therefore as there is no doubt but the like violent tyrannous proceedings by any Pope in maintenance of traitors and rebels would be withstoode by euery Soueraigne Prince in Christendome in defence of their persons and Crownes and maintenance of their subiectes in peace so is there at this present a like iust cause that the Emperours Maiestie with the Princes of the holy Empire and all other Soueraigne Kings and Princes in Christendome shoulde iudge the same to be lawfull for her Maiestie being a Queene and holding the very place of a King and a Prince soueraigne ouer diuers kingdomes and nations she being also most lawfully inuested in her Crowne and as for good gouerning of her people with such applause and generall allowance loued and obeyed of them sauing a few ragged Traitours or rebels or persons discontented whereof no other Realme is free as continually for these xxv yeeres past hath bene notably seene and so publiquely marked euen by strangers repairing into this Realme as it were no cause of disgrace to any Monarchie and King in Christendome to haue her Maiesties felicitie compared with any of theirs whatsoeuer and it may be there are many Kings and Princes coulde be well contented with the fruition of some proportion of her felicitie And though the Popes be nowe suffered by the Emperour in the landes of his owne peculiar patrimonie and by the two great Monarches the French King and the King of Spaine in their dominions and territories although by other Kings not so allowed to continue his authoritie in sundrie cases and his glorious title to be the vniuersall Bishop of the worlde which title Gregorie the great aboue nine hundreth yeeres past called a prophane title full of sacrilege and a preamble of Antichrist yet in all their dominions and kingdomes as also in the Realme of Englande most notably by many auncient Lawes it is well knowen howe many wayes the tyrannous power of this his excessiue authoritie hath bene and still is restrained checked and limitted by lawes and pragmatiques both ancient and newe a very large fielde for the Lawyers of those countreyes to walke in and discourse And howsoeuer the Popes Cannonistes being as his Bombarders doe make his excommunications and curses appeare fearefull to the multitude and simple people yet all great Emperours and Kings aforetime in their owne cases of their rightes and royall preeminences though the same concerned but a Citie or a poore Towne and sometime but the not allowance of some vnworthie person to a Bishopricke or to an Abbey neuer refrayned to despise all Popes curses or forces but attempted alwayes eyther by their swordes to compell them to desist from their furious actions or without any feare of them selues in body soule or conscience stoutly to withstande their curses and that sometime by force sometyme by Ordinances and Lawes the auncient hystories whereof are too many to be repeated and of none more frequent and effectual then of the kings of Fraunce But leauing those that are auncient we may remember howe in this our owne present or late age it hath bene manifestly seene howe the army of the late noble Emperour Charles the fift father to King Philippe that nowe reigneth was not afrayde of his curses when in the yeere of our Lorde 1527. Rome it selfe was besieged and sacked and the Pope then called Clement and his Cardinals to the nomber of about 33. in his mount Adrian or Castell S. Angelo taken prisoners and deteined seuen moneths or more and after ransomed by Don Vgo di Moncada a Spaniarde and the Marques of Grasto at aboue foure hundred M. duckates besides the ransomes of his Cardinals which was very great hauing not long before time bene also notwithstanding his curses besieged in the same Castell by the familie of the Colonies and their fautors his next neighbours being then Imperialistes and forced to yeelde to all their demaūds Neither did King Henry the seconde of Fraunce father to Henry nowe King of Fraunce about the yeere 1550. feare or regard y e Pope or his court of Rome whē he made seueral straight edictes against many partes of the Popes claymes in preiudice of the crowne clergie of Fraunce retracting the authoritie of the court of Rome greatly to the hinderance of the Popes former profites Neither was the army of king Philip nowe of Spaine whereof the Duke of Alua was generall stricken with any feare of cursing whē it was brought afore Rome against y e pope in the yeere of our Lord 1555. where great destruction was made by the said army and al the delicate buyldings gardens and orchardes next to Rome walles ouerthrowē wherewith his holinesse was more terrified then he was able to remoue with any his curses Neither was Queene Mary the Queenes Maiesties late sister a person not a litle deuoted to the Romane religion so afraid of the popes cursings but that both she and her whole counsel and that with the assent of all the Iudges of the realme according to the auncient lawes in fauour of Cardinall Poole her kinsman did forbid the entrie of his bulles and of a Cardinall hatte at Callis that was sent from the pope for one Frier peyto whome the pope had assigned to bee a Cardinall in disgrace of Cardinall Poole neither did Cardinall Poole himselfe at the same time obey the popes commandements nor shewed himselfe afraid being assisted by the Queene when the pope did threaten him with paine of excommunication but did still oppose himselfe against