rectissime creditur That is If any man loke for the autorite of God in this matter Howbeit that which the hole churche holdeth and is not ordened of any counsell but is alwayes holden styll it is mooste ryghtlye beleued that it was geuen oute and ordened by the Apostles The same Austen in a sermonde of the baptysme of infantyng agaynst the Pelagyaus sayth these wordes Cypriane beyng axed whether an infant myghte be baptysed before the viij daye because in the olde lawe the childe myght not be cyrcumcysed but on the eyghte day Saint Cyprian said that no man shulde be hyndred from grace and that the spirytual cyrcumcysyon oughte not to be hyndred by carnall cyrcumcysyon Cypriane wryteth also in the viij epistel of the thyrd booke these wordes concernyng the baptyme of infantes Porro autem si etiam grauissimis delictoribus in deum multum ante peccatibus cū postea crediderunt remissio peccatorum datur ae baptismo atque gratia nemo prohibetur quanto magis prohiberi non debet infans qui recens natus peccauit nisi quòd secundum Adam car naliter natus contagium mortis antiqua prima natiuitate contraxit Furthermore but yf that forgeuenes of synnes be geuen vnto the greatest synners and to them that dyd greately offend before after that they dyd beleue and no man is forbydden frō baptyme grace How much more ought not a spechles chylde to be forbydden whych beyng lately borne hath commytted no offence but that it beyng borne carnally after Adam hath caught the infeccyon of the olde death by hys fyrst byrthe This is the mynde of Cypryane concernyng baptysyng of chylder and of originall synne And the same doctor writeth in an other place Nos iure damnamus omnia quae Christus non docuit We condemne by good ryght all thynges whych Christe hath not taught But Cypryane alowed the baptyme of chyldern therfore he reckened that the baptysyng of chyldren was taught of Christ That Origen is of that iudgement that the baptyme of chylder came from the Apostels hys wordes vpon the epystle to the Romanes and vpon Iohan do clearly testyfy as hereafter I shall proue whē I shall come to the place where as ye alledge Orygen your owne selfe Now seyng that these noble learned men whych were so nere hand the tymes of the Apostles holde in theyr workes with the baptyme of infantes and saye that it came vnto vs from the Apostles what wyse man wyll rather beleue yow beynge so longe after the Apostles tymes then them whych were so long ago and so nere the tymes of the Apostels Ye haue therefore long and besely babled in vain holding without any autorytye and agaynst learnyng and authoritye that the Pope ordened fyrst the baptyme of infantes And so ye haue won nothyng sauyng that ye haue founde and made a rodde for your owne tayle I meane that I haue gotten and gathered of your assertyon and opynyon a good coniectural argument that the baptyme of infantes came from thapostles tymes For ye shewed me fyrste that Hyginus ordened the baptyme of infantes which Hyginus as I shall declare hereafter was but .xxxviij. yeares frō some of thapostles For Volaterane wryteth in hys boke called Anthropologia that Saint Ihon the Euangelyst lyued vnto the .lxviii. yeare after the passion of Christ hys wordes are these Ioannes longa senectute confectus 68. anno post Christi supplicium extinctus est And Christ was .xxxiiij. yeares olde when he suffred therefore Iohan beyng alyue .lxviij. after hys passyon was alyue in the 102. yeare after Christes byrth And Hyginus was 140. yeares after Christes byrth therfore Higinus and some of the apostles namely saint Iohn the Euāgelist were no more one frō another then xxxviij yeares Whereby thorow youre helpe I haue now proued that the baptisynge of yonge chyldren was vsed wythin .xxxviij. yeares of some of the Apostles tymes I haue also proued by good auctorytye that Hyginus dyd not orden the baptysynge of chyldren and that he onlye put and added to the baptyme of chyldrē chrisme godfather godmother wherfore the baptysyng of chyldren beyng before Higinusses tymes and seynge he seynge he was with in .xxxviij. yeres of some of the Apostelles tymes it is a probable and very lykelye thynge that the baptysyng of childer came vnto vs euen from the apostels who were but a very shorte tyme before Ye are disapoynted of your purpose whych thought to haue brought the baptysynge of spechles chylder into a great cōtēpt an vtter despysyng because it had ben as ye thought of the Popes ordenyng makyng yf ye had not bē proued an arrāt lier but ye are proued a lyer wher ye sayd that Hygynus ordened the baptim of infants and an argument of antiquite is gathered of the longe contynuaunce of chylders baptyme and of the long approbatyon of the same thorow oute all hole Christes churche which is more worthy to be admitted then your supersticious opinion whose author was that perilous heritike Pelagius whom in th ende of your boke ye bryng in right honorably for a wytnes to mayntayne your dyuelishe opinion