onely to take away Ambition from his Disciples But I say that it was not onely his meaning to take from them ambition but all such occasions as tend to ambition together with the fewell of contentions and pride for the worde of God forbiddeth both the euill and the occasions of euill Now that the Monarchy of the Church doth nothing but puffe vp the hearts of those that are climed vp to it there is none that doubteth but such as are hired to flatter or haue not much troubled themselues with the reading of histories whereof we shall produce some proofes hereafter yea Leo Bishop of Rome in his 82. Epistle confesseth this fault to be in himselfe and after he had spoken against those Bishops that hunt after Lordship and authority he addeth these wordes meipsum quodenimodo in Culpam trahi sentio I finde my selfe in a sort drawne into this fault And further the wordes of Iesus Christ herein are very expresse for after hee had said The Kings of Nations rule ouer them hee saith not take you heede that you desire not Souerainty in the Church but thus he saith It shal not be so among you As if he should say they beare rule but you shall not beare rule hee forbiddeth not onely the desire of Dominion but Dominion it selfe Coeffeteau addeth that when Iesus Christ went vp into heauen he did in such sort substitute a visible head as that he hath not bereaued himselfe of the title and quality of Monarch and that he is a more perfect and absolute head then the Pope but of lesse vertue and power then the holy Ghost whereof he doth well to aduertize vs And surely in my opinion Iesus Christ is much bound vnto him The wordes of S. Luke 22. I haue prayed for thee that thy faith faile not haue already beene sufficiently examined and so hath that saying of S. Ierome lib. 1. against Iouinian cap. 14. There so loweth after that Controuersie about the Keyes which the Pope causeth to ringe so loude stil grounded vpon this false supposition that he is the Successor of S. Peter not onely as Bishop of Rome in which sense the Ancients vnderstood it but also in the charge of Apostleship and as the vniuersall head of the Church which neuer any Father eyther beleeued or thought Albeit that that which was spoken to S. Peter doth nothing at all belong to the Bishop of Rome yet we will examine the wordes Iesus Christ then Mat. 16. after Peter had confessed him to be the Sonne of the liuing God saith Blessed art thou Simon the sonne of Iona for flesh and bloud hath not reuealed this vnto thee but my Father which is in heauen And I say vnto thee that thou art Peter and vpon this Rocke will I build my Church and the gates of hell shal not preuaile against it And I will giue thee the Keyes of the King dome of heauen and whatsoeuer thou bindest on earth shall be bound in heauen and whatsoeuer thou loosest on earth shall be loosed in heauen Mr. Coeffeteau produceth this saying Fol. 85. for to Establish the Primacy of S. Peter ouer the other Apostles but he sheweth not how nor wherein nor alleadgeth he any proofes at all It is peraduenture because Christ hath said Thou art Cephas and that Cephas signifieth the Head If a man will beleeue Pope Anaclet in the two and twentieth Distinction Can. SacrosaÌ„cta Cephas id est caput principiuÌ„ with a profound and compleat skill in Grammer It may be also that it is because he said to Saint Peter Thou art Peter and vpon this Rocke will I build my Church Whereupon they inferre that the Church is founded vpon S. Peter But I say that these wordes import no such matter for hee saith not Thou art Peter and vpon thee Peter but vpon this Rocke that is to say vpon Iesus Christ whom hee confessed a little before and who is oftentimes termed a Rocke And it is euident that our Lord doth manifestly distinguish betweene Petrus and Petra the person of Peter and the Rocke and especially it is to be obserued that in Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is a word of a double sense for it is both the proper name of a man and it doth also signifie Rocke whereof it followeth that the allusion would haue carried a farre better grace if S. Matthew had said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 But the spirit of God that guided the handes of the Apostle chose rather to let go that ornament of speech for preuenting of errour and sayth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 expresly distinguishing the person of Peter from the Rocke For if the Church be founded vpon S. Peter it must needes be done eyther vpon his person or vpon his Doctrine that was all one with the rest of the Apostles and in this respect they are all Foundations alike if vpon his person then assoone as he is dead and another in his place the foundation of the Church is changed and it may be much for the worse Likewise when the Papall Sea hath beene many yeares voyde which hath often happened the Church of God hath then beene without Foundation Furthermore if the question be of the first and most principall Foundation S. Paul 1. Cor. 3. saith No man can lay another Foundation then that which is already laid which is Christ Iesus And that maketh S. Peter to call him the cheefe Corner-stone 1. Pet. 2. And if the Apostles be at any time called Foundations it is in respect of the Doctrine that they teach And for this reason the holy Scriptures make them equally Foundations as Ephes 2. vers 20 Being builded vpon the Foundation of the Apostles and Prophets Iesus Christ himselfe being the cheefe Corner-stone And Apocalip 21.14 The wall of the Citie which is the Church had twelue foundations in which were the twelue names of the Apostles of the Lambe Since then they be all foundations who can shew any place of the word of God that maketh one of the Apostles a Foundation aboue the rest The Fathers haue vnderstood it thus Origen vpon Matth. 16. If thou thinkest saith he that the whole Church was founded vpon Peter onely Quod si super v. num illum PetruÌ„ taÌ„tum existimas aedificari totam Ecclesiam quid dicturus es de Iohanne filio tonitrui desingulis Apostolis Omnibus Apostolis omnibê° per fectis fidelibê° dictum videtur Petra Christus qui donauit Apostolis suis vt ipsi quoque petrae vocentur Tu es Petrus c. what wilt thou then say of Iohn the sonne of Thunder and of all the other Apostles And hee vrgeth much these wordes Vpon this Rocke I will build my Church as spoken to all the Apostles yea further to all the faithfull This seemeth saith he to be spoken to all the Apostles and to all the perfect faithfull for they are all stones or Rockes and vpon them is the Church builded S. Ierome in his first
