a concubine may not be put from the Communion so that he be contented with one woman be she wife or harlot O how horrible among Christians is this decrée Such stuffe they haue such holynesse they vse such men they be Loth I am to defile any further my pen either in their most lothsome lawe or in their vile and lawlesse lust Nowe to the braunches whereof I spake and first of the chiefe which is Purgatorie This is a place as they appoint it wherein onely small offences be remitted in the next life If you aske them where this place is they can not agree you appose them so that quod non inuenit vsquam esse putat nusquam They haue sought heauen they haue sought hell itum est in viscera terrae they haue sought euen the verie bowels of the earth and yet can not feyned Purgatorie be founde there is none before the time of darknesse that euer heard of such an Inne But is there trowe ye any such place at al If there be none then hath it no place of being for quod non est nusquam est That which is not is no where The name of Purgatorie in holye scripture was neuer read in sense also there is therein nothing founde in anye wise to confirme the same except you will haue the wresting of places to be proofes and the abusing of Gods word to be made a warde a couering and a bolstering of iniquitie Did the Apostles of Christ euer heare of any such place heard they once of the name of Purgatorie no for it was long after will the defenders thereof saye before it was borne and christened Our forefathers saye they more than a thousande yeares since called it Purgatorie In déede they had néede at the length to name it béeing of so long a tyme before namelesse but who was Godfather y e Pope himself Well it was time to hatch it for it was one of the profitablest monsters that euer was whelped within the Popes house But beléeue me let them garnishe it neuer so much with gold feyned dreames and with other delusions yet shall it down the straw stuffing must be séene the painted lymmes must be looked vppon and the breathlesse babe must throughly now be ripped vp and be tried And what gaue occasion to our forefathers I will vse their owne wordes of the name of Purgatorie Marrie say they the thirde Chapiter of the Prophet Malachie and the first Epistle to the Corinthians These be their twoo especiall places vpon the which you shall nowe sée how foolishly they builde The words in Malachie be these Beholde he commeth sayth the Lord of hostes and who may abide the day of his comming who can stande and endure his sight for he is like melting and casting fire and as the wasshers herbe And he shall sit casting and trying out siluer and shal purge the children of Leui and clense them as gold or siluer Here we find a maner of purgation and what is it forsooth we will vse plaine dealing the matter néedes no shift In thys place and in the whole chapiter these things be only conteyned the comming of S. Iohn the Baptist the deliuerance of the faithfull through Gods great mercie and grace from their sinnes the iudgement of Christ against the wicked of their blasphemies against God and of Gods most benigne care toward the godlye See then whether your priuate Purgatorie maye haue hence anye place any pretence of being any defence or bolstring or not I néeded not to tell you oh I woulde it were not néedefull to tell that we are onely saued by Christ his death that we are clensed by his bloud shed and that we are redemed by his passion it is our Sauiour Iesus Christ which gaue himself for vs to redéeme vs from all vnrighteousnes and to purge vs a peculiar people vnto him selfe we feruentlye being giuen vnto good workes Weigh then what it is to purge the children of Leui and sée whether it be any thing else then that they should be regenerated and renewed by the spirite of God yea and that sinne shoulde not be imputed vnto them for the loue of Christ Consider this it is a more holesome doctrine than to hunt we know not where after a hatefull phantasticall and foolish pretenced Purgatorie Thus by the wordes of the Prophet séeing they may not preuaile seeing that the same is altogither against them let vs likewise ▪ sée what y e Apostle sayth He alledgeth that the foundation is already layde which is Iesus Christ then he procedeth in these wordes If anye man builde vppon this foundation golde siluer precious stones wood hay or stubble euery mans worke shall appeare For the daye of the Lorde will declare it and it shall bee shewed in fire and the fire shall trie euerye mannes worke what it is If any mans worke that he hath builte vpon doe abide he shall receyue a rewarde If anye mans worke burn he shal suffer losse but yet he himselfe shall be safe neuerthelesse yet as it were through fire These be S. Paules wordes ▪ Now as men not giuen to contention and fonde strife as men desirous of the right vnderstanding of holye scripture as men all free