the popes commandement for the saide pretended Cardinall Peyto who notwithstanding all the threatninges of the pope was forced to goe vp and downe in the streetes of Londō like a begging Frier a stout resistāce in a Queene for a poore Cardinals hatte wherin she folowed the example of her Grandfather King Henrie the vii for a matter of Allum So as howsoeuer the christian kinges for some respectes in pollicie can indure the pope to commaunde where no harme nor disaduantage groweth to thēselues yet sure it is and the popes are not ignorant but where they shall in any sort attempt to take from christian princes any part of their dominions or shall giue ayde to their enemies or to any other their rebels in those cases their Bulles their curses their excommunications their sentences most solemne Anathematicals no nor their crosse keyes or double edged sword wil serue their turnes to compasse their intentions And now where the pope hath manifestly by his bulles and excommunications attempted asmuch as he could to depriue her Maiestie of her kingdomes to withdraw from her the obedience of her subiectes to procure rebellions in her realmes yea to make both rebellions and open warres with his owne captaines souldiers banners ensignes and all other things belonging to warre shal this pope or any other pope after him thinke y t a soueraigne Queene possessed of the two realmes of England Ireland stablished so many yeeres in
with them but in diuers corners of her Maiesties Dominions these Seminaries or seedemen and Iesuites bringing with them certeine Romish trash as of their hallowed Waxe their Agnus dei many kinde of Beades and such like haue as tillage men laboured secretly to perswade the people to allowe of the Popes foresaid Bulles and warrantes and of his absolute authoritie ouer all Princes and Countries and striking many with prickes of conscience to obey the same whereby in proces of small time if this wicked and dangerous traiterous and craftie course had not bene by Gods goodnes espied and staied there had followed imminent danger of horrible vprores in the realmes and a manifest blooddy destruction of great multitudes of Christians For it cannot be denied but that so many as shoulde haue bene induced throughly perswaded to haue obeyed that wicked warrant of the Popes and the contents thereof should haue bene forthwith in their hearts and consciences secret traitors and for to be in deede errant and open traitours there shoulde haue wanted nothing but opportunitie to feele their strength and to assemble themselues in such nombers with Armour weapons as they might haue presumed to haue bene the greater part so by open ciuill warre to haue come to their wicked purposes But Gods goodnes by whome Kinges doe rule and by whose blast traitors are commonly wasted and cōfounded hath otherwise giuen to her Maiestie as to his handmayde and deare seruant ruling vnder him the spirit of wisdome and power whereby she hath caused some of these sedicious seedemen and sowers of rebellion to be discouered for all their secret lurkings and to be taken and charged with these former poyntes of high treason not being delt withall vpon questions of religion but iustly condemned as traitors At which times notwithstanding al maner gentle wayes of persuasions vsed to moue them to desist from such manifest traiterous courses and opiniōs yet was the canker of their rebellious humors so deepely entred and grauen into the heartes of many of them as they woulde not be remooued from their traiterous determinations And therefore as manifest traitours in maintayning and adhearing to the capitall enemy of her Maiestie and her Crowne who hath not only bene the cause of two rebellions alreadie passed in England and Ireland but in that of Ireland did manifestly wage and maintaine his owne people Captaines and Souldiours vnder the Banner of Rome against her Maiestie so as no enemy coulde doe more These I say haue iustly suffered death not by force or forme of any newe lawes established either for religion or against the Popes supremacie as the slaunderous libellers would haue it seeme to be but by the auncient temporall lawes of the realme and namely by the lawes of Parliament made in King Edward the thirds time about the yere of our Lorde .1330 which is aboue 200. yeres and moe past when the Bishops of Rome and Popes were suffered to haue their authoritie Ecclesiastical in this realme as they had in many other countries But yet of this kind of offenders as many of them as after their condemnations were contented to renounce their former traiterous assertions so many were spared from execution and doe liue stil at this day such was the vnwillingnes in her Maiestie to haue any blood spilt without this verie vrgent iust and necessary cause proceeding from themselues And yet neuerthelesse such of the rest of the traitors as remayne in forreyne partes continuing still their rebellious myndes and craftily keeping them selues aloofe off from dangers cease not to prouoke sundry other inferiour seditious persons newly to steale secretly into the realme to reuiue the former seditious practises to the execution of the Popes foresaid bulles against her Maiestie and the Realme pretending when they are apprehended that they came onely into the realme by the commandemēt of their superiours the heads of the Iesuites to whome they are bound as they say by othe against either king or