booke against Iouinian The Church saith he is founded vpon S. Peter albeit in an other place the same is also built vpon the other Apostles and the strength thereof is equally grounded vpon them all Vnica est faelix fidei pâ—tra Petri ore confessa Hilary in his second booke of the Trinity It is the only blessed stone of the faith confessed by the mouth of S. Peter And in his sixth booke Vpon this Rocke of the Confession the Church is founded S. Ambrose vpon the nine and thirtieth Psalme Quod Petro dicitur caeteris Apostolis dicitur That which was said vnto S. Peter was said vnto the rest of the Apostles also Cyril in his fourth booke of the Trinity expounding the same place saith Opinor per Petram nihil aliud quam inconcussam fir misâ—mam discipuli fidem voluit I thinke that by the Rocke was nothing else meant but the firme and constant faith of the Disciple S. Augustine in his 124. Treatise vpon S. Iohn expounding these wordes Super hanc ergo petram quam confessus es aedificabo Ecclesiam meam Petra enim erat Christus Quid est supra hanc petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam Super hanc fidem Super id quod dictum est Tues Christus filiê° Dei viui Bellar. lib. 1. cap. 10. § Addo Augustinum ex sola ignorantia Hebreae linguae deceptum esse faith Vpon this Rocke that thou hast canfessed will I found my Church And vpon the Epistle of S. Iohn his 10. Treatise and 60. Sermon vpon the wordes of our Lord What meaneth this Vpon this Rocke will I build my Church Surely thus much is meant Vpon this faith vpon this that hath beene said Thou art that Christ the Sonne of the liuing God And forasmuch as he had said in other places that the Church was founded vpon Peter he recalleth himself in his first book of retractations cap. 21. Because saith he that Iesus Christ said not vnto him Tu es petra Thou art the Rocke But Tu es Petrus Thou art Peter Now this Rocke saith he is Christ Which Bellarmine vnable to denie thought it better to affirme that Augustine erred for want of knowledge in the Hebrew tongue Chrysostome vpon Matth. 16 Vpon this Rocke that is vpon the faith of this confession And in this Sermon vpon the Pentecost 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he hath said vpon this Rock and not vpon Peter for he hath not founded his Church vpon men but vpon faith and what faith was this Thou art Christ c. Eusebius Emissenus in his homily vpon the Natiuity of S. Peter expoundeth these wordes in this manner I will build my Church vpon that stone which thou beginnest to lay in the Foundation of faith vpon that faith which thou teachest saying Thou art Christ the Sonne of the liuing God For the Apostle agreeing with this opinion saith That none can lay any other Foundation then that that is laid Iesus Christ What say the Councels hereunto In the Councell of Calcedon Super hanc confessionem robora ta est Ecclesia Dei fidem pag. 223. of the Edition of Collen vpon this Confession which Peter hath made and vpon that faith is the Church grounded Super hanc petraÌ„ id est super meipsuÌ„ qui significor per petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam Nay the Glosse of the Canon-Doctors themselues vpon the goodly extrauagant Vnam sanctam saith Super hanc petram id est super meipsum qui significor per petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam Vpon this Rocke that is to say vpon my selfe that am the Rocke and am signified by the Rocke will I found my Church Reade the exposition of Lyranus vpon Matth. 16. for it agreeth fully with this and setteth it downe in expresse termes But it may be Coeffeteau alleadgeth this passage or sentence because it saith I will giue thee the keyes of the Kingdome of heauen and whatsoeuer thou bindest on earth shall be bound in heauen and whatsoeuer thou shalt lose on earth shall be losed in heauen By the Kingdome of God the Gospell ordinarily doth vnderstand the Church of God vpon earth and consequently the Keyes of the Kingdome of God signifie the Church to bring men into the Church or exclude them from it This is cheefly done by preaching the word of God which our Lord for that cause Luc. 11. calleth the key of knowledge vnto which Preaching is annexed the power of admitting sinners to repentance and to the peace of the Church when they are come to receiue the word and submit themselues vnto it or if they are impenitent to shut them out from the communion of the faithfull This same power is signified by the wordes of binding and losing for wee are naturally in the bondes of Sathan but the preaching of the Gospel freeth and deliuereth vs when by faith we apprehend it by which the children of Abraham are vnbound whom Sathan hath fettered Luc. 13. ver 16. And if any man oppose himselfe against this word either by vnbeleefe or of a prophane humor by the same preaching first generally propounded and after particularly applied to the impenitent sinner by Ecclesiasticall censure the iudgements of God and his curse are denounced vnto him the which holdeth the sinner bound and are vnto him as chaines by which Sathan leadeth him captiue and draweth him with an insensible violence into perdition vnlesse by his earnest repentance hee free himselfe of those bonds and returne to God Here then Iesus Christ sheweth that God ratifieth in heauen both the reception of a repenting sinner and the reiecting of him that is impenitent and willeth that during his obstinacy by which he dispiseth the Church he be held as a Publican and an heathen Matth. 18.17.18 We are then to learne whether this power was giuen to S. Peter alone or to all the Apostles I say that that which was promised to S. Peter Matth. 16. was also promised to all the Apostles the eighteenth of the same Euangelist ver 18. Verily I say vnto you that whatsoeuer you shall binde vpon earth shall be bound in heauen and whatsoeuer you shall lose vpon earth the same shall be losed in heauen 2 Assuredly it is a most ridiculous presumption to thinke that any man now adayes doth better vnderstand the wordes of Iesus Christ then the Apostles did But it is more then euident that the Apostles did neuer suppose that by these wordes of Christ any superiority was giuen to S. Peter for had they so beleeued they would neuer after that haue contended amongst themselues for preheminence as they did Luke 22. but one day before the death of our Lord. 3 Aboue all things this is to be noted that Iesus Christ doth not here giue vnto Peter the power of binding and losing but only promiseth to giue it him which he performed after his resurrection Iohn 20. in which place he giueth like power to all his Disciples saying Receiue yee