But although Hyginus had ordened first that childer shuld be baptised yet shulde not their baptyme haue bene Popyshe for in the tyme of Hyginius the byshops of Rome had not yet vsurped any supremacie ouer other Byshops muche lesse ouer Kynges and Emperours Neyther hadde the byshops of Rome brought in the dyuelyshe doctryne wherefore theyr doctrine was hated and called popyshe and dyuelyshe In the tyme of Hyginus euery byshop was called Papa as euery prest in hygh Almony is called pfaff and in low Germany pape euē vnto thys day Wherefore the doynge of Hyginus shuld haue no more ben called popysh then the ordynaunce of any other byshopp that dwelt out of Rome ether in Asia or Aphrica How be it thankes be vnto God I haue had wytnes ynough to proue that the baptyme of yong chyldren was not ordened of Higinus and lo can the baptyme of chyldren in no wyse be called popysh as we call suche as yow Popysh whych at the last ester right Popishly knelyng toke the sacrament geuyng occasyon vnto all men to thynke that ye were a sterke ydolater and beleued that bread was turned into a God For your doyng was the ordinaūce of a lofty and a right Antichristian byshop of Rome whiche vsurped power both ouer all byshops and also ouer al Kynges and Emperours Although I haue with the rehersal of .vii. places of scripture sufficiently reproued your folyshe and monkish maner in dilaying of baptime your tyrannical tying it vp vnto certayne tymes and that your Cathechumeni with their yeares of probation are contrary to the vse of Christes primatiue church yet for to proue that youre dylaying of baptime whereupon ye wolde groūde your erroure that childer ought not to be baptised is agaynst the scripture and only the ordinaunce of men I wyll shew what men and what coūcels haue ordened all
C.xlii. Thē had ye missed of reckening al though Higinus had ordened the baptisyng of childer But it is a false lye that Higinus was he that ordened first the baptising of childer If that ye can clere your selfe I wil recant and cry you mercy Wher is your sufficient and auncient author that writeth that Higinus ordened the baptim of childer first I haue read many hystories and cronicles to se whyther Higinus ordened the baptisyng of children or no but as yet I can not fynde it Panthalion which called his booke Chronographia writeth thus Higinus a Greciā borne was in the year of oure Lorde C.xli. and he ordened the chrysme and godfathers to baptyme The boke called epitome hystoriarum reporteth thus of Hyginus Hyginus a grecian ordened chrisme and godfathers to the baptym of christen men and the boke appoynteth to him the year of oure Lorde C.xxix Carhanza the gatherer of the abrygement of the councells and decreees hath these wordes of Hyginus Hyginus the eyght pope put vnto Baptym and confirmation a godfather and a godmother Marke that all these three testimonies witnes not that Hyginvs dyd ordene the Baptyme of infantes but that he ordened to Baptyme or put vnto Baptym Godfathers and Godmothers I aske you to what baptim dyd Hyginus orden or put to godfathers and godmothers ye wil not say that de ordened godfathers and godmothers to old-men for that wer nothynge for your purpose If ye say that he ordened them and put them to the baptyme of lpechelesse chyider then was the baptysinge of chylder before Hyginussis time Then do ye wrōge to saye that Hyginus that pope ordened the chrystenynge of specheles chylder who only added and put to the Baptising of childer chrisme and godfather and godmother Now wyl I com vnto the wytnesses of twoo great clerkes the former who is called Volaterrane sayeth Hyginus instituit ut Baptismo seu confirmationi unus saltem quem compatrem uocant interesset Hyginus ordened that one at the lest that they cal godfather shude be presented at the baptime The latter is named Platina who wrote a propre boke of the byshop of Rome His words of Higinus are these Voluit item unum saltē patrimum unam ue matrimam Baptismo inter esse Sic enim eos appellant qui infantes tenent dum baptizantur He ordened or woulde also that at the lest one godfather or godmother should be presente at baptyme For so do they call them whiche holde specheles chylder whyles they are baptised It is a greate wonder that Hyginus shulde haue ordened the baptim of infates and none of al these learned men wolde make mention of that matter as they haue done clerely of other matters Doutles they haue made no mētiō at al in the declaringe of the deedes of Hyginus that he ordened baptyme Then must I presse you with youre owne mannet of arguynge whyche is thys ¶ We rede not that Christ nothet the Apostles ordened the baptyme of chylder Ergo nother Christe ordened nother the Apostles ordened the baptym of childer If thys be a suer argumente then this that I wyl make of the same fashion must also be suer We rede not in their bookes that wrote the actes of Hyginus that Higinus ordened baptym therefore Hyginus ordened not Baptym But