countrie and here to informe or reforme mens consciences from errors in some poynts of religiō as they shal thinke meete but yet in very trueth the whole scope of their secret labours is manifestly proued to be secretly to winne all people with whom they dare deale so to allowe of the Popes said bulles and of his authoritie without exception as in obeying thereof they take themselues fully discharged of their alleageance and obedience to their lawfull Prince and countrey yea and to be well warranted to take armes to rebell against her Maiestie when they shall bee thereunto called and to be readie secretly to ioyne with any forreine force that can be procured to inuade the realme whereof also they haue a long time giuen and yet doe for their aduantage no small comfort of successe so consequently the effect of their labours is to bring the Realme not onely into a daungerous warre against the forces of strangers from which it hath bene free aboue xxiii or xxiiii yeres a case very memorable and hard to be matched with an example of the like but into a warre domesticall and ciuill wherein no blood is vsually spared nor mercie yeelded and wherin neither the vanqueror nor the vanquished haue cause of triumph And forasmuch as these are y e most euident perils that necessarily should follow if these kind of vermin were suffered to creepe by stealth into the Realme and to spreade their poyson within the same howsoeuer when they are taken like hipocrites they couloure and counterfeit the same with profession of deuotion in religion it is of all persons to be yeelded in reason that her Maiestie and all her gouernours and magistrates of Iustice hauing care to mantaine the peace of the Realme which God hath giuen in her time to continue longer then euer in any time of her progenitors ought of duetie to almightie God the author of peace and according to the naturall loue and charge due to their countrie and for auoiding of the floods of blood which in Ciuill warres are seene to runne and flowe by all lawful meanes possible aswell by the Sword as by Lawe in their seuerall seasons to impeache and repell these so manifest and daungerous coulourable practises and workes of sedition and rebellion And though there are many subiects knowen in the realme that differ in some opinions of religion from the Church of England and that doe also not forbeare to professe the same yet in that they doe also professe loyaltie and obedience to her Maiestie and offer readily in her Maiesties defence to impugne and resist any forreine force though it should come or be procured frō y e Pope himself none of these sort are for their cōtrary opinions in religiō prosecuted or charged w t any crymes or paines of treasō nor yet willingly searched in their consciences for their contrarie opinions that fauour not of treason And of these sortes there are a number of persons not
will that it belongeth not to a Bishop of Rome as successor of Saint Peter and therein a pastor spirituall or if hee were the Bishop of all Christendome as by the name of Pope he claymeth first by his Bulles or excommunications in this sort at his will in fauour of traytours and rebels to depose any soueraigne Princes being lawfully inuested in their Crownes by succession in blood or by lawfull election and then to arme subiects against their naturall Lordes to make warres and to dispense with them for their othes in so doing or to excommunicate faithful subiects for obeying of their natural Princes and lastly himselfe to make open warre with his owne souldiers against Princes mouing no force against him For if these powers shoulde be permitted to him to exercise then shoulde no Empire no kingdome no countrey no Citie or Towne be possessed by any lawful title longer then one such onely an earthly man sitting as he saith in S. Peters chaire at Rome should for his will and appetite without warrant from God or man thinke meete and determine An authoritie neuer chalenged by the Lorde of lordes the sonne of God Iesus Christ out onely Lord and Sauiour and the onely head of his Church whilest he was in his humanitie vpon the earth nor yet deliuered by any writing or certaine tradition frō Saint Peter from whome the Pope pretendeth to deriue all his authoritie nor yet from Saint Paul the Apostle of y e Gentiles but contrariwise by all preachings preceptes writings conteined in the Gospel and other Scriptures of the Apostles obedience is expresly commaunded to all earthly Princes yea euen to Kings by speciall name and that so generally as no person is excepted from such duetie of obedience as by the sentence of Saint Paul euen to the Romanes appeareth Omnis anima sublimioribus potestatibus sit subdita That is Let euery soule be subiect to the higher powers within the compasse of which law or precept Saint Chrisostome being Bishoppe of Constantinople writeth that euen Apostles Prophets Euangelists and Monkes are comprehended And for proofe of Saint Peters minde herein from whome these Popes claime their authoritie it can not be plainlyer expressed then when he writeth thus Proinde subiecti estote cuiuis humanae ordinationi propter Dominum siue Regi vt qui superemineat siue presidibus ab eo missis That is Therefore be you subiect to euery humane ordinance or creature for the Lorde whether it be to the King as to him that is supereminent or aboue the rest or to his presidents sent by him By which two principall Apostles