the holy Ghost to whom soeuer you shall forgiue their sinnes they shall be forgiuen and looke whose sinnes yee retaine they shall be retained Now to vnderstand how farre the gift of any charge extendeth it selfe we must not so much respect the promises made as the actuall donation and the maner how it is receaued 4 Doubtlesse if by these words Iesus Christ had giuen vnto S. Peter power ouer the other Apostles he would haue commanded them to obey S. Peter and to acknowledge him for their Superior which is not found in any place of Scripture Now that Iesus Christ gaue the Keyes and power of binding and losing to all the Apostles Putas soli Petro dantur à Christo claues coelorum nemo ali bea toruÌ„ accipiet cas Si auteÌ„ coÌ„mune est inter omnes quod dicitur dabo tibi claues reg ni coelorum quomodo non omnia quae superius sunt dicta ad Petrum omnium videantur esse communia it doth appeare not only by the reasons afore alleadged but also by the testimony of auncient Fathers Origen vpon the sixteenth of Matthew the first Treatise How then saith he hath Iesus Christ giuen the Keyes onely to S. Peter And shall not the other receiue them also Or if that which is said I will giue vnto thee the Keyes of the Kingdome of Heauen be also common to all the other why should not as well also all that that goeth before and that which followeth after be common though it were spoken to Peter Hilary in the fixth booke of the Trinity speaking to the Apostles Vos ô Sancti beati viri ob fidei vestrae meritum claues regai coelorum ligandi soluen dâ—ius in terra adepti O ye blessed men that by the merite of your faith haue the Keyes of the Kingdome and the power to binde and lose And then hee further saith Heare the Lordsaying I will giue thee the keyes c. That which is spoken to Peter is spoken to the Apostles Audi dicentem Tibi dabo c. Quod Petro dicitur Apostol's dicitur S. Ierome in his first booke against Iouinian All the Apostles receiue the Keyes of the Kingdome of heauen Cum illud vnus pro omnibus dixerit hoc cum omaib tauquam bersonam gerens ipsius vnitatis acceperit Ideo vnus pro omnib quia vnitas est in omnib S. Augustine in his 218. Tract vpon Iohn saith S. Peter spake these wordes for all and receiued the aunswere with all the other as representing the vnity in his person and therefore one receiued it for all because there was one vnity amongst them all In the Councell of Aix vnder Lewes the courteous the people is brought in speaking thus of the Clergy in generall By whom we are made Christians Tom. 3. Concil pag. 416. per quos Christiani sumus qui claues regni coelorum habentes quodommodo ante diem iudicij iudicant Who hauing the Keyes of the kingdome of heauen doe after asort Iudge before the day of Iudgement In the Councell of Paris vnder Lewes and Lotharius Emperours the third booke and eight chapter the Bishops of France speake thus This may easily be vnderstood by the wordes of the Lord Quod ex verbis Domini facile intelligere possunt quibus beato Petro cuiê° vicem indigni gerimus ait Quaecunque liga ueris c. when he said to Peter Whose place we vnwrothily occupie whatsoeuer thou bindest c. you see that they be all called the Successours of Peter and that they enioy his place And chap. 3. they giue those titles vnto Priests They are the strong Pillars vpon whom the whole multitude of beleeuers being founded Cap. 9. Ipsi sunt Ianitores quibus claues datae sunt regni coelorum Fol. 84. p. 2. are by them vpheld and supported Againe they are the Porters vnto whom the keyes of the kingdome of heauen are giuen But the Priests of Fraunce dare not speake now adayes in this stile To be short the case is so cleare that Coeffeteau is constrained to confesse that the Keyes were giuen to all the Apostles but he saith not with so large extent as they were to Peter See then the issue of this difference all our aduersaries acknowledge that the Keyes were equally giuen to all the Apostles but not in so high a degree as to S. Peter being demaunded where they finde this difference Or if there be any place of Scripture where Iesus Christ giueth the Keyes to S. Peter more then to the rest here they are as dumbe as fishes and when they come to the very exigent and issue of the matter they bleede at the nose and cannot produce any kind of proofe from the word of God Coeffeteau onely alleadgeth Hilary which is to bring in mans testimony against God and yet hee speaketh not any thing that eyther contradicteth the Gospell or vs for he onely saith that S. Peter is the Foundation of the Church and that he hath the Keyes but he saith not that he hath them more then the rest of the Apostles And if that Coeffeteau acknowledge that the Keyes are giuen to all the Aposties let him shew me in what place of scripture for there is not any place in the Gospell that speaketh of the giueing of keyes but this onely and here is no speech made of two kindes of giuing the keyes Besides it is easie for vs to proue that the Pope doth vniustly diminish the power of the Keyes giuen to all Bishops and Priests for since they be all Successors of the Apostles they ought to haue the same Keyes which the Apostles had Whence it followeth that God saith to all the faithful Pastors of the Church in the person of the Apostles That whatsoeuer they shal binde on earth shal be bound in heauen But the Pope correcteth this and sayth vnto them whatsoeuer you lose shall not be vnbound for there are certaine great offences which are called Cases reserued the absolution whereof lyeth not in your power but is a priuiledge peculiar vnto me Vnderstand now what these greeuous sinnes are that are thus reserued to the Pope Is it Paricide Incest treason against Princes murder or blasphemy against God No such matter that is euer pardoned by euery Bishop for such sinnes are but against the law of God but the sinnes that be out of their power are these See the Bull de caena Domini which is of cases reserued to the pope If any man hinder them that goe to Rome for Pardons if any man be an intruder into any Benefice or office Ecclesiasticall if any haue purloyned the goods of the Church or if any haue offended the Sea Apostolicall the absolution of such horrible sinnes as these are is no where else to be had but at Rome These are the cases reserued For to offend the Pope or to bereaue him of his profite is matter farre more heynous then to
