dishonour vnless you prooue more solide and sincere in the rest of your booke Which if you doe not I shall much marueyle if euer you be more imployed by your Metropolitane either to defend your owne or impugne the Catholicke doctrine And before I goe anie further with you I would haue you to vnderstande that when I putt downe the position contradictorie to the Catholicke I doe not distinguishe betwixt this or that sect of protestants but include them all that hold or teache against the Catholicke doctrine whether they be Lutherans Zuinglians Anabaptists or Parlamentariās all which with the rest of all the re malignāt broode I vnderstande by the name of protestants Nowe I will goe forwarde with you in this order I will first sett downe the wordes of the Manuall in sections as you haue deuided it then I will putt downe your answere in your owne wordes and lastlie I will add myne owne reply THE PREFACE TO THE READER MANVALL SECTION I. THis briefe treatise courteous reader beinge at the request of a friende speedilie compiled may serue to conuince them of manifest calumnie who no lesse vntrulie then bouldlie doe affirme the doctrine of the Catholicke Romane Churche to be either against holy scriptures or at least to haue no grounde from them And it may also geue satisfaction vnto such as more vppon the confident boldenes of them that affirme the Romane Religion to be destitute of scriptures then vppon anie other reason are drawne either to thinke this to be true or at least to doubte of the truthe of the contrarie PILK He that aduisedlie shall read your Manuall of Controuersies will easilie beleeue you were in haste when you contriued it forgettinge that wise speach of Cato reported by Hierome Sat cito si sat bene For whether it were your great celeritie which is the mother of manie slippes or whether it be the badnes of your cause that admitteth noe iust scarse probable proofe so perfunctorilie and lightlie tanquam canis à nido you haue touched these matters as if of purpose you would haue setled in the mindes of men that which you labour to ouerthrowe So that if poperie haue noe surer footinge in the sacred worde of God then this which you haue found for it then it will appeare noe calumnnie but a manifest veritie that the Roman religion is without grounde of scripture CHAMP Mr. Pilkinton thoughe your wordes be manie as emptie of substance as they are full of falsities and therefore will neither quitte labour nor cost to relate them yett will I sustaine so much paines as to sett them downe as they lye so farr as I shall goe with you I say so farr as I shall goe with you because I intend not to loose so much tyme as to looke thorowe your whole booke As for the slippes therefore you speake of if you shall make good but one quarter so manie in my whole booke notwithstandinge the the celeritie I vsed in compilinge it as I haue allreadie marked grosse and flatt falls in three pages onlie of yours after fower whole yeres studie in the worke I promise you faithfullie I will commend it to the fire to be forged a newe And thoughe Catholicke religion which you disdainsullie call poperie had no other footinge in holy Scripture then that which I haue sett downe in proofe of it yett will it be better grounded then your protestantisme euen by the iudgment of your owne freindes and myne aduersaries if they will but with one sparke of iudgment and indifferrencie parallel your proofes and myne together PILK First you confesse that the Scripture is not the totall but the partiall rule of your faith therefore that parte of your faith which is with out the compasse of this rule hath no proofe or grounde from it for the rule is that whereby euerie thinge is prooued Nowe the thinges without the compasse of this rule your selfe acknowledge to be manie yea the greatest parte of the Gospell for the least parte is come vnto vs by writinge as others teache and your selfe accorde therefore a small parte of your faith can claime this birth-right from the Scriptures but is auouched by your teachers beleeued by your hearers onlie on the creditt of tradition which euerie one might knowe if anie of your deuines woulde consigne vnto vs a catologue of your traditions A matter that in conscience they ought to doe fith your counsell chargeth to geue equall reuerence to traditions as is afforded to holy scriptures And yett none of you haue performed this taske least your aduersaries should see the pouertie of your religion how naked it is of the protection of scriptures And your selues haue a startinge hole to fly vnto vnwritten verities and traditions when you cannot deriue your doctrine from the written worde of God CHAMP I confesse the Scriptures to be a partiall rule of our faith if we speake of those thinge which are expresslie contayned in Scripture and therefore I say there must necessarilie be a more vniuersal rule of saith thē the expresse Scriptures by which rule we receiue and beleeue the Scriptures themselues to be such And this is true by the iudgment of manie most iudicious protestants Notwithstāndinge the Manuall expresslie teacheth that all articles of saith are contained in scriptures so fair as they testifie the authoritie of the churche and veritie of traditions In which sence the scriptures may trulie be sayde to be a totall rule of our faith Where you say that others teache and I accorde that the least parte of the Gospell is come to vs by writinge For my selfe I answere with as much modestie as I may that you sowlie belie me For I neuer so much as dreamed anie such thinge If you groonde this ficton vppon that which I say I here must needes be a more vniuersall rule of faith then the scriptures vnderstandinge me that moe thinges in number are taught vs by tradition alone then by the written worde which interpretation you seeme to make of my wordes I cannot trulie blame my manner of speach but either your dull or captious vnderstandinge my wordes are plaine that because we beleeue some thinges without expresse scripture as that there is a holy scripture and that it is contayned in these and these bookes which is no where expressed in holy scripture there must necessarilie be some other rule more vniuersall that is which teacheth some thinges besides that which is directlie expressed in the holy scripture You cite in the margent Hosius whom it seemeth you vnderstande in the same manner I say it seemeth for whether it be for negligence or fraude you make no reference for what purpose you cite him neither doe you putt downe his wordes for so might you haue been taken trippinge but I finde nothinge in him soundinge to this purpose Hee hath this indeede that the scripture commaundinge vs to heare our pastonrs with whome Christe promised to be alwayes vntill
the scriptures for decidinge thereof no such thinge but he geueth diuerse rules or markes whereby he that is in doubte whether parte to followe may iudge who hath the true sence and meaninge of the scriptures And after one or two rules he addeth this Vt autem manifestius dicam But that I may speake more plainlie they to witt heretikes haue certayne men of whom they are named for the sect is named of the author but wee to witt the catholikes haue not our name of anie man And a little after answeringe to the same question more fullie he addeth What are we cutt off from the church haue we Archeheretickes are we surnamed of anie man haue we a captayne anie particular man as these haue Marcion these Manicheus a thirde Arrius and other heresies haue theire sect masters As Lutherans haue Luther Caluinists haue Caluin and the like And though we haue the name of anie one â—et is is not of the father of anie heresie but of those who are our pastours and doe gouuerne the churche We haue not Maisters vppon Earth as all heretikes haue God forbidde we haue one in heauen Thou wilte say that they pretende the same But they haue a name that accuseth them and giueth them theire names Thus farr S. Chrisostome whereby it appeareth not onlie how impertinent or fraudulent Mr. Pilkinton is in his allegations but also of what moment the auncient fathers esteemed the argument taken from the surnames of sects for the discouerie of theire heresies and false doctrines PILK Loe in these cases wherein scriptures were produced on both sides the fathers fledd for resolution vnto other scriptures where it appeareth your inferrence to be without coherence that if there be not a iudge without the scriptures God hath not prouided