of Christ these Popes the pretensed successours but chiefely by that which Christ the Sonne of God the onely Master of trueth sayde to Peter and his fellow Apostles Reges gentium dominantur vos autem non sic That is The Kings of the Gentiles haue rule ouer them but you not so may learne to forsake their arrogant and tyrannous authorities in earthly and temporall causes ouer Kings and Princes and exercise their Pastorall office as Saint Peter was charged thrise at one time by his Lorde and Master Pasce oues meas Feede my sheepe and peremptorily forbidden to vse a sworde in saying to him Conuerte gladium tuum in locum suum or mitte gladium tuum in vaginam that is Turne thy sword into his place or Put thy sworde into the scabbard All which precepts of Christ and his Apostles were duely followed and obserued many hundred yeeres after their death by the faithfull and godly Bishops of Rome that duely followed the doctrine and humilitie of the Apostles and the doctrine of Christ thereby dilated the limittes of Christs Church and the fayth more in the compasse of an hundred yeeres then the latter Popes haue done with their swordes and curses these 500 yeeres and so continued vntil the time of one Pope Hildebrand otherwise called Gregory theseuenth about the yeere of our Lorde 1074. who first beganne to vsurpe that kinde of Tyrannie which of late the Pope called Pius Quintus and since that time Gregory nowe the thirteenth hath followed for some example as it seemeth that is Where Gregory the seuenth in the yeere of our Lord 1074. or thereabout presumed to depose Henry y e fourth a noble Emperour then being Gregory the thirteenth nowe at this time would attempt the like against King Henry the eightes daughter heire Queene Elizabeth a soueraigne Queene holding her Crowne immediatly of God And to the ende it may appeare to Princes or to their good Counsellours in one example what was the fortunate successe y t God gaue to this good Christian Emperour Henry against the proud pope Hildebrand it is to be noted that when the pope Gregory attempted to depose this noble Emperour Henry there was one Rodulphe a noble man by some named the Count of Reenfield that by the Popes procurement vsurped the name of the Emperour who was ouercome by the sayde Henry the lawfull Emperour and in fight hauing lost his right hand he the said Rodulphe lamented his case to certayne Bishoppes who in the popes name had erected him vp and to them he said that y e selfe same right hand which he had lost was the same hande wherewith he had before sworne obedience to his Lorde and master the Emperour Henry and that in following their vngodly counselles he had brought vpon him Gods heauy and iust iudgementes And so Henry the Emperour preuailing by Gods power caused Gregory the pope by a Synode in Italy to be deposed as in like times before him his predecessour Otho the Emperour had deposed one pope Iohn for many heynous crymes and so were also within a short time three other popes namely Siluester Bennet and Gregory the sixt vsed by the Emperour Henry the third about the yere of our Lord 1047. for their like presumptuous attemptes in temporall actions against the said Emperours Many other examples might be shewed to the Emperours maiestie and the Princes of the holy Empire nowe being after the time of Henry the fourth as of Henry the fifth and after him of Fredericke the first and Fredericke the second and then of Lewis of Bauar all Emperours cruelly and tyrannously persecuted by the popes and by their bulles curses and by open warres and likewise to many other the great Kings and Monarches of Christendome of their noble progenitors Kinges of their seuerall dominions whereby they may see howe this kind of tyrannous authoritie in popes to make warres vpon Emperors and Kings and to commaund them to be depriued toke holde at the first by pope Hildebrande though the same neuer had any lawefull example or warrant from the Lawes of God of the olde or new Testament but yet the successes of their tyrannies were by Gods goodnesse for the most parte made frustrate as by Gods goodnesse there is no doubt but the like will followe to their confusions at all times to come And
her kingdomes as three or foure popes haue sit in their chayre at Rome fortyfied with so much duetie loue and strength of her subiectes acknowledging no superiour ouer her realmes but the mightie hand of God shall she forbeare or feare to withstand and make frustrate his vnlawful attemptes eyther by her sword or by her lawes or to put his souldiers inuadours of her realme to y e sword martially or to execute her lawes vpon her owne rebellious subiectes ciuilly that are prooued to be his chiefe instruments for rebellion and for his open warre This is sure that howsoeuer either he sitting in his chaire with a triple crowne at Rome or any other his proctors in any part of Christendome shal renewe these vnlawfull attemptes almightie God whome her Maiestie onely honoureth and acknowledgeth to be her onely soueraigne Lord and protectour and whose lawes gospel of his sonne Iesus Christ she seeketh to defend wil no doubt but deliuer sufficient power into his maydens hand his seruant Queene Elizabeth to withstand and confound them all And where the seditious trumpetters of infamies and lies haue sounded forth and entituled certaine that haue suffred for treason to be martyrs for religiō so may they also at this time if