out of Saint Cyprian is altogether disguised and clipped and is nothing to the purpose Saint Cyprian speaketh to the faithfull who assayled with contagion had seene their Fathers their bretheren their children die before them and enter into Paradise before them He saith then vnto them our Fathers Magnus illic nos charorum numerus expectat parentum fratrum filiorum freques noâ— copiosa turba desiderat iam de sua immortaletate secura adhuc de nostra sollicita Mothers bretheren and Children waite for vs in great number and a great troupe doth desire vs being assured of their owne immortality but in care of our Father To what purpose is this to defend the seruiceand titles which they yeeld to the Virgin Mary To what purpose is the generall mention of the Saints deceased seeing that he speaketh onely of them who haue knowne vs in this life And though he should speake of all the Saints what doth this make against vs who haue neuer denyed but that the Saints doe desire our saluation and pray for the Church in Generall although they doe not know the necessities nor the prayers of particular persons This falsehood of Coeeffeteaus is followed with another of the interpreter of Ireneus who speaketh thus Euen as Eue was seduced to turne away from God Sicut illa seducta est vt effuge ret Deum sic haec sua sa est obedire Deo vti virginis Euae virgo Maria fieret aduocata so Mary was counsailed to obey God to the end that the Virgin Mary might become aduocate for the Virgin Eue. The very reading doth make the place to be suspected so litle comelinesse hath it and lesse sence It was in the Greeke 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vt fieret consolatrix that is to say to the end that Mary might be the comforter of Eue. For God hauing condemned Eue gaue her this seed of the Woman which is the Virgine Mary for a consolation The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which in S. Iohn ca. 14.26 signifieth a comforter is also vs ed by Saint Iohn 1. Iohn 2.1 to fignifie an aduocate 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 we haue an aduocate with the Father The same Ambiguitie deceiued Tertullian Cap. 9. of his Booke against Praxeas where he thus rendreth the wordes of Iesus Christ Ioh. 14.16 I will pray vnto the Father and hee shall giue you another aduocate The same fault is found in the booke of Nouation of the Trinity cap. 28.29 After these come other two false peeces namely the Liturgies of S. Basil and of Chrysostome which all the learned acknowledge to be forged yea so grossely that euen in the Liturgie attributed to S. Chrysostome there is mention made of the Emperor Alexius who was borne some seuen hundred years after Chrysostome Moreouer there is prayer made for Nicholas Pope of Rome which was neuer the custome of the auncient Greeke Church Nay further the fashood is double for not onely the parcels alleadged are false in themselues but also it is falsly said by Coeffeteau that in the Liâ—urgie of Basil the Virgin is inuocated It is one thing to pray vnto her another to make a commemoration of her We will close vp these false passages with a true one out of S. Epiphanius in his 79. Heresie which is the Heresie of the Collyridians Surely the Virgin was a Virgin worthy to be honoured but yet she was not giuen vs to be adored for euen she her selfe adored him who was borne of her according to the flesh but came downe from heauen out of the bosome of the Father And therefore the Gospell doth arme vs against this abuse telling vs that the Lord himselfe said vnto her What haue I to doe with thee woman mine howre is not yet come To the end that no man should presume more then he óught vpon the Virgin Mary nor should attribute to her too much excellency he calleth her woman as it were prophecying of the things that should come to passe in the world by reason of Schismes and Heresies for feâ—re least some out of too much admiration of her should fall into the dotages of this Heresie Now hee speaketh of an Herefie which offered a cake to the Virgin Mary but yet did not yeelde her the fourth part of the honour which the Church of Rome doth vnto her Most singular is that aboue the rest which he addeth Let MARY be had in honour but let the Father and the Sonne be adored Let no man adore MARY I say not a woman but neyther man himselfe It is to God that this mystery is duc The Angels themselues are not capable of such an honour And it is worth the noting that he girdeth at this Title of the Queene of Heauen and I beseech the Reader to obserue it Let Ieremy saith he represse those odde house-wiues that they trouble the world no more and that they may no longer haue this word in their mouthes We honour the Queene of heauen And so S. Ambrose in his third booke of the Holy Ghost And for feare saith he least some man would deriue this same to the Virgin MARY Lib. 3. cap. 12. Mary was indeede the Temple of God but she was not God And therefore we must adore him alone who wrought in this Temple Let Coeffeteau then cease to pay vs in this false coyne and let him not shew vs like a cousening Lapidary his counterfeit Iewels in the darke was he not affraid to lay open his false dealing in this Theatour Or did he thinke that he had to do with a King that was blinde and without reading The best is that al this seruice of the Virgin which they call now adayes Hyperdulia and which maketh vp a good part of the Romane Religion hath no foundation in the word of God Onely our Aduersaries bring in men speaking to this point but they put their speeches before hand in their mouthes and make them say that which they neuer beleeued How commeth it to passe that Saint Iohn who serued the Virgin Mary as a sonne after the death of Iesus Christ and the rest of the Apostles who loued and honoured her had yet neuer recourse to her intercession they might haue said in themselues we haue in heauen a Lady Aduocate one that is so neere vnto vs and who now is Queene of heauen and yet neuerthelesse if we beleeue this people they were so ill aduised as not to make profite thereof they did not value nor make vse vnto themselues of this aduantage neyther haue they councelled vs to addresse our selues vnto her but what boldenes is this in wormes of the earth to attribute vnto a creature the Empire of heauen and of the world without being instructed what was the will of God therein As if the breefe flyes or Hornets had taken vpon them to establish some man in the Popedome Let the word of God then bee heard therevpon which is the thing that we will doe in