perchaunce ye wyl reason thus he ordened godfathers and godmothers to the baptyme of chylder This argumēte wanteth strength for the hole church or the farer and mother maye present and offer vp an infante vnto Christe and requyre streyght way of thelders of the churche the Sacrament of baptyme thoughe the chrysme wer in his belly that ordened it and the godfathers were neuer ordened Wherfore ye wer to bold nay to vnshame faced to say that pope Hyginus ordened the baptyme of infantes because all men shuld hate it that hate the pope ¶ Ye allege in the ende of your booke Erasmus amonge a great sorte of heretikes which wrote agaynst the baptim of infants and ye alleged Erasmus that chylder was not baptised in the Apostels time and it is true that Erasmus sayde that baptime of chyldren was not receiued in the apostels tyme. for hys wordes are these Nec ea quaestio tum mouebatur quum nondum esset receptū pueros baptizari Then wyl ye say peraduenture here is one learned mans opinion agaynst you that the baptime of childer was taken vp after the apostels tymes I aunswer you that S. Cyprian whiche lyued and florysshed within .cc.lvij. of Christes byrth and Saynt Austen which liued but CCCC xlij after Christes natiuite affirmed both that the baptisyng of chylder came vnto vs from the apostels handes and Erasmus sayeth that the baptime of childer was nod receiued in the Apostels times Whether is it more mete to beleue Cypryan and Austen whiche were so nere the Apostles tyme or Erasmus whiche lyued and dyed in oure dayes What wyll ye answere Aunswer what ye wyll I wyll make Erasmus by hys owne sentence and reason pronounce that Austē and Cyprian are rather to be beleued in suche lyke matter then he is Erasmus beyng sumthing offended with Chrysostome whyche denyed Paule had a wyfe wrote these wordes Chrysostomus fatetur fuisse qui putarent hic Paulū appellare suam uxorem sed dissentit nec causam reddit cur dissentiat Sed utris potius aequū est accedere Clementi Ignatio quorū ille Petri comes fuit hic Marci Euangelistae discipulus Chrysostomo qui tanto interuallo semotus fuit a temporibus apostolorum Chrysostome graunteth that there were some that thought that Paule in thys place spake spake vnto hys wyfe but he thynketh otherwyse yet sheweth no cause why But whether of thes is it meter that we shuld beleue Clement and Ignatyus of the whych the one was Peters companyon and the other the dyscyple of Marke the Euangelist or Chrysostome whyche was so longe a tyme from the tyme of the Apostles Thys may be gathered of these wordes he is more worthy credence in bearyng of wytnes that is nerer the dede when it is done or nerer the tyme whē it was done Whervpon I conclude thus Austen Cypriane and Orygen were nerer the apostles tymes then Erasmus was therfore Austen and Cypryane are more to he beleued whyche wrote that baptyme came from the Apostles then Erasmus whych sayd that baptysyng of chyldren was not receyued in the Apostles tymes Here are ye dysapoynted of one of your postes that ye lened to in your opynyon that the baptyme of chyldren was not receyued in the Apostles tymes But leste ye shoulde thynke that Austen and Cyprian were not of that mynde wherof I report them to be I wyll rehearse yow Saynt Austens wordes in the fourth boke against the Donatistes of the baptising of chyldren in the fourth chapter Et si quisquam in hacre autoritatem diuinam quaerat quanquam quod uniuersa tenet ecclesia nec conciliis institutum sed semper retentum est non nisi autoritate apostolica traditum
hys promis whiche myghâ— comfort them when they cum to age And for thys cause it is lyke that ye wyll haue none baptized vntyll they be of fourtene yeares of age that then your brether poysoned wyth many a damnable synne might be heled by baptyme and by preachyng as thoughe before that tyme that they neded no Physik of GOD our principall Phisician Chylder of one daye haue nede of the Physician Christe or no If they nede none of Christe he dyed not for them If they nede Christe the Physiciane when as they be but one daye olde It is not to erly nor to tymely to cary the chylder by the prayers of the churche vnto Chryste that he may hele them And when as the offerers vp of the chylder trustyng vnto the promys of GOD that the chylder haue granted vnto them remission of theyr originall synne do lay vpon them the sacrameÌ„t of baptiÌ„ do they any otherwise vnto their childer theÌ„ the Iewes sumtyme the people of God did vnto theyr chylder after the coÌ„maundement of God Then we nede not greatly care for your vnlearned and hethenish mocking of Christes holy sacrameÌ„t callyng it in mockage a playster of colde water Who dyd orden this cold water dyd not Christ orden it If ye be a christiaÌ„ and not a LuciaÌ„ why do ye mok it shall that excuse you when ye shall saye that I graÌ„t that it is Christis plaster but that it is to tymely layde to ought Christis sacrament to be mocked lawghed to scorn because a foole layeth