sufficient meanes to saue mens soules seeinge that composinge of controuersies reconcilinge of differencies clearinge of doubtes manifestation of truth is not from without to be fetched but in the testament it selfe to be learned that we may knowe scriptures and them onlie to be the supreme iudge from whence decision of doubtes in matters of faith is to be deriued CHAMP Marke iudicious reader whether this be anie other thinge then that which I sayde in this section One chieâ—e ground of the prosestants doctrine to be that the wordes of the scripture are the iudge of all controuersies For the which Mr. Pilk hotly reprehendeth me of fraude and falsehodde See his wordes a little before at this marke †in the margent and maruell at his witt iudgment and memorie Nowe to the purpose Noe one of all the testimonies alleaged by you doth say that where scriptures are produced by both partes they are sufficient to decide the controuersie Thoughe I doe not denie but for the moste part the inequallity is so greate in the catholike partie as it also falleth out in the cause betweene the protestaÌ„ts and catholikes at this day that anie man of indifferent witt iudgment and desire to find out the truth may see on whether side the scripture standeth But that they are not absolutelie sufficient where there is obstinacie on anie side I shall make your selfe to coÌ„fesse thoughe peruerse enoughe or else I shall much marueill that by the verie example vsed by S. Optatus and S. Aug and approoued here by your selfe Put therefore the case that the children of a deceased father contend aboute the inheritance euerie one of them challenginge it as appertayninge to himselfe in proofe or confirmation of his clayme alleageth the testament and will of his father which he protesteth to be cleare for him and against his competitours beinge rightlie vnderstoode persisting most stifly in his opinion and in deffence of his right clayme as he is perswaded The case beinge putt thus which is the verie same with ours in the controuersy of religion will you say in the sinceritie of your hearte that the sole will or testament of the father is a sufficient iudge to decide this difference and to bringe the parties to an accorde And that there needeth not anie other iudge or arbiter to determine vppon the true sence and meaninge of the fathers will whereby they all pretende to make theire clayme and to grounde theire title you will not I thinke say yea to this question And well I wote that were the case your owne betwixte your selfe your bretheren concerninge a temporall inheritance experience which though shee be the mistres of fooles is not for all that a foolish mistres woulde teach you that it is a meere Paradoxe to maintayne that the sole testament of your deceased father could in this case decide the controuersie amongst you his disagreeinge children So that the example brought by your selfe out of the fathers is prooued to make manifestlie against you Which will yet be much more cleare if the case be putt as it is indeede with vs that these brethren doe not only contend aboute the true sence and meaninge of theire fathers testament but also aboute the testament it selfe the one contestinge the whole writinge contayned in the booke vnder the title of his will to be his true testament another not receiuinge the whole contendeth diuers partes and parcells not to belonge therunto And another yett reiectinge more as it falleth out betweene vs and the protestants Caluin castinge out of the testament of God fiue whole bookes besides some large partes of other bookes which the catholikes belieue to appertayn to his true testament Luther reiectinge besides these diuerse other whole bookes The case therefore beinge thus howe is it possible that the sole written testament of God shoulde decide the controuersie betweene these competitors and bring them to an accorde who doe not agree so much as in what bookes or writinges the testament is contayned so farre are they from beinge at accorde of the true sence and meaninge thereof It is therefore no other thinge to say in this case that the scriptures must iudge all controuersies then to say that the controuersie it selfe must be iudge of the controuersie which is more then madnes to thinke For the controuersie beinge not onlie what the scripture saith or meaneth but also what is scripture it is all one to say that scriptures must iudge and decide all controuersies and to say the controuersies themselues must decide all controuersies Againe seeinge you Mr. Pilkinton seeme to geue so much to holy scripture as to be able and sufficient to decide all doubtes and determine all differences in matter of faith Why doe you not hearken vnto them when they send you to the churche and to the pastours and doctours thereof as to liuelie iudges hauinge the keyes of knowledge to vnderstande the scriptures But you desiringe nothinge lesse then to come to a iust and competent tryall of your cause holde your selues close to that principle by which the most detestable vile and contemptible heretike that euer was may maintaine his heresie without beinge conuinced thereof as I toulde you
be god worde that they are manifest of themselues and neede not to be prooued Because you will euer be impertinent not knowinge what you say nor what you shoulde prooue and yet are you so full of bable that you will still be be talkinge If one shoulde aske your aduise howe he might knowe good Phisicke and you shoulde say vnto him it is an easie thinge to knowe that For that phisike which coÌ„forteth nature expelleth disseases and restoreth health is certainlie good phisicke doe you thinke he shoulde be much wiser for your aduise whatsoeuer you thinke I knowe he shoulde be as wise as he was before Such is your directions to knowe the scripture vnto such as doe not alreadie knowe or beleeue them And seeinge our Sauiour himselfe prescribeth as a necessarie rule to knowe the scriptures the performance of his fathers will before his doctrine canne be vnderstoode as you well note but stil against your selfe it is euident that they are not so cleare of theÌ„selues nor yett so easie to be knowne as you pretend For that doctrine which must first be practised by humble obedience before it can be vnderstoode or knowne to be of God as our Sauiour saith of the scripture noe man that is not deuoyde of all iudgment wil say is easie to be knowne euen by it selfe PILK I might add all those arguments which both the fathers and schoolemen produce out of the scriptures themselues to prooue them the ofspringe of God which if they be stronge against gentiles I knowe not howe they should be weake against you vid. the maiestie of the doctrine the simplicitie and puritie of the stile antiquitie of the bookes truth of oracles and predictions that manie ages after held their complement with sundrie other to the like purpose but I passe by them and shutt vppe this pointe with that speeche of your Stewchus CHAMP You were well aduised to passe by all such arguments of the fathers and schoolemen as woulde nothinge serue your purpose I woulde you had been so aduised from the begininge for soe shoulde I not haue hadd the labour and paynes to transcribe so manie impertinencies of yours as I haue been forced to doe hitherto The arguments which you here mention taken by themselues are farr from makinge anie sufficient grounde to builde our faith vppon thoughe they are probable and prudent considerations and ioyned with the authoritie of the churche and tradition wherby â—e receiue the scriptures they are not without some force to persuade the bookes of the holy Bible to be gods worde and to be written by his inspiration But take you experience of them in your selfe and see whether they are sufficient to persuade that the bookes of Wisdome Ecclesiastious and the rest receiued generallie by the whole churche and namelie by the fathers and schoolemen whose authoritie here you seeme to vrge for canonicall are trulie gods worde and written by his holy spiritt And if you finde them not sufficient groundes for these why woulde you intrude them vppon vs as sufficient for the rest But lett vs heare what you bringe out of our Stewchus PILK They which thinke the authoritie of holy scriptures whereunto all the worlde nowe assenteth to depende vppon the readers faith and not to bringe with them certaine diuine and most potent reasons that drawe vnto them the iudgements of greate mindes are therefore deceiued because