regard the whole company of the Apostles she seeketh no Mediator but insteed of all these shee taketh Patience for her companion which holdeth the place of her aduocate and commeth directly to the first fountaine For this ende came he down from heauen for this end did he take flesh and was made man to the end that I might speake vnto him There are found in this Father some passages wherein he recommendeth the intercession of the Saints but it is of the liuing Saints for the scripture in a hundred places doth so call the faithfull But our aduersaries produce those places for inuocation of the dead being falsaries in this point as in others Adde that we haue neuer denyed but that the Saints doe intercede for the Church in general but it doth not follow thervpon that we ought to inuocate them or to serue them God hauing not commaunded it yea hauing forbidden it and they not knowing our hearts and besides Iesus Christ calling vs vnto himselfe Saint Ierome in the Epitaph of Nepotian holdeth for a thing assured that he is in the heauenly glory g Scimus Nâ—potianâ— nostâ—um esse cum Chrâ—sto sanctorum mixâ—â— choris We know saith he that our friend Nepotian is with Christ and mingled among the quier of Saints And neuerthelesse he holdeth that Nepotian neither vnderstood nor saw the things which were said or done in the earth For he saith h Quicquid dixero quia illâ— no audit mutuÌ„ videtur Whatsoeuer I shall say vnto him will seeme dumbe because he heareth it not i Cum quo loqui non possumus de eo loqui nunquaÌ„ desinamus Againe let vs not cease to speake of Nepotian with whom we can no longer speake Againe k Felix Nepotianus qui haec non videt qui haec non audit happy Nepotian who neither heareth nor seeth these thinges Thence it came that many of the auncients did pray those who were about to die to haue them in-remembrance when they should be in Paradise because they thought it would be to late to pray vnto them after their death The same Ierome l Lib 4 cap. 14. Quod si in aliquo fiducia est in solo Domino confidamus Maledictus enim omnis homo qui spem habet in homine quaÌ„uis sancti sint quaÌ„uis prophetae vpon Ezechiell if there be confidence in any let vs put our confidence in God alone for cursed is the man who trusteth in man albeit they bee Saints albeit they be Prophets Agreeable to Origen in the 4. Homilie vpon Ezechiell towards the end m Ad cos qui in sanctis fiduciam habent non incongrue profertur exemplum Maledictus homo qui spem habet in homine To those who put their confidence in Saints this example may fitly be applyed cursed is the man who putteth his hope in the Saints There is among the workes of Saint Ierome a commentary vpon the Prouerbs which whether it be of Beda or of Ierome it conteineth this sentence n Lib. 1. cap. 2. Nullum inuocare id est in nos orando vocare nisi Deum debemus We ought not to inuocate that is to say to cal towards vs by prayers any other then God Saint Austine in his twenty two tract vpon Saint Iohn o Hoc tibi dicit Saluator tuus Non est quo eas nisi ad me Non est quá eas nisi per me This is it which thy Sauiour saith vnto thee thou hast not whether to goe saue onely to me neither cannest thou goe saue onely by me And vpon the Psalme 118. p Oratio quae non sit per Christum non solum non potest delere peccatum sed etiam ipsa sit in peccatum the prayer which is not made through Iesus Christ cannot onely not blot out sinne but it selfe is turned into sinne and against the Epistle of Parmenian q Lib 2. cap 8 Nam si esset mediator Paulus essent vtique caeteri Apostoli ac sic multi mediatores essent Nec ipsi Paâ—lo consta retratio qua dixerat Vnus Deus Vnus mediator c. if S. Paul were mediator so should the rest of the Apostles be and by that meanes there should be many Mediatours and so Saint Paul should haue mistaken himselfe in saying there is one onely God and one onely Mediatour Now it is to be noted that he doth not speake in that Chapter but of Mediator of intercession for he disputeth against Parmenian who had called the Bishop Mediator betweene God and men howbeit Parmenian did not vnderstand that the Bishop was the Redeemer of the people The same Doctor hath made a booke of the care to be had of the dead wherein he disputeth at large that the dead know not that which is done here beneath neyther doe they intermeddle with the affaires of the liuing his reasons are that if that were so his deare mother Monica who had followed him by Sea and by Land would not haue forsaken him but would haue stood by him euery night That Abraham himselfe father of the Israelites knew not his posterity which also complayneth thereof in Esay that God himselfe promised to Iosias for a great blessing that he should not see the euils denounced against that people but that he should die before whereupon he concludeth r Ibi ergo sunt spiritus desanctorum vbi non vident quaecunque aguntur aut eueniunt in ista vita hominibus Quomodo ergo vident tumulos suos aut corpora sua vtrum abiecta iaceant an sepulta The spirits then of the deceased are in place where they see not all the things which are done or which happen vnto men in this life How then should they see their graues or their corps whether they lie cast out and abandoned or whether they be buried And in c. 15. Å¿ Proinde fatendum est nescire quidem mortuos quid hic â—gitur dum hic agitur postea vero audire ab eis qui hinc ad eos moriendo pergunt We must confes that the dead know nothing of that which is done here whilst it is a doing but that they vnderstand it aftewards from those who dying goe from hence vnto them Yet doubtlesse not all things but that which is permitted them to declare vnto those to whom it is granted to haue it in remembrance and that which is expedient for them to know They may also learne something of the Angels who haue intercourse while things are done here below I make the Reader Iudge how we can call vpon the Saints departed if we must stand till some one of our friends die to report our prayers vnto them or if it be necessary that an Angell should goe from hence below to aduertise them aboue Obserue also that this good Doctour neuer bethought himselfe of that looking-glasse forged of late for indeede he neuer tooke his degrees in the faculty
