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B13579 A suruey of the apostasy of Marcus Antonius de Dominis, sometyme Arch-bishop of Spalato. / Drawne out his owne booke, and written in Latin, by Fidelis Annosus, Verementanus Druinus, deuine: and translated into English by A. M.; Survey of the apostasy of Marcus Antonius de Dominis, sometyme Arch-bishop of Spalato Floyd, John, 1572-1649.; Hawkins, Henry, 1571?-1646.; De Dominis, Marco Antonio, 1560-1624. Archiepiscopus Spalatensis, suæ profectionis consilium exponit. Selections. 1617 (1617) STC 11116; ESTC S117494 69,215 152

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with passion you read them ten yeares togeather In these say you I fully found out what I sought for much more then I sought for How wel you set downe the māner of your fal You hated Heresie but affected Cōtumacy against the Pope and whilest you will not leaue what you loued you are falne into that which you abhorred You would faine without losse of your religion haue remained an obstinate and stubborne Catholike but behould you haue made wracke of your faith and are become a rebellious heretike You sought for Catholike contumacy contempt of the Pope a thing not to be found but in lieu therof you haue found heretical perfidiousnes Verily that haue you found which by such an inquiry you deserued to find Lib. 3. ep 9. which al that haue sought in this same māner haue found For the beginning of Heretikes saith S. Cyprian is to take delight in themselues with a swelling pride to contemne their Superiours Hereupon they rush into schismes and prophane Altars are reared vp out of the Church Malignant feuers neere neighbours to the Pestilence when the Plague is rife alwayes turne to this mischief so neere of kinne vnto them so when Heresies abound the Contempt of the supreme Pastour a sin neerly allied to Heresie can scarcely be conteined but that at least it will empty it selfe into Heresie Let them learne by your exāple that go about to be rebellious what they are like to find at last And let this be the conclusion That very orderly you descended on the steps of the ladder of Apostasy which I set you in the beginning You grow more sinfull one day then other you still more and more fleet away from the Church and euery step you make brings you neerer to Hell The eight Degree Presumption of proper Iudgment against the Church THERE now remaines the eight and last degree in the ladder of your descent a degree and step not only neighbouring vpon heresy but also neere allied vnto it which it doth not only touch immediatly but is the very beginning and head thereof This is too much presuming of your owne learning and wit aboue the Church S. de vera Relig cap. 16. Augustine saith excellently That no errour can be in the Christian religion did not mans soule worship her selfe for God For it were impossible that a Christian should be an Heretike did he still submit himselfe and inthrall his vnderstanding to God and giue him leaue by the voyce of his Church to ouersway their wits which are blind rashe erroneous not only when they wander without diuine Scriptures through the works of Nature but thē also when within the boundes of sacred Writ they discourse according to their owne fense arbitrement Hitherto before you openly fled from vs were you fallen Antony and being in that case you did not so much tend towards Apostasy but rather were you arriued at your iourneyes end You cannot abide Subiection of vnderstanding to the obedience of Faith euery where you impugne it and at last conclude I am no child now whome being nigh threescore yeares of age euery man should perswade what he listeth without weight of reasons This your girding at the Roman Church contaynes either a grosse calumniation or a vast arrogancy For if you meane to taxe the Roman Church as though she did vse to propose to be beleeued of her children with true submission of their vnderstanding whatsoeuer a priuate man or Doctour or Prelate listeth to teach truly you hatefully charge her with that she neuer doth But if by whatsoeuer listeth any man you meane those points of doctrine which you call proper decrees of the Roman Church namely the Supremacy of Peter and his Successour the doctrine that most of all offends you If by euery one you vnderstand the witnesses authours vnto whose iudgment the Romā Church would haue her childen submit the supposed weight of their reasons If I say you meane this doctrine and intend to shew your cōtempt of the authorities that are by the Church alleadged for it refusing to submit your iudgment to them then are you come to this last step which consumates an Apostata For you know all Catholikes