from partialitie and part taking let vs weigh vprightlye the meaning of the text Here the Apostle would haue vs to be feruent in good workes and earnest to doe well hée wisheth vs to bee occupied in that labour which when the iudge of all shall come may in his sight be acceptable may to vs ward be commendable And that we should well beware what workes we builde vppon our foundation he plainlye sheweth that at the last day all our doings shalbe opened and that then the same shall be so tried as the Goldsmith in fining hys mettals trieth out the drosse and base matter from the pure perfite and fine The day sayth he of our Lorde shall declare it bicause it shall appeare in fire The daye of our Lorde is the daye of iudgement the thing is so plaine as no man though he be very peruerse may denie it But when shall it appere in fire euen then at the generall iudgement so is the text Where is therfore in y e meane time their place of Purgatorie Well will you sée in fewe wordes what by the whole text is ment Here this onelye is spoken of those which shall be saued of such as builde vppon Iesus Christ vppon which foundation as all can not builde golde precious stones and siluer as all can not be perfite neyther by martyrdome bée crowned nor yet by good learning shine like the starres ofheauen so thereon building be it but Wood or Haye be it but verie stubble though y e work it selfe be in the end burned though he himselfe receiue no such reward as the others yet shal he be saued and how as it were through fire Not through fire but through the great feare
awaye This is it that Satan desired to sift thē What followeth but I haue praied for thée vnto Peter he sayth that thy faith fayle not And what gather wee of these wordes forsooth that Christ séeing considering yea vttering the estate to come of Peter that is how in that day he should denie him thrise and that before the Cocke crewe he thought it necessarie also as néedfull it was that Simon by name should receyue some words of comfort that he should vnderstand though through feare he denied him that yet his faith shoulde not so fayle but that in hart still he would acknowledge him to be the sonne of the liuing God and though that through frayltie he did fall yet should he through due repentance be raysed vp againe and so should not his faith fayle There followeth also in the same place and when thou art cōuerted make more constant thy brethren That is after thou hast denied me after thou hast bitterly wept and repented call then togither thy brethrē call those that are fled confirme them tell them that you all haue done euil will them nowe with thée to repent and to be sorie Such is the sense of that text it soundeth you sée in no wise to any superioritie And touching the authoritie of binding and losing as it was giuen vnto Peter so was it vnto all the rest and that without anye exception For our Sauiour speaking vnto them al as S. Iohn witnesseth saith thus whose sinnes soeuer yee remit they are remitted vnto them and whose sinnes so euer yee retain they are retayned Saint Mathew recordeth the same his wordes bee plaine the sense is euident the meaning is manifest what would you more S. Paule himselfe a thing to bee marked being accused before Festus there and then appealed not vnto Peter but vnto Caesar shewing thereby vnto vs that in causes accusations and controuersies it is not vnto the Pope but vnto the Prince that we ought to appeale Wherefore these thinges with an vpright iudgement with an honest conscience considered how by what meanes shall the Popes primacie be defended the foundation thereof is pride the fruite is poyson it can not be praysed Reason is wholye against it good authorities do earnestly withstand it and holye scripture doth altogither denie it If good reason therefore maye take place if right authorities can preuayle if sacred Scripture shall ouercome who is he now where is any that will maintaine defend vphold or assist either the Pope or his feyned painted hollow Popedome I will therfore conclude yea the kings of the earth as sayeth the Prophet Esay doe one after another conclude and say How happeneth it that the oppressor leaueth off is the golden tribute come to an end art thou wounded also as wee art thou become like vnto vs thy pompe and thy pride is gone downe to hell Mothes shall bee layd vnder thee and wormes shall be thy couering The Cockatrice which came out of the Serpents roote we sée now rooted out God graunt that it neuer take roote so ragingly to rebell against heauen againe Here séeing then that the chiefest bulwark of vnbeliefe is battered downe séeing the gate of Babilon is broken séeing that the very seate of Lucifer is defaced séeing hys prowde pallace is ouerthrowen wée maye briefly speake of the braunches which sayd we nothing the roote being destroyd would else of themselues in verie short time fayle die