Confession TOuching the Reliques of Saints if I had any such that I were assured were members of their bodies I would honourably burie them and not giue them the reward of condemned mens members which are only ordained to be depriued of buriall But for worshipping eyther them or Images I must account it damnable Idolatry Vnto this doth Doctor Coeffeteau oppose foure passages of the Fathers alleadging S. Ierome dissputing against Vigilantius for the Reliques of Saint Ambrose in his Sermon of S. Nazarius and S. Celsus saying in many places that he honoureth the bodies of Saints S. Chrysostome who in his Homily of S. Iuuentius and Maximus saith that men doe visite and adorue their Tombes and touch their Reliques with faith to the end they may receiue some blessing thereby S. Augustine in the two and twentieth booke of the City of God speaking of three persons that were cured with the touch of certaine Reliques He alleadgeth no one testimony of holy Scripture it hath no voyce in the Chapter and yet hee skips at once ouer the first foure hundred yeares after Christ for the auncientest of these foure wrote about the end of the fouth age 1 To begin then with the word of God Wee read in the olde Testament that the bodies of the holy Patriarches haue beene enterred Gen. 50.25 and buried in the Sepulchres of their Fathers Ioseph when he died gaue order that his bones should be kept till their departure out of Egypt for he desired that the keeping of his bones should be an instruction to continue the hope of their deliuerance but of any worship done vnto his bones there is no mention at all 2 When Moses died vpon the mountaine of Nebo Deut. 34.6 God would not suffer the Israelites to know the place of his buriall the reason being doubtlesse a feare that they would haue Idolatrously abused his bodie 3 In the first booke of Kings chap. 13. God raised a dead man by the vertue of Elizeus his touching of the dead body the Lord intending by this Miracle to authorize the doctrine of his faithfull seruant But we finde not at all that the body of Elizeus was for this taken out of his graue neyther that the people did kneele to his bones that they brought any offerings vnto it or that they kissed or carried it in procession Ver. 17 4 In the second booke of Kings cap. 23 King Iosias forbids the digging vp of the bones of a deceased Prophet but will haue them left in the Sepulchre He doth not then commaund any transportation of his bones or to yeelde any veneration or worship or oblation or adoration Ver 12 5 In the ninteenth of the Acts there are cures wrought by touching of the Kerchiefes brought from S. Paul yet is not the linnen put apart for a relique nor is there any ceremony done vntoit For the Miracles were not wrought by any vertue of the linnen but by the power of God who by these Miracles confirmed the preaching of his holy Apostle 6 Therefore Esay 8.19.20 the Prophet hauing reproued those that went from the liuing to the dead sends vs to the law and the testimony if wee will haue the light of heauen to shine vpon vs. 7 To be short our aduersaries finde not one sillable in the word of God nor any example of any religious seruice or adoration of Reliques For it is vntruely affirmed by Bellarmine that the Scripture alloweth the religious worship performed to our * Lib. de reliquijs sanctorum cap. 4 §. Ad tertium Seriptura approbat cultum Sepulchri fimbrie Christa Item vmbrae Petri sudariorum semicinctâ—orum Pauli Sauiors Sepulchre and to the hemme of his garment and to Peters shadow and Pauls Kercheifes How should it approue that whereof it makes no mention at all Why doth he not alleadge some passage of Scripture wherein the worship or veneration of the linnen or shadowes or Sepulchres is mentioned who will be perswaded that a learned man affirming a matter so full of vntruth should haue any conscience in him So in the beginning of the third Chapter hee falsely alleadgeth these wordes out of the eleuenth of Esay ver 10. His Sepulchre shall be glorious for it is in the Hebrew his rest shall be glorious whereunto let this be added that there is no word in that place of any worship performed to this Sepulchre Now that the point in difference betweene vs may be vnderstood wee dispute not whether the bodies of Saints and Martyrs may be reserued respectiuely or in case their Sepulchres were vndecently placed or ridiculously exposed to prophane insolencies whether it be lawfull to remoue their bodies to some other place for thus farre we agree And his Maiesty of England protesteth that if hee certainely knew any Reliques which were indeede the body of any Saint he would honourably burie them and keepe them with respect for if men doe curiously affect the sight of the monuments of auncient Kings or pagan Emperours who should be so prophane as not to desire the sight of the Tombs of the Apostles and of those sacred lights whose glory shineth euen after their death Or who in this regard would not be touched with a louing respect to them and their memory But the question is whether wee must performe any seruice to these Reliques or must adore them or speake to things without life or offer vnto bones or clothes or whether God haue commaunded to lay them vpon Altars or carry them in procession For the Conuenticle held at Nice Pag 104 of the Colen Edition Ossa cineres pannos sanguinem sepulera denique martyrum adoremus about the yeare 789. which the Church of Rome reckoneth for a generall Councell in the fourth Act willeth that the bones ashes and the ragges be adored And Bellarmine in the fourth chapter * §. Quod autem Chrysostemê° Sermone in Sanctos Iuuentium Maximum dicit Tumulos Martyrum adoremus of his booke of Reliques proueth the adoration of Reliques by these wordes of Chrysostome in his Sermon of Iuuentius and Maximus Tumulos Martyrum adoremus Let vs adore the Monuments of Martyrs but the words in Chrysostome are Tumulos Martyrum adornemus Let vs adorne the monuments of Martyrs which is a horrible falsification but this is ordinary with the Cardinall whereof Coeffeteau himselfe is euen ashamed for alleadging the same passage he translates it faithfully Fol. 55. pag. 2. Let vs adorne their monuments The same Cardinall about the end of the second chapter sayth We adore not Reliques as God then by his owne confession he worshippeth Reliques but it is with an inferiour adoration Now wee require our aduersaries to shew vs some commaundement of God or some example out of the holy Historie for this adoration and religious worship for whatsoeuer distinction of worship they may produce is alwaies such a seruice and religious worship as God hath not commaunded and is consequently comprised vnder that