all Bishops through out the world and the vniuersall Church now spread through Europe and the new found Indies acknowledge the Romā Supremacy I will not presse you with the old Councells I wil not vrge you with any thing that you may or will deny Only I say that this doctrine was defined by the Tridentine Councell by the Florentine by the Lateran which Lateran for the generall concourse of all Christendome and for the number of Bishops that were in it was the greatest of all Christian councells that haue beene hitherto assembled Will you then submit your iudgment to the censure of these councells You will not The assembly of so many so great and so worthy men by you is tearmed quisque euery one ordinary fellowes Their iudgmēts you accompt no more then quod quisque libuerit you reckon them as trifles Behould now appeares the arrogancy of your speach which though you harboured in your mind yet you sought to cloake with ambiguous words 29. You say that euery man shall not make you belieue what they list being a man as you are of almost three score yeares of age you say that you haue reasons of weight that the Church shal giue you better or as good before you will beleeue her O craft of Heresy what doth not she inuent to saue her selfe she sees that if the matter come to be tried by authority she will not be able to stand nor shew her selfe in comparison with the Catholike Church that her vpstart paucity will blush to appeare before the Catholike authority which in former ages was and now is spatiously enlarged ouer the world What shift then doth Heresy make With full mouth she cryes that she hath weighty reasons on her side hoping by the promise of reasons to counterballance the Churches authority If you will not credit me that this is the tricke of heresie then heare S. Epist 56. Augustine that long ago noted and discouered this fraud Heretiks saith he perceauing that they are vtterly ouerthrowne if the authority of their Conuenticles be brought to compare with the Catholik authority they endeauour by making shew promises of reason in some sort to ouercome the most graue and grounded authority of the Church For this kind of boldnes is the common and ordinary tricke almost of all Heretikes So S. Augustine which in truth toucheth your right who go about to poise the weight of your reasōs against the authority of the Church Nor do I captiously intend to wrest your words to a sense perhaps from your own meaning as if before you will beleeue you demaund of vs weighty reasons drawne out of Philosophy naturall Knowledge I deale not so hardly with you for you meane perhaps reasons grounded on Scriptures but
promise de vtilitate credend cap. 14. you barke But know that you barke against that Church which as S. Augustine saith by succession of Bishops from the Apostolike Sea hath obteyned the height of authority Heretikes her enemyes round about her barking in vayne against her Sampson sent foxes into the corne of the Philistines with their heads loose but with their tayles tied which signifies saith S. Hierome that Heretikes haue tongues free to barke but for performing they be shackled and cumbred They barke fiercely but they beat but the ayre sooner may they breake themselues then fright and remoue the Roman Church from the imbracing of the faith that hath byn deliuered vnto her She cleauing to the diuine promises as it were fixed in the firmanent being on high secure despiseth her rayling aduersaryes as the moone doth the dogges Who barke but winde drowneth their clamours base Diana chast holds on her heauenly pace The sixt Gulfe Arrogancy of Doctourship and Authority ouer the whole Church THE power which from the Roman Bishop you would faine take you challenge to your selfe so making your selfe the vniuersall curate of the Church in the 29. page To euery Bishop so is a particuler Church committed that he must know that also when need is the vniuersall Church is by Christ commended to him In the 30. page you add that any Bishop by his owne proper authority may remoue to other Churches that are afflicted and oppressed Thus you make a conueyance of power ouer the whole Church for your selfe yet you do it subtilty thinking you should not be seen You offer that vniuersall power to euery Bishop knowing aforehand that out of modesty they will refuse it that so this authority reiected by the rest may retourne to your selfe the first authour therof as being properly and peculiarly yours Yea say you it is most of all properly belonging to my office to succour as farre as in me lieth the Roman Court that makes a schisme and diuision by it selfe and teareth in peeces the flocke of Christ You are the new Atlas you