they are not of theire number whose mindes both by naturall goodnes and continuall exercitation of wisdome doe prudentlie apprehend the highest and truest thinges whereas if anie haue that wisedome geuen him to esteeme the greatnes of thinges as they deserue he shall feele the weight of diuine oracies to be so greate that the pronunciation of them onlie would suffice to begett a most firme and suddaine faith CHAMP The whole space of a thousand and fiue hundred yeeres geuen you to take your testimonies out of might haue sufficed without alleaginge of moderne writers and those oâ— small note and lesse authoritie Stewchus is an author not wholly receiued and the booke cited by you is put in the index of bookes to be amended or corrected and therefore the testimonie thereof thoughe it were otherwise most formall as it is not is of noe authority against vs. And truelie I wounder you are not ashamed to bring such stuffe for the proofe of your faith and doctrine And that in such sorte as you haue lett passe all other and made choyce of this as of moste strength and force Lett the iudicious reader nowe iudge by that which hath been sayde both by you and me whether the scriptures are so clearelie knowne by themselues and by theire owne light that they neede no other proofe to be gods worde and written by his spiritt And whether it he a needles or disorderlie thinge for him that pretendeth to prooue all the points of his faith by holy scripture to prooue first that there is a holie scripture and then to prooue in what bookes it is contayned And lastlie whether because you refusinge traditions and the churches authoritie by which onlie the holy scriptures are knowne cannot prooue the scriptures to be such and therefore receiuinge them vpon the credit of your owne fancie which consequentlie must be the fundamentall rule of your whole Faith doe not recurre to that shifte to say that the scriptures are so euident of themselues that they neede noe other proofe or testimonie but themselues MANVALL SECTION 7. And here occur by the way two thinges worthy of note The one that the scripture cannot be an vniuersall rule of our faith seeinge somethinges are to be beleeued without proofe of scripture as are for example that there is an holy scripture contayninge gods worde and reuelation and that these these bookes be such therefore of necessitie must there be some other rule of our faith more vniuersall then the scriptures and consequentlie before the scriptures And this cannot be but the authoritie of gods churche which is clearely S. August doctrine who was not a frayde to say I woulde not beleeue the Gospell but that the authoritie of the church doth moue me Seeinge therefore the authoritie of the churche is a sufficient motiue for vs to beleeue what is scripture why shoulde it not haue the like authoritie with vs in other points of faith which is also S. Aug argument in the same place but I will notwithstandinge satisfie our aduersaries in theire owne humour PILK Your former grounde beinge a bedd of sande that scriptures cannott be prooued by scriptures these conclusions that you doe builde vppon it doe of themselues fall to the grounde CHAMP When you shall followinge your principles proue out of the scripture either that there is a scripture or in what bookes it is contayned without supposinge some scripture without proofe then may you terme my grounde to be a bedd of sande and I will also beleeue it so to be But till then I will esteeme it a rock that
be it is manifest that in this case the proofe knowledg of the church must goe before the proofe and knowledge of the scriptures as beinge before it and leadinge vnto it and not the contrarie PILK This is yett more cleare by the verie proposition graunted by Papists that the scripture is the rule whereof the sence is that the sence and doctrine not the letters and characters are this rule Nowe lett our aduersaries iudge whether is more auncient the doctrine of the church which is the seede of the churche or the church which is begotten of it CHAMP You either ignorantlie mistake or wilfullie inuert the question which is not whether the holy scriptures be a rule of faith which noe christian denieth but whether it be the first and most vniuersall rule thereof And this none but heretikes that denie the authoritie of the churche and veritie of traditions both which notwithstandinge are expresselie testified by holy scripture did euer affirme And whether the church be more auncieÌ„t then the scriptures if you doubte as you seeme to doe yea and to affirme the contrarie I shall esteeme you either very senceles or verie wilfull and peâ—uers the scriptures hauinge been written by the churche vnles peraduenture by the scriptures or doctrine of the scriptures you vnderstande the worde of God written in the hearts of men by the immediate reuelation of the holy Ghost and by them deliuered by worde of mouth the one to the other vntill Moises who was the first that euer committed anie thinge to writinge If you take the scriptures in this sence that which you meane is true and if further you acknowledge the authoritie of the churche and veritie of Tradition in deliueringe this doctrine and teachinge it one to another by worde of mouth before it was written our controuersie is at an end The authoritie of the churche and traditions being euidentlie prooued to goe before the scriptures and consequentlie to be a more vniuersall rule of faith then the scriptures PILK So that as your first conclusion is a manifest vntruth that there is a more vniuersall rule of faith then the scriptures So the second is a dull and heauie conceipt that the churche shoulde be more auncient and before them CHAMP If either my first conclusion as you tearme it be a manifest vntruth or my second a dull coÌ„ceipt why doe you doombelie denie it without anie proofe or reason att all Especiallie seinge I prooued the first by cleare instance as you may see and the seconde is but a sequell or necessarie deduction of the first If it be enough for you to say that your aduersaries conclusions thoughe prooued by manifest instance are manifest vntruthes you may well hope to carrie away the bucklers from a farr greater clerke then euer I shall pretende to be For you knowe that Aristotles asse is able to denie more then his mayster is able to prooue PILK Peruse the fathers in whose workes you seeme to be conuersant and nominate one that hath taught either that the authoritie of the churche is a more vniuersall rule or that she was before theire doctrine which are the two cheefest stoopes of your religion whereas in them I finde that the scriptures is the rule and they nominate nothinge else CHAMP If you had weighed S. Aug testimonie which the manuall setteth downe in this place and which you vainlie strugle to auoyde with equall iudgment you woulde not haue putte me to further search of the fathers for proofe of that which I say You shall either deliuer your selfe better from S. Aug authoritie then here you haue donne or else you shall be forced to swallowe it downe as a bitter but a wholsome pill against your heresie Neither will I take the taxe at your hande to searche further the fathers for this purpose till I see this one better satisfied And you fight against your owne shaddowe when you labour to prooue by the fathers that the scriptures are a rule of our faith your aduersaries denyinge it not as I toulde you before But you loue to shewe your strength when none resisteth you And that the fathers nominate no other rule is as true as the rest of your sayinges For seeinge they auouch so plainlie and frequentlie traditions and the churches authoritie as you knowe they doe howe canne you say that they name noe other rule PILK The Ecclesiasticall rule is the consent and conspiration of the old and newe testament saith Clemens The holy scripture doth prefixe vnto vs the rule of our faith saith S. Aug. CHAMP I knowe not whether I shoulde attribute the citinge of this authoritie out of Clemens to your ignoraunce or to your fraude and desire to deceiue by it your reader it is so impertinent to your purpose He sayinge onlie that it is the Ecclesiasticall rule of interpretinge scriptures to make the prophetts and lawe to accorde with the testament of our Sauiour Christ Which what it maketh to prooue the scriptures to be the sole rule of faith I cannot conceiue S. Aug. you cite so at large that I knowe not where to look for the place by you alleaged to