him be deposed Or if he be a Lay-man let him be excommunicated Would they thus haue spoken if they had beleeued the Pope to haue beene their Superiour or the Church of Rome cheefe ouer other Churches and that it could not erre That the Passages of the Fathers alleadged by Coeffeteau for the Primacy of S. Peter are partly false Fol. 77. 78. partly maymed and partly impertinent FRom this point Doctor Coeffeteau passeth ouer to the Primacy of S. Peter Fol. 76. howbeit before he commeth thereto he giueth in passing by a blow to his Holinesse affirming that he is not Lord ouer any Towne thus doth he dispute the Souerainty of the City of Rome Wee leaue themselues to cleare this doubt and end this Processe He alleadgeth then for the Primacy of S. Peter the 11. Homily of S. Chrysostome and that very falsely for in all the Homily there is no mention of S. Peter nor of his Primacy But Bellarmine did deceiue him out of whom Coeffeteau copied his allegations This other is like it S. Cyprian saith Coeffeteau affirmeth Hoc erant vtique caeteri Apostoli quod Petrus pari consortio praediti honoris potestatis sed exordium ab vnâ—tate proficiâ— citâ—r vâ—â—â—â—â—â—sia vna monstretur that the other Apostles were certainly the same that S. Peter was fellowes and partners of his honour and of his power but the beginning proceedeth from Vnitie and therefore the Primacy was giuen to S. Peter the true reading is this the Apostles inde de were the same things that S. Peter was hauing ONE EQVALL SOCIETY In honour and in power but the beginning was made by one to shew the vnity of the Church Coeffeteau hath razed out the word EQVAL which troubled him and hath clapt on a Tayle of a sentence which is not in Cyprian and therefore the Primacy was giuen to S. Peter S Cyprian had said a little before that Iesus Christ after his resurrection gaue a like power to his Apostles and yet to shew the vnity of the Church he so disposed by his authority that the fountaine of this vnity should begin from one That is to say that he gaue to all his Apostles an equall power but to shew that the Church is one he gaue his power first vnto one namely to Peter and afterwards gaue equall power to the rest With like falshood he dealeth with S. Ierome Fol. 78. pag. 2. lib 1. against Iouinian whom he thus alleadgeth One is chosen among the twelue to the end that there being one head established all occasion of Schisme might be taken away At dicis super PetruÌ„ fundatur Ecclesia licet id ipsum in alio loco super omnes Apostolos fiat cuncti claues regni coelorum accipiant ex aequo super eos Ecclesiae fortitudo solideturâ—sed vnus eligitur vt capite constituto seismatist ollatur occasio But he omitteth the wordes that went before thou tellest me that the Church is founded vpon S. Peter notwithstanding that the same is done vpon al the other Apostles and that all do receiue the keyes of the Kingdom of heauen and that vpon them the stability of the Church is EQVALLY grounded whence appeareth that the Head and cheefe of which he speaketh is nothing else but a superiority in ranke without any Iurisdiction and power ouer his fellowes seeing that they had all the Keyes alike and were alike the foundations of the Church VVhich may serue to the end we may not trouble our selues with examining the rest of his falsifications for solution of all the rest of Coeffeteaus quotations in which S. Peter is called head and first among the Apostles S. Austen indeede in the beginning of his second booke of Baptisme which place Coeffeteau alleadgeth calleth S. Peter the first of the Apostles but he saith also in the same place that for all that he did not presume that the new-commers Nee Petrus queÌ„ primum Dominus elegit super quem aedificauit EcclesiaÌ„ suam cum secum Paulus de circumcisione disceptaret postmodum vindicauit sibi aliquid insolenter aut arroganter assumpsit vt diceret se primatum tenere obtemperari à nouellis posteris sibi potius debcri and latter Apostles were to yeelde him obedience The same S. Austen as he is alleadged in the 24. Cause Quaest 1. Canon Quodcunque speaketh thus S. Peter when he receiued the Keyes represented the Church if then all the good were signified in the person of Peter so were all the wicked also signified in the person of Iudas Seeing then that S. Peter was the same among the faithful that Iudas was among the wicked it followeth that as Iudas was not the head of the wicked to haue power and Iurisdiction ouer them but onely was the most remarkeable among them so S. Peter should be such a one among the beleeuers He might haue had perhaps a priority eyther in age or in vertue or in zeale or in eloquence or in preseance and taking the first place but yet without Dominion or power of Iurisdiction As touching that which somtimes he saith that the Church is founded vpon S. Peter we shall see hereafter that he retracted that ouer sight afterwards and we haue heard before S. Ierome to haue said that the Church is Equally founded vpon all the Apostles As for that which he saith that he that is without the Communion of the Church is to be accounted prophane and that he that is without the Arke shall perish in the floud the same may be said of euery other Church which holdeth the true Orthodox Doctrine yea of the least of the faithfull for that a man cannot separate and withdraw himselfe from him but by renouncing the truth Now in the quarrell which then was in debate Damasus maintained the truth and sounder opinion Whether the Pope may erre in faith or no. TO that which the King of great Britaine denieth that there is any Monarch of the Church on earth whose wordes ought to be held for laws who hath the gift to be able not to erre Fol. 80. Coeffeteau thus answereth We know that the Pope is a sinfull man as another man is and therefore may erre in Doctrine and Manners if we consider him in particular but in the quality of S. Peters Successour hee cannot teach any thing contrary to piety This is it which is commonly said that the Pope indeede may erre as he is a man and a particular Doctor but not as he is Pope Or that he may erre in manners but not in faith Cap. licet titulo 2 de Constitutioni in 6. They say also that he may erre in the question de facto but not in the question de Iure For as Boniface the eighth saith the Pope hath all law and right in the chest of his breast A man had neede of a good stomach to digest this And I doe not see how all this can agree For