they list adde to their forged catalogue the headles bodie of y e late miserable Earle of Desmond who of late secretly wandering without succour as a miserable begger was taken by one of the Irishry in his caben and in an Irish sort after his owne accustomed sauage maner his head cut off from his bodie an end due to such an archrebell And herewith to remember the ende of his chiefe confederates may be noted for example to others the strange maner of the death of D. Sanders the popes Irish legat who also wandring in the mountaines in Ireland without succour died rauing in a phrensey And before him one Iames Fits-Morice the first Traitour of Ireland next to Stukely the rakehel a man not vnknowen in the popes palace for a wicked craftie traytor was slaine at one blow by an Irish noble yong Gētleman in defence of his fathers countrey which the traitor sought to burne A fourth man of singular note was Iohn of Desmonde brother to the Earle a very bloody faithles traitor and a notable murderer of his familiar friendes who also wandring to seeke some pray like a wolfe in the woods was takē beheaded after his own vsage being as he thought sufficiently armed with the popes Buls certaine Agnus dei one notable ring about his necke sent frō the popes finger as it was said but these he saw saued not his life And such were the fatal ends of al these being y e principal heads of y e Irish warre rebelliō so as no one person remaineth at this day in Ireland a knowen traitor To this nōber they may if they seeke nomber also adde a furious yong man of Warwickeshire by name Someruile to increase their Kalender of y e popes martyrs who of late was discouered and taken in his way comming w t a ful intent to haue killed her Maiestie whose life God alwayes haue in his custodie The attempt not denied by y e traitor himselfe but confessed and that he was moued thereto in his wicked spirit by inticements of certaine seditious traiterous persons his kinsmen and allyes and also by often reading of sundry seditious vile books lately published against her Maiestie But as God of his goodnes hath of long time hitherto preserued her Maiestie from these and the like trecheries so hath she no cause to feare being vnder his protection she saying with king Dauid in the Psalme My God is my helper and I will trust in him he is my protection and the strength or the power of my saluation And for the comfort of al good subiects against the shadowes of the popes Bulles it is manifest to the world that from the beginning of her Maiesties reigne by Gods singular goodnes her kingdome hath enioyed more vniuersall peace her people increased in more nombers in more strength and with greater riches the earth of her kingdomes hath yeelded more fruits and generally all kind of worldly felicitie hath more abounded since and during the time of the popes thunders bulles curses and maledictions then in any other long times before when the popes pardons and blessings came yeerely into the Realme so as his curses and maledictions haue turned backe to himself and his fautors that it may be said to the fortunate Queene of Englande her people as was said in Deuteronomy of Balaam The Lord thy God woulde not heare Balaam but did turne his maledictiōs or curses into benedictions or blessings the reason is for because thy God loued thee Although these former reasons are sufficient to perswade all kind of reasonable persons to allow of her Maiesties actions to be good reasonable lawfull and necessarie yet because it may be that such as haue by frequent reading of false artificiall libels and by giuing credite to them vpon a preiudice or foreiudgement afore grounded by their rooted opinions in fauour of the pope will rest vnsatisfied therefore as much as may be to satisfie all persons as farre foorth as common reason may warrant that her Maiesties late action in executing of certaine seditious traitors hath not proceeded for the holding of opinions either for y e popes supremacie or against her Maiesties regalitie but for the very crymes of sedition treason it shal suffice briefly in a manner of a repetition of the former reasons to remember these things following First it cānot be denied but y t her Maiestie did for many yeres suffer quietly the popes buls excommunications without punishment of the fautors thereof accompting of thē but as of words or winde or of writings in parchment wayed downe with leade or as of water bubbles cōmonly called in Latin Bullae and such like but yet after some proofe that courage was taken thereof by some bolde and bad subiectes she coulde not but then esteeme them to be very preambles or as forerunners of greater danger and therefore with what reason coulde any mislike that her Maiestie did for a bare defence against them w tout other action or force vse the helpe of reuiuing of former lawes to prohibit the publication or execution of such kinde of Bulles within her Realme Secondly when notwithstanding y e prohibition by her lawes the same bulles were plentifully but in secret sort brought into y e realme at length arrogantly set vpon the gates of y e Bishop of Londons pallace neere to y e Cathedrall Church of Pauls the principal citie of y e realme by a lewd person vsing y e same like a herald sent frō the pope who can in any cōmon reason mislike y t her Maiestie finding this kinde of denunciatiō of warre as a defiance to be made in her principal citie by one of her