see whether it be not as pertinentlie alleaged as the other is And seinge the scriptures doe send vs to our pastours to learne our faith and to the churche commandinge vs to heare it it may well be sayde to prefixe vnto vs the rule of our faith and yett exclude not the churches authoritie for the which we nowe contende So that this place is as fitt for your purpose as the other PILK The churche goeth not out of her boundes that is the holy scriptures saith Ierome And least you might thinke it is the rule but not the onlie rule Vincentius addeth the sole rule of the scriptures is sufficient to all thinges CHAMP The churche followinge the authoritie of tradition and the iudgment of the churche in all matters of saith and manners which the scriptures doe expresslie geue testimonie and warrant vnto doth not goe out of the boundes of the scriptures In citinge Vincentius you vse your accustomed fraude leauinge out the wordes goinge before Which are so expresslie against your purpose that had you sett them downe they had been sufficient to confute your errours in this pointe they are these We haue sayde before haâ— this alwayes hath been and is also at this day the custome of Catholikes to prooue the truth of fayth by these two meanes First by the authoritie of diuine Canon then by tradition of the Catholike churche not because the Canon alone is not sufficient of it selfe to all thinges but c. Now lett the iudicious reader iudge whether this holy father make the scriptures the sole rule of faith or noe When he saith the sacred Canon is sufficient to all thinges he meaneth that it is sufficient to al thinges that is necessarie to euerie mans saluation or to euerie man to beleeue For these thinges are not many and sufficientlie
of this your assertion woulde assuredlie gett you the victorie in all the rest you contende aboute without all further dispute But the manifest falsitie of your affirmation doth not only make your cause desperate but also deepelie woundeth your creditt hauinge no care to affirme so apparant vntruthes without the slenderest shewe of proofe or probabilitie att all PILK Besides we doe not finde in anie auncient creede either that of the Apostles or of Nice or in anie other of the auncient counsells that the churche was stiled the catholâ—cke Roman Finallie howe canne a parte be the whole Nowe the Roman churche thoughe shee were pure in her farthest extent is but a parte of the vniuersall churche CHAMP Haue you not yett learned howe vaine a thinge it is to argue ab authorita â— neâ—a ua Produce you some aun ient creede where the churche is called the christian churche which thoughe you cannot doe yett I hope you will not denie the catholicke churche to be rightlie so called Neither is the Roman church taken for a parte of the catholike churche as you either falselie or foolishlie surmise but for the whole as the kinge of England is not taken onlie to be kinge of Englande but of the rest of his kingdomes also the whole takinge name of one parte as is ordinarie euen in common speach which you cannot be ignorant of PILK Yett you say this vniuersall particular churche admitteth a larger Canon then the protestants you meane the Apocripha And so it standeth her in hand otherwise shee might bid a dieu to diuerse profitable points that helpe her to vphoulde her Monarchie But the churche of God before Christ receiued them not but the same which the protestants doe embrace Neither read we that Christe or anie of his Apostles did cite anie testimonie out of them to confirme any doctrâ—ne by them which they did out of all the canonicall bookes Besides if we followe S. August iudgment whereby we may discerne suspitious writinge from canonicall then these wil easilie appeare to be conterfaites First saith he they are not such as the churche credited received into canonicall authoritie Secondlie there be manie thinges imbarked in them which Apostolicall rule of faith and sound doctrine doth contradict both these are verified of the Apocripha For neither the churche of God before Christ receiued them to whom were committed the oracles of God Rom. 3. 2. which Christe woulde haue reprooued them for if they had without iust cause reiected them as well as he did reprehend them for the misinterpretinge of the canonicall bookes neither yett longe after Christe did the Christian churche imbrace them And besides in the bookes them selues there are certaine brandes whereby they may be discerned from the canonicall First the addition vnto the booke of Hester saith that Mardocheus had receiued rewardes for the detection of the conspiracie of the kinges Chamberlaynes the true Hester sayth he receiued none The suppositius Hester saith that Haman intended the the destruction of Mardocheus for detectinge the Eunuches Hest. 12. 6. The true Hester saith for denyinge him worshippe Hester 3. 5. The true Hester the kinge looked gratiouslie vppon her the conterfeit he looked angerlie The booke of Baruch saith that the cittie of Hierusalem was taken and burnt at the same tyme Ieremie teacheth the contrarie the bookes of the kinges The additions vnto Daniell say that when Danyell deliuered Susanna he was a childe the true Daniell saith that he with two others made by the kinge were chiefe ouer 120. princes that they might take all the accompts of the kingdome and the kinge might not be troubled But children vse not to be sett ouer such affaires Commentitiues Daniell saith in the storie of Bell that he was fed by Abacucke 14. 36. whereas Abacucke prophesied longe before the captiuitie 1. 6. In the booke of Tobie cap. 12. 15 the Angell calleth himselfe Raphaell the Angell of the Lorde but chapter the 5. 12. he is of the kinred of Ananias and Azarias the greate if he be the Angell of the Lorde he cannot be the sonne of a man As true is that medecine wherwith the deuill is driuen away but corporall creatures vse not to make anie impression into a substance simply intellectuall as deuills be In Iudith the cruell murther committed by Symeon and Leui is propounded to be imitated cap. 8. 23. which Genesis the 49. is reprehended and accursed The booke of wisdome is falselie intituled as it had been composed by Salomon whereas the author of it was Philo the Iewe. Ecclesiasticus craueth pardon if he come shorte in some wordes which the penmen of the holy Ghost vsed not to doe In the bookes of the Maccabies a parricide is commended that layde handes on himselfe which is forbidden by the lawe So your longe Canon hath but certayn inches that are true and perfect the rest are but leaden and crooked yet for all this you say CHAMP That the catholike Romane churche admitteth a larger Canon that is as the Manuall saith moe bookes and parcells of the Bible for holy scripture then the protestants doe is so manifest that you dare not denie it Nowe whether these bookes and parcells of bookes be apocripha or noe is in controuersie you affirminge them so to be and we denyinge it Which question cannot here be disputed or discussed for confoundinge of matters Onlie this I say by the way to your obiections made against them that if you doe stand to S. Aug iudgment in this pointe to whome you make shewe to appeale the cause is lost on your parte and if you will not beleeue me reade his seconde booke de Doctrina Christiana cap 5. 6. and be your owne iudge Againe your exceptions against the bookes in controuersie are such as if they were admitted for sufficient to prooue them Apocripha I dare vndertake to prooue all or the most parte of the bookes in the Bible to be Apocripha And this I will make good whensoeuer you dare vppon equall conditions to chalenge me therunto See therfore I pray what a friende you are to the holy scripture that open such and so wide a gappe to take quite away all scripture And this shall suffice for answere to all your tedious discourse in this section Manuall Catholike position the first That all such articles as by her the Catholike Roman churche and the protestants are beleeued and holden for articles of faith are not so expressely contayned in the holy scriptures as out of them onlie full proofe may be made thereof PILK This position is so doubtfullie sett downe as if of purpose you would walke in a cloude that your reader might not perceiue you For if by expresselie you meane wordes and sillables then it is true that all articles of faith are not contayned in holy scriptures in so manie wordes but if you meane the sence and substance and that which may be deduced by necessarie consequence then it is