offend against the Maiesty of God And in the booke of the Penitentiary Taxe in the chapter of Absolutions the falsifying of Letters Apostolical is taxed at seuenteene groats whereas for a man to company with his mother but at fiue groates onely Seeing then that about this inequality of the Keyes which giueth a superiority to S. Peter aboue the other Apostles our aduersaries cannot defend themselues by any authority out of the holy Scripture let vs see whether wee can furnish our selues with any places directly against it 1 I say then that if the Apostles had not the Keyes of heauen nor the power to binde and lose but subordinately vnder S. Peter the Apostle S. Paul should haue spoken very vnaduisedly in saying 2. Cor. 11.5 I thinke that I haue not in any thing beene inferiour to the rest of the Apostles when hee sayth in any thing he admitteth no exception 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2 Adde hereunto that if he had beene subiect to S. Peter he should much haue forgotten himselfe when Galat. 2. he said that there was no difference betweene him and those that seemed to bee the chiefe for then there must needes haue been great difference betwixt their charges 3 And againe this that he speaketh is yet much more That those who were in the greatest account among the Apostles added nothing vnto him whereas doubtlesse S. Peter would at the least haue giuen authority to S. Pauls charge if it had depended from the authority of S. Peter 4 But cheefely that which Paul addeth is worthy of consideration that the charge of preaching to those of the vncircumcision was in as large a maner committed vnto him as that of the circumcision was vnto Peter See here how they parted the labour betwixt them it fel vnto S. Peters lot to preach vnto the Iewes and S. Pauls to preach vnto the Gentiles a thing that would be ridiculous and strange now a dayes if any Bishop should seeke to diuide the charge of gouerning Churches betweene him and the Pope or should send the Pope to preach in Almaine or Spaine to conuert the Iewes 5 It is also worth the noting that S. Paul in the same place verse 9. naming those three Apostles Iames Cephas and Iohn placeth Cephas which is Peter after Iames. Now in these our dayes if a man should speake thus The Bishop of Lyons the Bishop of Rome and the Bishop of Ambrun men would holde him for a madde man But S. Paul in setting Peter betweene others he sheweth that he had not yet learned that S. Peter was chiefe of the Church vniuersall or that he had iurisdiction ouer the rest of the Apostles For their last assault and encounter they produce the wordes of Iesus Christ vnto Peter Feede my Lambes which wordes they haue made wonderfull fruitfull and full of many consequences for thus they expound them Thou Peter and thy Successours Popes of Rome feede you alone all my lambes and doe you take vpon you a soueraignty ouer all other Pastors How many strange and venterous Glosses are here on the Text And how haue they peeced out this latchet to make it reach home For though Iesus Christ doe expresly commaund Peter to feede his sheepe yet he excludeth not the other Apostles They are all called Pastors and all faithfull Bishops and Ministers are enioyned to feed the Church of God Acts 20.28 True it is that S. Peter was Pastor of all the sheepe of Iesus Christ throughout the world but so were likewise the other Apostles For S. Paul also 2. Cor. 11. verse 28. saith that he hath the care of all Churches their charge was to walke and to haue an eye euery where for thus saith Iesus to them all Acts 1. And you shall be witnesses vnto me to the very endes of the earth And hereupon S. Augustine is very plaine in the thirtieth chapter of his booke of the christian combate When the Lord saith vnto Peter Cum dicit Petro amas me pasce oues meas idem dixit caeteris Louest thou me feede my sheepe he saith the same vnto all But why speaketh he to him alone Because not long before he onely had denyed him He onely that fel had onely neede to be raised vp and to be re established in his charge for otherwise a man might well haue called his Apostleship into question And why doth he rehearse the same wordes vnto him thrice Because he had denied the Lord three times as many fals so many restorings These be not raisings of him vnto dignity but strengthnings of his infirmity As saith S. Augustine Treatis 123. vpon S. Iohn A triple deniall is recompenced with a threefold confession Redditur negationi trina confessio ne minus amori lingua seruiat quam timori c. to the end that his tongue might serue him no lesse to declare his loue then it had done in disclosing his feare In the meane time albeit all the Apostles had a generall care ouer all Churches yet this doth not hinder but that each of them might haue a peculiar charge besides their generall S. Paul was charged with instructing the Gentils and S. Peter with teaching the Iewes and it appeareth not that this his commission was at any time changed and that in stead of being the speciall Teacher of the Iewes he was made Bishop of Rome Besides that his dwelling at Rome could not well haue sorted and agreed with the teaching of the Iewes Act. 18.11 who now were banished from Rome vnder Claudius the Emperor which was the very time of S. Peters preaching during which time he visited the Iewes scatteredinto Pontus Galatia Cappadocia Bithinia and into all Asia as appeareth by the first verse of his first Epistle This was somewhat too farre from his Bishopricke of Rome and nothing sutable with the dignity of the Monarch of the Vniuersall Church We will not here contend whether S. Peter were euer at Rome for albeit this History be full of darknesse yet I am enclyned to beleeue that he suffered Martyrdome at Rome because Tertullian Eusebius and others doe affirme the same But yet the day-light is not more cleare then it is euident that stayed there but a very small time and not twenty fiue yeares as our aduersaries doe calculate One proofe shall serue to be added to those which are alleadged by others We graunt then that S. Peter and S. Paul did suffer Martyrdome at Rome vpon one and the same day as Eusebius and some others affirme This being so we will shew most plainly that S. Peter had not yet beene at Rome three yeares before his death For S. Paul being to depart from Corinth to goe towards Ierusalem wrote an Epistle to the Romanes as appeareth by the subscription of his Epistle dated from Corinth and by the fiue and twentieth verse of the fifteenth Chapter Now I goe vp to Ierusalem His voyage to Ierusalem is described in the 18 19 and 20. chapters of the Acts