it to out of tyme Take hede what ye do for Iuliane the apostata as proud a mocker as you be payed derely for hys mockyng wheÌ„ he cast his blode in to the ayer and sayde vnto Christ uicisti Galilaee thou hast won thow man of Galile If that an Hethen man should haue sayd vnto a priest of mosis law wheÌ„ he circuncised a chylde what nede ye syr surgean to cut thys chyld before he be sik I befoole such surgeanes as leue the chylder worse then they fouÌ„d them thynke ye that GOD would not punishe this prophane mocker ye suerly then thynk you to scape fre whiche would be rekened a christen man and yit mok baptim the ordinaunce of Christe I think no. And where as ye say that the chylder ar worse after their baptim then euer they were before it appereth that ye mene that the sacrament of baptim is an euel thyng for if ye ment that it were not euell why shulde ye say that chylder baptized ar worse after theyr baptim then they were before After thys your Poeticall feyning ye bring in a clerkly coÌ„clusion whiche ye bylde vpon your own coÌ„munication therwith a reson as wytty and wise as the former was and as wel it agreeth with it that goeth before giue eare vnto this new orator For I heare of a poke that is now begynnyng to spryng vp not of a romysh pok but of an other deuelysh pok as euell as it Medice cura te ipsum The deuelysh pok whiche is syn is not healed but thorow faythe Now syr I pray yow tell me by your rhetorik logike how foloweth this saiÌ„g with it that goeth before for me think it foloweth not It is spoken lyke a phisicion that maketh yow to ley a plaster of colde water to the synne of the infantes so tymely but suerly out of dew tyme and other to yearly or to late for they ar worse afterward then euer thâ—y were before For I heare of of a pok that is now begynnyng to spryng vp ce This gear is scarse clerkly couched together and yit ye wil be rekened a great clerke But I wyll pas ouer your art whiche I can not fynde in yow and I wyll try your sentences whether they be any better then your compositiones ar or no. ye say that ye heare of a pok that is now beginniÌ„g to spring vp ye say immediatly afterward that the poke ye meane of is sin That is in begiÌ„ning to spring that was neuer before theÌ„ if â—yn be now beginning to spring as your wordes suppose it to do it is lyke that ye ar of that opinioÌ„ that before this time there was neuer any syn If this do not folow of your sayeÌ„g I am far deceyued appele vnto the iudgement of all meÌ„ which haue but the coÌ„moÌ„ sence whether this foloweth of your saiÌ„g or no Where as ye say medice curate ipsum that is to say PhisiciaÌ„ heale thy selfe ye reken ye haue don a clerkly worck in speakyng so mych latin vnenglisshed and in applying of a prouerbe so properly But how litle it perteyneth vnto thys present purpose euery wise man may easely perceyue As for me although I am a Physician called to hele mennis bodies whiche thyng by the help of my Lorde God I haue oft doâ—… I neuer presumed to be an heler of maÌ„nis soul with my phisik but with Chrstis phisik although it pleaseth sumtimes almighty god to hele diuerse dedly siknes in meÌ„s soules by me suche like and to call them vnto fayth to true repentance and so consequently to the health of the soule yit do we not take our selues to be Physicianes healers of the soules but onely the chefe physicians seruaÌ„tes only giuyners vnto the sik soules suche medicines as our master hath coÌ„maunded vs not beyng so bolde as to deuyse any Physik at all of our own braynes Then to say vnto me PhysiciaÌ„ heale thy selfe is as much to say as thou which art a phisicion of the body go and playe Goddis parte and hele thy own sowle Thys is the counsell not of the spirite of God but of the wood sprete who taught yow yowr diuinite If that ye had bene well aduised ye wolde not haue made your self a coÌ„panioÌ„ with the murderiÌ„g scribes pharises in vsing their churlish cheke agaiÌ„st one of Christis meÌ„bres whiche they threw out agaynst Christe him self But what win you by your chek haue ye proued any thiÌ„g therby nothiÌ„g at al sauiÌ„g that men may know that ye ar wel sene in doggishe eloqueÌ„ce Ye haue sence the beginning of your book vnto this place said more theÌ„ iij times that faith alone taketh awai sinnes in whiche places ye haue erred shamefully if ye mean by only fayth the only work of beleuing For if that ye giue iustificatioÌ„ vnto that work of beleuiÌ„g not meaning the wheÌ„ ye say faith iustifieth the mercy of god promised vnto vs by Christis blood iustifieth vs haue a respect only vnto the dede of beleuiÌ„g ye ar a iusticiari with the pope the old pharises whose prouerbes ye gladly exercise If that ye mean by this sentence faith iustifieth that fayth taketh hold of the mercy of God whych is granted vnto vs by Christes blood then dothe the mercy of God iustifi take syn away fayth doth nothyngellis but taketh hold of the promised offered mercy Then wheÌ„ as the mercy of God