are vppon what ground doe you assume in your minor But the holy scriptures are greater then â—he testimonie of Iohn not out of the texts of of scripture cited by you for they say no such thing They say that indeede of the workes of Christe and of his fathers testimonie which notwithstandinge were noe where then written but of the scripture they say no such thinge And therefore your argument is as fitlie founded vppon these text of scripture as those are which Pruritanu sett downe in the name of your felowes the author of which pamplett had he seene your booke might haue increased his not a little out of it As with this for example I have greater witnes then Iohn â—râ—â— ther are noe traditions or traditioÌ„s are not to be beleeued equallie with scriptures For amongst all his I knowe not whether there be one more impertinent then this But you will thinke to make some force out of the laste sentence search the scriptures c. but with as much probabilitie as out of the other For were it as you read For in them yee haue eternall life and not For in them you thinke to haue eternall life Which is the true texte yett haue you thence no other thing then that the old testament for of that onlie our Sauiour speaketh doth testifie of him Which how it either prooueth your Antithesis or improoueth my position iudge you by this consequence The old testament in which the Iewes thought to haue eternall life beareth witnes of our Sauiour Christ Ergo traditions are not of equall authoritie with scripture Doe doctors in Oxeforde vse to make such consequences if they doe I dare say it is the paine of sinne and heresie for the which they are depriued of the verie light of naturall reason and discourse PILK Proofe Whatsoeuer is confirmed by the authoritie of diuine scriptures which in the churche are called canonical is without al doubte to be beleeued But you may beleeue or not beleeue other witnesses or testimonies which men persuade you to beleeue as much as they deserue or not deserue to bee credited by the force yee finde in them CHAMP If you dare stand to this authoritie I will euidentlie prooue against you that you are to beleeue purgatory prayers for the dead the guaâ—de of Angells and diuers other thinges which you condemne in the catholikes For these thinges are euidentlie confirmed in those scriptures which the churche in S. August tyme did call canonicall as he witnesseth Further the bookes receiued by your selfe for canonicall doe confirme the authoritie of traditions as is playne out of the second Epistle to the Thessalo cited before Againe it is not onlie men but gods churche and consequentlie God himselfe by her that perswadeth vs to beleeue traditions and therefore this your argument is as foolishe as the rest PILK Proofe Abraham when he was desired to send Lazarus answered they haue Moises and the prophetts if they will not beleeue them nether will they heare the dead raysed vppe Christe bringeth him speakinge in a parable to shewe that he woulde haue more faith geuen to the scriptures then if the dead should reâ—iue Moreouer Paul and when I mention Paule I mean Christe for he knewe his minde preferreth scriptures before Angells that descend and that in great congruitie For an Angell thoughe verie greate yett are they seruants and ministers but all scriptures came vnto vs not from seruants but from God Lord of all Chrisostome in cap. 1. ad Gallatas CHAMP There is no end of your impertinencies and absurd parologismes Christ woulde haue more faith geuen to the scriptures then if the dead shoulde reuiue say you Ergo what Ergo Mr. Pilkinton knoweth not what he saith Certainlie this is the best consequence anie man can make of this testimonie as it is cited by him Againe S. Paule yea our Sauiour Christ preferre scriptures before angells that shoulde teach anie thinge against that which the Apostles had taught say you because the angells are ministers but the scriptures came to vs from God the Lord of all Ergo traditions are not to be beleeued equallie with scriptures A learned consequence I wisse and like the rest of your doctrine hauinge as much truth and connexion in it as hath this God is in heauen Ergo Mr. Pilkinton is a Roman Catholike Nowe looke backe I pray thee iudicious reader vpon the catholicke positions sett downe in the Manuall with the proofes thereof out of the scriptures and compare them with Mr. Pilkintons Antitheses and the proofes thereof and passe thy impartiall iudgment on them whether of them haue better grounde in holy scripture Thus farr I haue gone with your Parallel Mr. Pilkinton examininge the weight and truth thereof and in a fewe leaues haue founde so manie absurdities falsities and impertinencies that your whole booke seemeth to me to be no other thing then a deformed lumpe or masse of mouldinge past which maketh not anie resistance but is without all difficultie cutt in peeces pearced or thrust thoroughe euen with euerie wooden knife or other instrument For if I had no more difficultie to coppie and transcribe your wordes out of your booke into my paper that they might goe to the printe with my reply then I had to confute them you shoulde not haue been so manie dayes without your answere I goe no further with you in discussinge your doctrine because I will not bestowe good howers in such vnnecessarie and vnprofitable labour learninge of your selfe in the laste page of your booke that as to knowe the sea water to be salte it is not necessarie to drinke vppe the whole sea or to knowe an earthen statua guilded ouer not to be gold it is sufficient to scrape of one peece onlie of the guildinge So for anie man to discouer the absurditie and impertinencie of your booke it is not necessarie he shoulde goe thoroughe it whollie but it abundantlie sufficeth to haue examined one parte thereof onlie I would not lett it goe whollie without refutation least you shoulde haue interpreted my silence to haue proceeded from the difficultie there had been to confute your doctrine and least your lesse skilfull reader might thinke you had sayd something to the purpose in answere of the catholike doctrine or proofe of your owne I woulde not goe anie further in mine answer for the reason alreadie sett downe out of your owne wordes If you please to lay downe your wilfulnes to defend your errours and with some in differencie to consider the sinceritie of the catholike truthe I make no doubte but by this litle which hath been sayde in reply to your answere you will see the vanitie of your doctrine deliuered in this booke of yours But if you persiste in your obstinate will not to geue eare to the truth you may well be vanquished and ouercome as S. Hierome saith but you will neuer be perswaded Neither is my paynes herein bestowed so much out of hope to
of tyme and place chaunge and alter as experience teacheth and not of matters of faith and beliefe which are euer the same without anie chaunge or alteration So that my position hath no other contrarietie with S. Aug. doctrine then heate hath with white or hearinge with seeinge PILK Vniuersalitie is a note to finde out the churche by Attende not those companies that goe the broade way they are manie and who cann number them and fewe goe in the narrowe way bringe forth thy weights weighe them see what a deale of chaffe for a littell corne CHAMP The farther you goe the more your ignoraunce or obstinacie doth appeare Are you not ashamed to make S. Aug. att oddes with the Apostles and Nycen Creede both which make vniuersalitie a note propriety of the true churche Besides are you so shallow brayned that you see not that S. Aug. speaketh here of baddly liuinge Christians which make not diuerse churches but are as Chaffe in the same baâ—ne or flore with the good Corne and not of misbeleeuing heretiks and Sectaries which make theire conuenticles a parte out of the churche and are neuer comparable to the true churche for vniuersalitie either of time or place Againe why doe you charge me in the page followinge with forgeinge this propositioÌ„ and fatheringe it vppon you â—he true churche of christe is not necessarilie Catholicke or vniuersall either in respect of place or tyme if you wil denie vniuersallity to be a note of the true churche You are so busied to make contrarieties betwixt my positions and the fathers doctrine that you runne into euident contradictions with your selfe and that within the space of a litle leafe of paper Either confesse