〈◊〉 by permitting them to loose the treasure of Chastity thereby to humble them and how necessary it is to be humble for the ouercomming of the enemy to this vertue pag. 55. Chap. 13. Of two other dangerous meanes which are went to make way for the losse of Chastity in such as endeauour not to auoyd them pag. 60. Chap. 14. How much we ought to fly from the vaine confidence of obteyning victory against this enemy by our owne only industry and labour and that we must vnderstand it to be the guift of God of whom it is to be humbly asked by the intercession of the Saintes and in particuler of the Virgin our Blessed Lady pag. 63. Chap. 15. How our Lord disposeth not equally of the guist of Chastity vnto all because to some he giueth it only in their soules and of the great profit which the temptations against Chastity do bring if they be well borne pag. 67. Chap. 16. How the guift of Chastity is graunted to some not only in the interiour part of the soule but in the sensuall part also this after two manners pa. 71. Chap. 17. Wherein he beginneth to discourse of the languages spoken by the Diuell how much we ought to fly them that one of them is to make a man proud so to bring him to great mischeife and errour and of the meanes how to auoyd this language of Pride pag. 77. Chap. 18. Of another snare all contrary to the former which is Despaire whereby the Diuell procureth to conquer Man and how we shall carry our selues against him pag. 87. Chap. 19. Of the much which God the Father gaue vs in giuing vs Iesus Christ our Lord how thankefull we ought to be to help our selues by this fauour and to strengthen our selues thereby for the excluding of all desperation wherewith the Diuell is wont to assault vs. pag. 92. Chap. 20. Of some meanes which the Diuell vseth against the remedy that is spoken of whereby to fright vs how for this we must not faint but animate our selues the more considering the infinite mercy of our Lord. pag. 96. Chap. 21. He proceeds in the discourse of Gods mercy which he sheweth to them that cordially aske pardon This is a consideration of power to conquere all Despaire pag. 100. Cap. 22. Where he prosecutes the treaty of the mercy of God which he vseth towards vs his Maiesty ouercomming our enemyes after an admirable manner pag. 106. Cap. 23. Of the great mischeife which despaire doth worke in the soule and how we must ouercome this enemy with spirituall alacrity and diligence and feruour in the seruice of God pag. 110. Chap. 24. Of two remedies for the getting of Hope in the way of our Lord and that we must not turne coward although the remooue of the temptation be differred and how there be certayne hartes which know not how to be humbled but by the knocks of tribulation and therefore that they must so be cured pag. 118. Chap. 25. How the Diuell procureth to draw vs to despayre by tempting vs against fayth and the diuine mysteries and of the remedies that we must vse against these temptations pag. 122. Chap. 26. How the Diuell endeauours by meanes of the aforesaid temptations to remooue vs from our deuotion and good exercises that our remedy is to increase therein laying aside all superfluous desyre of feeling spirituall sweetnesse in the soule and to what end these also may be desyred pag. 126. Chap. 27. That the conquest of these temptations doth consist more in hauing patience to beare them and in the hope of the fauour of our Lord then in procuring forcibly that they may not come pag. 132. Chap. 28. Of the great remedy which groweth against these tentations by seeking a wise and well experienced ghostly Father who must be entirely informed and credited and how the ghostly Father ought to proceed with such persons of the fruit which riseth from these temptations pag. 135. Chap. 29. How the Diuell procureth by exteriour meanes to make vs giue ouer good exercises And how we must strengthen our hart by confidence in our Lord for the ouercomming of him And of other things which help to free vs from this feare and of the fruite of this temptation pag. 139. Chap. 30. Of many reasons which there are why we must hope that our Lord will deliuer vs out of all tribulation how greiuous soeuer it be of two significations which this word Belieue may be accounted to haue pag. 150. Cap. 31. That the first thing which we are to heare is diuine Truth by meanes of Faith which is the beginning of all spirituall life and which teacheth vs so high things as that they exceed all humane discourse pa. 159. Chap. 32. How agreable to reason it is to belieue the Mysteries of our Fayth although they exceed all humane reason pag. 163. Chap. 33. Of how firme and constant and authorized witnesses our faith hath had who haue giuen their liues for the truth thereof
pag. 166. Chap. 34. That the perfect life of such as haue belieued our fayth is a great testimony of the Truth therof and how farre Christians haue exceeded all other Nations in goodnesse of life pag. 169. Chap. 35. That the very conscience of him that desyreth to obtaine vertue doth testify that our Faith is true and how the desire of leading an euill life doth both procure the loosing of Faith hinder the getting it pag. 175. Chap. 36. That the admirable change which is made in the hart of sinners and the great fauours which our Lord doth do them who follow him with perfect vertue and do call vpon him in their necessityes is a great testimony to the truth of our Fayth pag. 179. Chap. 37. Of the many and great good things which God worketh in the soule that followeth perfect vertue that this is a great proofe that our Fayth is true because