will support the Heauen the vniuersall Church with your shoulders For which enterprise you thinke your selfe so sufficient that if the Pope and the rest of Catholike Bishops will yield to rely vpon your aduise what will follow I hope say you that shortly it will so fall out that full peace and concorde and that so necessary vnion of the holy Churches will thereupon ensue so that we shall beleeue all the same and all abide in the same rule Your hopes are vayne poore soule you take to much vpon you 33. Heresies were before you were borne and will be when you shal be dead the number of Heretiks you now make greater by one through Pride which deserues to be pittied rather then confuted For what Put the case the Roman Bishops would become your subiects and remit the busines of vnion and reconciliation to your wisedome do you thinke the matter ended and that the Sects opposite to the Roman Church Grecians Lutherans Caluinists Anabaptists will also without more ado become obedient to you at a becke Such is your vanity that you seeme not to doubt but that all the rest of Christian companyes besides the Roman will in this affaire of peace beare humble duty and respect towards you You know not Antony and little do you imagine what fierce and furious windes I meane proud and peremptory sects rage in the Northern parts which if you can assemble to a generall Councell or keepe them when they are there in peace verily you shall be more omnipotent then Aeolus But afore-hand I tell you they will not set a rush for you Maydes and Boyes will laugh you to scorne they will preferre their skil of Scripture before yours with sentences flowing thicke and threefold from their tongues vttered with one breath they will ouerload you If you dare but mutter against what they say you shall be stiled Papist if you do not straight yield to beleeue them they will take pitty of your eyes that hauing beene so many yeares togeather accustomed to Popish darkenesse cānot now behold the cleere shining light of the Gospel This is the Caluinian nature which if you be ignorant of you will learne to your cost 34. But to returne to the care of the vniuersall Church which you presumptuously take vpon you togeather with authority to visit any Church at your pleasure which you shall iudge to haue need of your assistance Herein you commit a double errour The first is to thinke that a Bishop to help other Churches that are afflicted may abandon his owne and in such manner adandon it as to leaue it destitute of the meanes of saluation to be rauened deuoured by wolues For this in your conceit you do and this you thinke that lawfully you may do to succour the Roman But what ancient holy Bishop can you name that did so Which of them hath left written that such practise is laudable Euen those Bishops whome you pretend to imitate your selfe confesse that they went to assist other Churchs leauing their owne well appointed and prouided of sufficient persons to teach and instruct them 35. The second errour is to thinke that euery bishop at his owne good liking and by his owne authority may visit other Churches that are in need put them in order though the proper Bishops of such Churches be vnwilling Which doctrine were it brought to practise would breake and vtterly ouerthrow the peace and concord of the Church as any man of iudgment may soone foresee For if euery Bishop may whensoeuer he shall thinke it needfull passe into the boundes of anothers Iurisdiction there sit as Iudge of cōtrouersies and pronounce finall sentence vpon them it cānot be but Bishops will very often encounter and be beaten one against another by mutuall discord nor can I imagine what other deuise can be thought of de vnit Eccles c. 4. or feigned so fit to trouble the quiet of Churches There is as S. Cyprian saith but one Bishopricke whereof a part is wholy possessed by euery one yet so is the Bishopricke one as the body of man is one which hath an Head that commandeth the rest of the members In this manner the one Bishopricke of the world hath one Sea supreme aboue the rest l. 3. ep 4. which the same S. Cyprian tearmeth the principall Sea from which Priestly vnity and concord floweth to which perfidiousnes can haue no accesse The authority of this Sea spread and diffused ouer the rest is that Glew of concord which ioyneth them all togeather in peace and charity This Sea hath care to prouide for the necessityes of the vniuersall Church and to send as Legats other Bishops whose Churches be well prouided to giue succour to others that are in need By this Sea were Osius Athanasius Eusebius Bishop of Vercells Lucifer of Calaris and others sent whome you name and affirme but as your manner