the cause which you would defende to be so badd that it inforceth you to these absurdities or leaue the defence of it to some others of better skill and iudgment PILK The true churche of God is visible and apparant both to the saithfull beleeuers that are in it and also to heretickes and others that are out of it What churche nowe freelie serueth Christ For if it be godlie it is exposed to daungers if there be in anie place faithfull seruants of Christ as in all places there are manie they like vnto the great prophett Elias are secret and hide themselues in dennes and caues of the earth or wandringe vppe and downe remayne in the wildernes CHAMP If you woulde haue proued the truth of my position and the conformitie thereof with the doctrine of S. Athanasius you could not easilie haue donne it more effectuallie then by the testimonie you bringe out of him to prooue the contrarie so deuoyde of iudgment are you in all your sayinges For the churche that is exposed to daungers that is in all places and is persecuted is doubtles visible both to the faithfull and to the heretikes Yea those seruantes of Christ that like vnto Elias hide themselueâ— in dennes and remaine in the wildernes are not inuisible more then the catholickes nowe are in Englande whereof some parte is in prison others are in woodes and wildernesses as these were of whom S. Athanasius speaketh And if you could shewe such a visible churche of protestants before Martin Luther you would not vse the shamelesse shift of an inuisible churche whereunto you are driuen by meere necessitie PILK S. Peter was by our Sauiour Christe constituted supreame heade or soueraigne Bishop or pastour ouer his whole churche militant Christe gaue to all his Apostles equall power after his resurrection and sayde as my Father sent me so send I you receiue the holy ghoste whose sinnes you remitt they are remitted and a litle after the rest of the Apostles were the same that Peeter was endued with like fellowshippe both of honour and power CHAMP The equalitie of power to remitt sinnes or as the diuines terme it power of order of which equalitie S. Cyprian speaketh in all the Apostles doth stande well with the supremacie of the power of iurisdiction and gouernment which S. Cyprian geueth to S. Peeter Againe all the Apostles were of equall power in respect of the rest of the churche but not in respect of themselues For one head was chosen saith S. Hierome that the occasion of schisme might be taken away Where you are also to note that if you will still persist to vrge the equalitie of power in all the Apostles out of this testimonie of S. Cyprian you must also in like manner conclude the equalitie of honour in them all which notwithstandinge none of you dare to doe in regarde of so manie prerogatiues clearly geuen to S. Peter both in holy scriptures and by all antiquitie For which reason Spalatensis who hath strugled more peruersly against S. Peter his supremacie then anie other hereticke hitherto doth graunte vnto him a supremacie in diuerse respects thinkinge thereby as 〈◊〉 hee is malicious and peruerse by grauntinge him some parte of his due more easilie to depriue him of the rest Either cease therefore to impugne S. Peter his supreamacie out of this testimonie of S. Cyprian or if you will continue still to doe it take his whole wordes and sence and so shall you make him opposite to your selues PILK The Bishop of Rome is the lawfull and lineall successour of S. Peter in that charge and office which our Sauiour gaue vnto S. Peter ouer his churche militant Lett none of vs make him selfe bishop of bishops or by tyrannicall feare force his fellowes to necessitie of obedience seeinge euerie bishop hath free libertie and licence of his owne power and may not iudge another no more then another may iudge him but lett vs expect the iudgment of our Lord Iesus Christ who onlie and alone hath power to prefer vs in the gouernmeÌ„t of the churche and to iudge of our acts CHAMP I knowe not whether I shoulde ascribe it to ignorance or peruersitie that you produce this Testimonie as opposite to my position For no man of common sence that readeth in S. Aug. whence you cite it but will iudge it most impertinentlie alleadged for your purpose S. Cyprian there speakinge to his fellowe Bishopps of Affricke willinge them to giue their opinions of the matter proposed which was touchinge the Baptisme of heretickes professinge to keepe vnion and communion with them that should iudge other waies then he did And this without mention or intention to include in his speach the Bishope of Rome but directeth his wordes to the Bishops present for that particular matter which there he proposed vnto them PILK To holy Saincts and Angells in heauen is due more then ciuill honour and reuerence We honour the Angells with loue not seruice we builde them no temples c our religion teacheth vs not to worshippe dead men CAMP Your ignorance or peruersitie if not both lieth so open to all men that nothinge else appeareth hitherto in you If you had read S. Aug and but halfe
vnderstoode him you would neuer haue dreamed of anie Antithesis betwixt my position his doctrine Hee speakinge manifestlie of that seruice which is due onlie vnto God called of diuines Latria whereof my position is not meant And if to make your Antithesis good you will contend that there is no other religious woshippe or seruice but onlie that which is called Latria and is only due vnto God learne of S. Aug to correct your sencelesse errour Who disputing against Faustus and haueinge confessed the religious worshippe of Martyrs to preuent your errour addeth these wordes But with that worshippe which in Greeke is called Latria and in Latin cannot be expressed in one worde being a seruice due onlie to the diuinitie we neither worshippe nor teache to be worshipped but God onlie Reade the whole chapter and see his doctrine more at large and you shall finde that in S. Aug. opinion Christian religion doth not forbidde the religious worshippe of maâ—tirs who are no more to be called dead men then Abraham Isaac and Iacob of whom our Sauiour himselfe testifieth that they are liuinge Matt 22 32 PILK To pray to the angells and Saincts in heauen is lawfull and derogateth no whit at all from the mediation of Christ The martirs are nominated in their place and order but yett are not prayed vnto by the priest that offereth Sacrifice That prayer which is not made by Christ not onlie doth not abolish sinne but it selfe is turned into sinne CHAMP Thoughe I be alreadie wearie of your impertinencies yett will I not stick to refute this last which is as apparant as the rest First therefore thoughe you take the wordes of S. Aug. as nakedlie as you sett them downe yett doe they sounde noe Antithesis with my position hee onlie denyinge that Sacrifice is to be offered to martyrs which the manuall affirmeth not Secondlie S. Aug. speaketh onlie of such inuocation as the heathens vsed to theire false Gods as you your selfe cannot denie if you would but read that same chapter which is by you alleaged and therfore his doctrine cannot coÌ„tradict my position which maketh not Saincts to be Gods nor yett to be worshipped as such Furthermore in this your allegation I note the shamefull beggarie and miserie of your cause which is such that you cannott begge or borrowe of the holy Fathers the least seeminge couer for one soare without gaulinge or discoueringe another For whilst you would couer your heresie of not prayinge to Saincts with a patch borrowed of S. Aug you shameleslie discouer and lay open that other heâ—esie of yours wherein you denie the sacrifice of the churche I will sett downe S. Aug wordes that all such as are not as wilfullie blinde as your selfe may see both your vanitie in this Antithesis the confutation of your heresie against the sacrifice of the newe Testament The Gentils saith he built temples erected alters ordered priests and did sacrifice to such Gods to witt Hercules Romulus and the like But we builde not churches to our Martyrs as to Gods but memories as to men departed whose soules liue with God neither doe we erect altars there to Sacrifice thereon to the Martyrs but we Sacrifice to one God whoe is our God and the God also of the Martyrs in which sacrifice they are named in theire place and rancke as men of God who vanquished the world in confessinge him bu they are not inuocated to witt as Gods by the priest that sacrificeth for he sacrificeth to God and not to them thoughe