wither and decaye For if the Pope bée put downe how can dreaming Purgatorie stande how can his Bulles liue how can his Pedlars and his Pardons preuayle of these things and of such others I meane as briefly so in plaine wise and indifferently to speake Yet first I sée it needefull that we aunswere vnto certaine obiections now bellowing in the throtes of the aduersaries that so their vaine dartes and foolish reasons throughly weied they acknowledging their disease maye with a more moderation of mynde with vs consider what things they be whence they came and wherevnto they tende whereof we haue to treate Shall we saye they mislike the fayth which our fathers professed when we were borne if the common people which knowe not the lawe and are accursed doe follow this newe doc trine shall we be also seduced doth any of y e chiefe Rulers of the Lords of the Lawyers or of the learned beleeue it Oh sicut patres vestri it a vos as your fathers the Pharisies haue obiected wil you also obiect if S. Paule had still followed the Pharisaicall law which his father embraced and wherin he was borne he had not bene worthie to haue the name of an Apostle of Christ if Peter if Barnabas if the rest had not forsaken the rites and lawes then vsed whē they were borne and which their forefathers helde and kept they had neuer bene accounted the Disciples and followers of Iesus Touching the common people you knowe how the Pharisies foolishlye obiected by the same wordes the selfe same thing against our sauiour And as you saye these Protestants be mad they haue no learning so sayd they turba haec non nouit legem execrabiles sunt these foolish people know not the lawe they are accurst But let the Pharisies let their followers speake what them list wée must saye nunquam sic loquutus est homo sicut hic homo there is no preaching like vnto the Gospell there was neuer man that set forth such doctrine there is none that may be compared vnto this S. Augustine before his conuersion vnderstanding that the poore Christians did preuaile and now somewhat better liking their doctrine sayth Quid patimur what suffer wee surgunt indocti rapiunt coelum nos cum nostris scientijs dimergimur in profundum the vnlearned doe rise vp and they get heauen but we with all our knowledgesse are drowned in darkenesse Let none therefore alleadge that wee are vnlearned for were wée so indocti rapiunt coelum these vnlearned these foolish protestants doe get heauen It is they which by persecution be encreased and by suffering of fire water and sworde are so multiplied that they may well say magna est veritas praeualet mightie is the truth and shee ouercommeth And concerning the chiefe rulers right great praise be therefore vnto God They were not of a long time so desirous to heare the truth nor so willinglye to embrace it as nowe If some be yet clogged if their eyes be not opened what maruaile When the Prophet Ieremie perceiued that the people would not repent what sayd he for sit an pauperes sunt peraduenture they are foolish and simple they vnderstand not the Lordes way ibo igitur ad optimates I will goe therefore vnto their heades and rulers vnto the chiefe ecce magis hi simul confregerunt iugum ruperunt vincula but loe these in like maner haue rather broken the yoke and burst the bandes in sunder these are worse than y e other
we will leaue the Doctors and they shall haue their fained almes condemned by Scriptures Unto Abel they know God looked his offering he receyued But vnto Cain and his offering he had no regarde He looketh not vpon the almes sacrifices and burnt offeringes of the wicked the Lorde abhorreth them He that giueth an offering of vnrighteous good his offering is refused But who doubteth whether the goodes of the Priest were vnrighteous séeing they got them by polling the poore by abusing Gods worde by dreames by subtile deuises by selling absolutions by deceitfull whisperinges by hypocrisie by heresie then what followeth they themselues may sée What should I alledge more examples the Lord abhorreth the sacrifice of the vngodly but the prayer of the righteous is acceptable vnto him Reade the whole Scriptures and you shall not finde one sentence to defende such as thinke they giue almes of goods vnlawfully gotten Let this suffice of their counterfaite almes We for our partes doe set forth and teache that we ought to sell of our owne goodes and giue vnto the poore that wée ought of our owne substance to impart vnto the needie Howe oft doe our Preachers speake hereof vnto the people how oft doe they ring these words of S. Paule into their cares while wee haue time let vs doe good vnto all men and speciallye vnto them which are of the houshold of faith We further exhort men that they forgiue those who haue offended them For that is a spirituall kinde of almes Wee perswade all to get their liuings truly we admonishe the poore that he labour to