that did teach vs meanes how to obtaine those graces pag. 183. Chap. 38. That if the power greatnes of the worke of Belieuing be well pondered we shall find great testimony to proue that it is much reason that the vnderstanding of man do serue God by imbracing of Fayth pag. 188. Chap. 39. Wherein answere is giuen to an obiection which some make against our Fayth by saying that God teacheth things which are too high pag. 191. Chap. 40. Wherin answere is made to theÌ„ who obiect against the receauing of Fayth that it teacheth meane and low thinges of God and how in these meane thinges which God teacheth most high glory is contayned p. 193. Chap. 41. That not only the glory of our Lord doth shine in the humble thinges of God which our Faith teacheth but also our owne great profit our strength and vertue pag. 200. Chap. 42. VVherein it is proued that the Truth of our Fayth is infallible as well in respect of them that haue preached it as of them who haue receaued it and of the manner how it was receaued pag. 203. Chap. 43. That such is the greatnesse of our Fayth that none of the aforesayd motiues nor any other that can be deliuered are suffâ—cient to make a man believe with this diuine Fayth vnles our Lord doe incline a man to belieue by particuler fauour pag. 207. Chap. 44. That we must giue our Lord great thanks for the guift of Fayth and that we must vse it to the end for which it was giuen in such sort as that we attribute not that to it which it hath not and what both the one and the other is pag. 214. Chap. 45. Why our Lord did resolue to saue vs by the meanes of Fayth and not of humane Reason of the great subiection which we must yield to those thinges which our Fayth doth teach of the particuler deuotion which we owe in especiall manner to that which our Lord Iesus taught vs by his owne sacred mouth pag. 223. Chap. 46. That the holy Scripture must not be declared by what sense one will but by that of the Church of Rome and where that declareth not we must follow the vniforme exposition of the Saints And of the great submission and subiection which we must performe to this holy Church pag. 227. Chap. 47. VVhat a terrible chastisement it is when God permitteth men to loose their Faith and that it is iustly taken away from them that worke not in conformity of what it teacheth pag. 232. Chap. 48. VVherein the former discourse is more particulerly prosecuted and it is declared what dispositions are requisite for the beginning to read and vnderstand the diuine Scripture the holy Doctours pag. 237. Chap. 49. That we must not grow in pride for not hauing lost our Fayth as others haue done but rather we must be humble with feare and the reasons which we haue for being so pag. 244. Chap. 50. How some vse to be much deceaued by giuing credit to false Reuelations and it is particulerly declared wherein true liberty of spirit doth consist pag. 249. Chap. 51. Of the way wherein we are to carry our selues that we may not erre by such illusions and how dangerous the desire is of Reuelations and such things as those pag. 256. Chap. 52. VVherein some signes are giuen of good bad or false Reuelations or Illusions pag. 260. Chap. 53. Of the secret pride Whereby many vse to be much deceiued in the way of Vertue and of the danger that such are in to be ensnared by the illusions of the Diuell pag. 264. Cap. 54. Of some propertyes which they haue whoÌ„ we sayd to be deceaued in the last Chapter how necessary it is to take the opinion of others and of the mischiefe that men are brought to by following their owne pag. 267. Chap. 55. That we must fly fast from our owne opininion chuse some person to whome for the loue of God we must be subiect and be ruled by him and what kind of man he must be and how we must carry our selues with him pag. 274. Chap. 56. Wherein he beginneth to declare the second word of the verse and how we are to consider of the Scriptures and how we must restayne the fight of our eyes that we may the better see with those of our soule which the freer they are from the sight of creaturs the better shall they see God pag. 279. Chap. 57. That the first thing which a man must see is himselfe of the necessity which we haue of this knowledge and the inconueniences that grow vpon vs through want thereof pag. 284. Chap. 58. That we must be diligent to find out the knowledge of our selues by what meanes this may be done that it is fit for vs to haue some priuate place into which we may dayly retire our selues for a tyme. 291. Chap. 59. Wherin he prosecuteth the exercise which conduceth to the knowledge of ones selfe and how we are to profit in the vse of reading of Prayer pag. 296. Chap. 60. How much the Meditation of death doth profit towards the knowledge of a mans selfe and of the manner how it is to be meditated for as much as concerneth the death of the body pag. 299. Chap. 61. Of that which is to be considered in the meditation of Death about that which shall happen to the soule that so we may profit the more in the knowledge of ourselues pag. 302. Chap. 62. That the dayly examination of our faults helpeth much towards the knowledge of our selues of other great benefits which this practise of Examen doth bring and of the profit which commeth to vs both by the reprehension of others and those also which our Lord doth interiourly send vs. pag. 308. Chap. 63. Of the estimation which we are to make of our good works that we may not fayle thereby in the knowledge of our selues and of true Humility and of the meruailous example which Christ our Lord doth giue vs for this purpose pag. 313. Cha.