he sacrifice in their memorie because he it the priest of God and not of them And the sacrifice is the Boddie of Christ c. Your other testimonie out of S. Aug. vppon the psalme 108. is yett more foolishlie alleaged As thoughe for soothe those prayers which are made to God by his Saincts were not made vnto him by his sonne our Sauiour Your peruersitie hath made you intollerablie ignorant if you thinke so Againe S. Aug. there speaketh nothinge of prayers made to Saincts but of prayers made by Iudas who sellinge and betrayinge Christ did not onlie not pray by him but against him which being so hence I gather that if you sawe and read S. Aug. your selfe you haue a most wicked minde wittinglie labouringe to induce youâ—lesse carefull and warie reader into errour A degree of malice almost proper to the deuill himselfe PILK The like may bee verified of the rest CHAMP If you cal this verifyinge I desire you should alway plead against me and neuer for me For hitherto haue you not verified anie apparant contrarietie betwixt my position and the fathers doctrine thoughe you bragginglie pretend to bringe direct contradiction betweene them And in this dare I stand to the iudgment of your owne patron of Canterburie vppon condition that he will read the places in the fathers cited by you I will except that of S. Cyprian brought for the 7. Antithesis which though no more true indeede then the rest yett hath it a more apparancie in wordes then the rest and so is willinglie vnderstoode by your selfe and all the aduersaries of S. Peters primacie After your Antithesis you putt downe a roll of forged positions as thoughe I had imposed them vppon you and your fellowe protestants To which I answere first in generall that if it had not pleased you to winke att and ouerlooke that which I say neither confusedlie nor obscurelie in my preface you would not if you would haue sayd the truth charge me with forgeing anie positions against you I will here sett downe myne owne wordes which shall cleare me of that imputation I thinke euen with mine aduersaries if they be not wilfullie malignant Thus therefore I say there First I jett downe the Catholike Roman beliefe in direct and plaine positions c. And last of all I putt downe the position contradictorie to the Catholike doctrine to the end that the indfferent reader may more easilie iudge whether doctrine hath better grounde in holy Scripture And further that he that will impugne this treatise may see what he hath to prooue if hee wil prooue any thinge to purpose That is if he will prooue anie thinge against the Catholike Faith which onlie I vndertake in the Manuall to prooue and not to impugne or disprooue the protestants further then the proofe of one contradictorie is the disproofe of the other Without reason therefore doe you charge me with forgeinge positions thoughe amongst these which I sett downe vnder this note in the margent Protestants positioÌ„s some were founde which they doe not mantayne which whether it be so or no we shall presentlie examine for I putt the position contradictorie to the Catholike vnder the title of protestant position for this cause as I haue sayde before that if anie protestant will denie or impugne the catholike position prooued by me he may see the direct position which he is to prooue If therefore there be anie
shall not be to ani purpose in way of answere that anie aduersarie bringe another interpretation of some father vpon the places of scripture alleaged by me beside that which I haue brought For it is not denyed that one and the same place of scripture may be and is often diuerslie vnderstoode not onlie of diuerse fathers but of one and the same father But if he will say anie thinge to the purpose in this kinde he must bringe an interpretation contradictinge that which I haue brought and withall labour rather to prooue his owne doctrine then to impugne that of the catholickes For seeinge it is as all men knowe a farr more easie thinge to impugne anie doctrine thoughe neuer so true then to prooue the same no truth especiallie of faith beinge so euidentlie cleare but that somethinge with shewe of probabilitie may be obiected against it it is not nowe expected that anie aduersarie should stand to answere those authorities of scripture and fathers which I haue alleaged for proofe of the catholicke doctrine or to impugne the same but rather to bring others in proofe of his owne That the iudicious reader may compare our groundes in scripture both together and by the viewe of his owne eie try whether of them be more conformeable to gods sacred worde And wheÌ„ anie one shall haue produced his proofes for protestantisme in like manner as I haue in the behalfe of the catholicke religion if he can so doe yett shall he gaine no more thereby but an euident demonstration against the cheefest groundes of the protestants doctrine that eitherto the true and full decision of controuersies in matter of faith is necessarilie required some other iudgment or tryall then the onlie wordes of holie scripture or else that there is no meanes at all to end matters of controuersies of faith which latter neuerthelesse to affirme is no lesse iniurious to gods wisdome goodnes and power then to say that he hath prouided no sufficient meanes for men to knowe the way to saue their soules For both parties bringinge scriptures for themselues who shall finallie determine whether of them doth applie the sayd scriptures more sincerelie and according to theire true meaninge PILK Your demaundes doe so crosse one another as if your thoughts had been at warres together First you prescribe your aduersarie howe he shall answere you not by bringing another sence of anie father vppon the place of scripture alleaged by you but a coÌ„tradictorie And theÌ„ you forbidde him to answere either scripture or father vrged by you but to fortifie prooue his owne doctrine But you must be coÌ„teÌ„t whether you wil or noe to suffer your aduersary to vnmaske your fraude and to open the vayle of your cunninge dealing both in your doubtfull positions and impertinent allegations by sheweinge the natiue sence of the scriptures euen from the fathers to haue no concurrence with your imaginations but to contradict them and then he will be content to acquainte you with the groundes of his doctrine which either ignorantlie you mistake or purposelie peruert which beinge paralleld with yours the reader may iudge on which side the truth standeth CHAMP Your head is so full of crochets that you imagine my wordes to crosse one another or else you say so onlie to make your lesse heedfull reader to thinke so vppon your creditt I neither prescribe to mine aduersarie how hee should answere mee neither doe I forbidd him to answere either scripture or Fathers alleaged by me as you are pleased to faigne out of your owne braine which notwithstandinge if I hadd donne yett hadd there been no crossinge betwixte those thinges as euerie man may easilie see but I tel him what manner of answere wil be to the purpose and what will not and further I require he should first sett downe his owne beleefe with the proofe thereof out of the scriptures which two thinges doe not crosse one another in anie mans iudgment but yours besides the reasoÌ„ which I geue both for the one and the other is clearlie good and true For your vnmaskinge of my fraude spare it not in gods name and I promise you that if you discouer but one quarter of those blotttes and blemishes in my face that I haue alreadie donne in yours I will hide it for euer that it neuer appeare in publike more But nowe I will hearken howe you wil performe the greate thinges you here promise PILK But this is no parte of your meaninge at all that your reader shoulde trye by the scriptures as the Bereans did and so rest himselfe satisfied CHAMP My meaninge good Sr. is that the reader should searche the scriptures alleaged by me in proofe of the catholicke saith and trâ—e whether he finde them not so as I haue cited them which the Bereans did Whereby he shall finde the chatholicke doctrine to be trulie grounded vppon the holy scriptures and consormeable vnto them as the Bereans did finde S Paules doctrine to be thoughe they were boundâ— to beleeue his preachinge without that research PILK But your drifte is after you haue sett the scriptures togeather by the eares to thrust vppon him the authoritie of the Pope who must finallie determine on which side the sence of the scripture bendeth and then I doubte not but