his power wée counsell the rich that he aide and succor the néedie we teach all that they giue their almes not to be séene of men but in secrete Such is our doctrine howe can they dispraise it let good Christians iudge who followeth therein the Scriptures we or they Who set forth true prayers who commende due fasting who allowe perfite repentance who best thinketh of almes déedes we or they This considered let the worlde iudge They saye also that we denie one of the articles of our Crede vpon which slaunder they builde sharpe and rigorous wordes against vs and all to bring Gods worde in contempt and to procure vnto the professors thereof the hatred of the people Let as many as can read pervse but with indifferencie the bookes which wée haue set abroade and if they find not in the Crede the twelue articles fullie and truly translated then let them blame vs and condemne our doings Likewise if they there finde them then let them discredite our aduersaries reprooue their malice and reprehend their falshoode What if we proue that it is they who haue abused the Crede and that it is the verye Pope which hath denied that Article Aske of them who in our faith of twelue articles haue made fourtene Who sayth that there be seuen articles which concerne the mysterie of the Trinitie and seuen which belong vnto Christ his humanitie who take vpon them to correct the Apostles they or wée who sayth that the Bishops be not bounde to aunswere vnto the articles of their faith without deliberation is not this a moste heynous ignorancie this is so grosse that it can neuer excuse them to vse their owne wordes à tanto nec à toto Pervse the Crede made by Gregorie of that name the first Pope of Rome and you shall finde that it is he who hath left out one of the articles of our Crede the discension into hell Why then blame they vs without cause why accuse they not him that is guiltie you sée their equitie their iustice their indifferencie We doe further saye they contemne good workes maintaine bare words defend naked faith and so teach a doctrine that is licencious lewde and naught What they should say we knowe but what they dare say all the world maye sée Were they not ouer foolish they woulde herein holde their peace For I pray you what faith is it that we teach preach wée not the verie same which S. Paule doth in this wise define Faith sayth he is a sure confidence of thinges which are hoped for and a certaintie of thinges which are not seene How say they then is this to be blamed as for our workes what be they but witnesses that we are righteous was it not so in Abel And touching iustification the estate of the question betwéene the Pope and vs is this he sayth that man is made iust not onely by faith but also through the obseruation of the lawe We say that we are iustified by fayth alone by no merites of ours by no workes We say that a iust man maketh the workes good and not that the good workes doe make a man iust And as by faith alone without workes we be iustified so by grace alone without our desertes we be saued And what sayth S. Paule herevnto we suppose sayth he that a man is iustified by fayth without the deedes of the law Lo what can be plainer than this Let them which haue eyes see the wordes be euident let such as haue heartes vnderstande If you vnto the Pope not I but Paule sayth be iustified by deedes then haue you wherein to reioyce but not with God Goeth not this text verie plainlye to worke but haue I no power will one saye to doe any good déede of thy selfe not at all neyther one Wilt thou knowe what is in thy power it is in thy power not to doe some deede that is euill and yet is it not in thée to doe that which is good How so will one say doe not I that which is good if I doe not the thing which is euill No. And therefore marke it For were it so then did the Heathens and Ethnickes good déedes which thing who is he that will graunt shall we saye that the heathens were iust men or that they were vertuous God forbid And why bicause they wanted this faith which maketh the worke good which iustifieth a man For the whole lyfe of the vnfaythfull sayeth Augustine is sinne And therefore though we may saye that one hauing faith hath doth or if hée haue time would doe good workes yet can not we say that all which seeme in our eyes to doe well haue faith For manye Hipocrites there be a mans faith we know not his hart is secret his déedes we see No man sayth Ambrose shall be iustified by his workes Some man sayth the Pope shall be iustified by his workes The first proposition is true therfore this last being the contradictorie is false Here they will obiect against vs the wordes of S. Iames. But I would to God that they vnderstoode them S. Iames moued with many who bragged in their fruitelesse fayth is enforced in the prayse of workes to say thus as the bodie without life is deade so is faith without works What is