you shall winne the day CHAMP My drifte is to make the reader see that the catholike faith hath true grounde in the holy scriptures and if you or anie other will shewe the same for your newe doctrine the reader must necessarilie see that he must finde somes meanes to knowe to whether side the true sence of the scriptures doth trulie agree And if he finde that the Pope who is cheife head of all those to whom our Sauiour sayde he that heareth you heareth me geueth sentence for the allegations on the catholicke side as you confesse there is no doubte but he will If he haue anie true care of his soule he will beleeue and followe that parte PILK For thus you carrie the matter when both parties haue brought scriptures for themselues out the letter of the scriptures not opposinge the letter to the sence as you falselie say I meane but seekinge and takinge the sence from the letter onlie Is not this your doctrine in this verie section you cannot denie it vnlesse you haue a face to say and vnsay at euerie turne Cast vp therefore once more your owne cardes and see what other Iudge you make of controuersies besides the onlie wordes of scripture Therefore either blushe your selfe or if your face be so brasen that you cannot bidd some other blush for you that you either vnderstande not your owne doctrine or are ashamed to acknoweledge and maintaine it I knowe to what end is all this florishe of wordes to raise vppe a little smoake before your readers eies that you may steale away and leaue the difficultie which you knowe presseth you harde vutouched you shall not scape so I wisse PILK If then
the other is a mere denyall or negation of faith of a positiue article and is as well in horses or asses as in men onlie with this difference that men are capable and may haue the contrarie positiue act but horses and asses cannot If your faith therefore of the negatiue articles which you houlde be of the first kinde you are bounde to prooue it by positiue testimonie of holy scripture If it be onlie of the second kinde then haue you no more faith in these articles then haue horses asses or other brute beastes Nowe to the fathers testimonies so farr as they may seeme to make anie thinge against the catholicke doctrine of traditions or the churches authoritie I answere supposinge they sounde as you sett them downe which I will not stande to examine here that whatsoeuer is prooued by traditions or the churches iudgment is warranted by the scripture which geueth testimonie to the churche and traditions Which answere is S. August lib. 1. cont Crescon cap. 33. PILK Therefore concerninge the profe of our faith in the negatiue points of purgatorie Reall presence Sacrifice of the Masse sith there is noe footinge for them in the worde of God we answere with Basill that it is not faith but a manifest defection from faith to denie that which is written or to bringe in anie thinge that is not written where as Christ IESVS our Lorde saith my sheepe heare my voice CHAMP The iudicious reader shal be iudge whether these catholike articles haue not much faster footinge in the holy scriptures then your contiarie negatiues Neither doth S. Basill anie wayes fauour you For he confirminge his sayinge with these wordes of our Sauiour my sheepe heare my voyce excludeth not that worde of our Sauiour which is more properlie his worde then the scripture For he sayth not my scriptures but my sheepe heare my voyce therfore he speaketh of the voyce as it is deliuered by worde and not as it is written PILK And yett to satisfy you we shall finde sufficient weapons out of the scriptures to lay these Anekims on the grounde Nowe as the Roman Emperour that meant to subdue Germanie brought out his armie and put them in aray vppon the sea shoore and presentlie charged them to gather shelles tellinge them that they were spoyles of the Ocean due to the capitoll So you hauinge marshalled your forces and putt them in order tell your reader that the whole body of them is but a Scheleton bare bones tyed together with drye Sinewes and then without question you will attaine a glorious victorie and bringe spoyles fitt for the vaticane Yet you doubt not but your treatise will please some mens appetite and I am of your minde for like lippes like lettuce Thus from your prolusion I come to your mayne battaille which thus you beginne CHAMP What sharpe weapons you wil finde in the scriptures for your negatiue faith or no beleefe I will with patience expect and hauinge with all indifferencie pondered them I will tell you with all sinceritie what weight they are of in my iudgment In the meane tyme I must tel you that your conclusion seemeth to me as litle wittie as all the rest of your discourse is learned and therfore findinge by the litle experience I haue of you that such lettuce sute well with your lippes I leaue them wholy to your selfe Manuall The first controuersie It is knowne that the catholike Roman churche doth admitte more bookes and parcelles of holy Bible for scripture then the protestants doe and consâ—quently acknowledge a larger Canon then they and yett notwithstandinge shee teacheth PILK The Grecians are euer children rightlie fitteth you Romanists that still lispe like littell children and excellentlie speake without sence For to say the catholike Romane church is as good sence as the vniuersall particular churche CHAMP It is your dull vnderstandinge and not our lisping language that maketh these wordes the Catholicke Roman â—hurâ—h without sence to you For the attribute Romane doth not restraine anie whit the amplitude of the signification of that worde catholicke or vniuersall either in reâ—pect of tyme or place as you ignorantlie imagine but doth onlie distinguish it from all such sects as falselie and presumptuously terme themselues catholike but dare not call themselues RomaÌ„s or Roman Catholickes As in former ages the worde catholike was added to the name christian for the same purpose as auncient Pacianus signifieth Therefore when we say a Roman Catholike we woulde say no more but a true and not a falsely termed catholike And because you are a member of one of those sects which are discried by this worde Romane you hate it as theeues hate the light whereby they are discouered PILK For who can conceiue the catholike churche to be Roman which was in the worlde before Rome it selfe was for it is the generall assembly of the Saints Heb. 12. â—3 from Abell the first iust vnto the last that shall beleeue in Christe as S. Aug speaketh Moreouer all the nations in the worlde not the Romans were promised to Christ psal 2. Aske of me and I will geue thee the gentiles for thine inheritance and the vttermost partes of the earth for thy possession and so S. Aug writeth that God promised to the seede of Abraham not the Romans but all the gentils and sealed it with an oathe by which promise it came to passe that manie nations not contayned vnder the Roman iurisdiction receiued the Gospell and were ioyned vnto the churche CHAMP There is no greater difficultie to conceiue howe the catholike churche may be called Roman then howe the christian churche which denomination began first at Antioch is called Catholike And if you would knowe he reason why it is denominated of Rome rather then of Antioche or Hierusalem it is because S. Peeter who was Bishoppe of Rome receiued promise of our Sauiour Christ that his churche shoulde be builte vppon him as vppon a firme rocke and that hell gates shoulde neuer preuaile against it Which promise our Sauiour Christ hauinge performed it is come to passe that the churche of Christe which was first called christian then Catholike is nowe called Roman and thus much for the name RomaÌ„ Nowe I woulde haue you marke that whatsoeuer you say in proofe of this attribute catholike you say in condemnation of your owne protestanticall assemblies which were neuer hearde of before Martin Luther no more then the Arrians were before Arrius and the rest of the sects and heresies before theire maisters and authours Which one argument had you but anie indifferencie ioyned with anie meane iudgment woulde be sufficient to make you detest the felloweshippe of such newe maisters PILK Besides the moderne Romane churche hath made a defection from that which the primatiue Roman church maintayned in so much that S. Paules Epistles written to the auncient RomaÌ„s may iustlie be called an antilogie of that Religion which nowe is professed in the cittie of Rome CHAMP Some substantiall proofe