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
present churche which as a liuelie and liuinge iudge and interpreter hath power to interprete aswell the coūsells and traditions when there is doubte of them as it hath to interprete the scripture which beeinge added they are not subiect to anie farther doubte or delusion PILK Concerninge Tradition Eusebius will informe you that in the Cittie of Rome the rule of Ecclesiasticall Tradition was vexed with diuers nouelties and as for councells howe shamefullie your Popes woulde haue corrupted that of Nice the fathers of the first councell of Carthage haue formerlie manifested vnto the worlde and howe vainlie at this day your diuines delude the sixt Canon of the same councell purposely made to geue equall honour vnto the Patriarche to patronize your Popes Monarchie euerie bleare eie doth easilie perceiue CHAMP Your intention by inculcatinge these ould and ouerworne obiections I meane these of councells haue been answered an hundred tymes being onlie to deturne your reader from the subiect in hand and to drawe your aduersarie into like confusion of matters with you I will passe ouer those wordes of yours expectinge your confutation of the answeres alreadie to these same obiections before I will trouble my selfe to answere them againe before the first answeres be confuted by you That which Eusebius saith of vexinge traditions is true marry it was by such as your selfe and your fellowe hetetikes whose endeuours were frustrated by the catholike pastours see him reader and marueil at Mr. Pilkintons witt in citing him PILK Nowe when you cannot fullie prooue your faith out of scriptures you fall presentlie to wounde them with your slaunderous accusation that they are not able to conuince heretickes noe not such seelie ones as Legat not perceuinge how euenlie you iumpe with ould heretikes who whē they are conuinced by the scriptures fall to rayle on them as thoughe they were not right nor sufficientlie authorized but various and not full to finde the truth by them without tradition CHAMP Why doe you not I pray your answere the instance made in Legat ◠knowe well the reason you can as well answere it as you can beate downe Paules steeple with your fiste You call it in this same section a sheepishe obiection but that is onlie a caluishe solution And that heretikes cannott be conuinced out of scripture onlie hearken I pray you to aunciēt Tertullian who was better conuersant in these conflictes then either of vs yea then both of vs putt together thus he writeth The conflict with the scriptures profiteth nothinge but to turne either the stomacke or the braine For which he geueth this reason This herefie receiueth not certaine scriptures as the protestants for examples and if it receiue anie it araweth them to her purpose by additions and detractions And if it receiue the whole scriptures it depraueth them by diuers expositions Whereas the adulterous sence doth no lesse destroy the truth then doth the corrupted letter What wilt thou gaine then that arte cunninge in scriptures when that which thou defendest is denyed and that which thou denyest is defended Thou shalt indeede loose nothinge but thy voyce with contēdinge nor shalt thou gayne anie thinge but choler hearinge blasphemies The heretikes will say that we adulterate the scripture and bringe lyinge expositions and that they defende the truth Therefore must not appeale be made to the scriptures nor must the conflict be in them by which the victorie is either vncertayne or little certaine or none att all But lett vs nowe goe forwarde PILK But lett this be the first issue betwixt you and me whether scriptures onlie will fullie conuince heretikes wherein the negatiue is yours the affirmatiue mine and thus I double it out of the worde of God That which doth perfect the man of God to euerie good worke enableth him fullie to conuince heretikes for this is one mayne dutie of his callinge to conuince contradictours But the scriptures doe perfect the man of God to euerie good worke and particularlie S. Paule expresseth conuiction therefore they teach him fullie to conuince heretickes CHAMP I verie willinglie accept of your chalenge and am content to ioyne issue with you in this point desiringe no other iudge or vmpire of the victorie then your owne patron of Canterburie To your double therefore out of the worde of God I answere that the minor or seconde proposition of your argument is not out of scripture nor in it selfe true For the place of scripture which you ayme at is this All scripture inspired by God i◠profitable to teache to argue to correct to instruct in iustice that the man of God may be perfect instructed to euerie good worke Out of which place if you woulde conclude anie thinge by lawfull argument you shoulde argue thus That which is profitable to teach to argue to correct and instruct in iustice that the man of God may be perfect instructed in euerie good worke is sufficient so fullie to conuince heretikes of theire errour that they cannot delude it by false interpretation But all scripture inspired by God is such therefore all scripture inspired by God is sufficient so fullie to conuince heretikes that they cannot delude it by false interpretation The conclusion of which argument is the issue betwixt you and me The medium you vse to prooue it are the wordes of the Apostle which if you had putt downe simplie and whollie and not dubled as you say by curtayllinge them you would easilie haue seene if you see anie thinge that they are as farr from cōcludinge your affirmatiue as the argument followinge is from concludinge that which is put in the conclusion thereof Marke it I pray you and learne to argue better especiallie when you dispute for the victorie in a matter of such moment as this is That which is proffitable to nourishe to exhilarate and conforte or strengthen man that he may be able to exercise all man-like functions and actions is sufficient to defende him from his enemies and to vanquishe them Butt al wines are such Therfore al wines are sufficiēt to defende a mā frō his enimies to vanquishe thē By which argumēt which is the verie same in forme that yours shoulde be if you would haue formed it out of the Apostles wordes you see if you onlie are not blinde how ridiculouslie you double your affirmatiue out of gods worde Besides your argument is for diuers other respects either foolishe or fraudubent For S. Paule saith that all scripture that is euerie parte parcell of scripture is profitable to teache c yet you will not I hope say that euerie parcell of scripture is sufficient to conuince heretikes Agayne the Apostle speaketh manifestlie of such scriptures as Timothy had learned from his childehoode which without controuersie were onlie the scriptures of the old testament of which you will not affirme that they are sufficient to conuince all heretikes And so you see the liuinge wherewith you woulde double your affirmatiue to be so
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
taught moe thinges by worde oâ— mouth then he wrote which was my Position it nowe belongeth to you either to graunt my position to be true or to prooue by scriptures that the rest of the Apostles wrote that which he taught by worde of mouth and omitted to write For to say it only without proofe yea and such as you require of your aduersarie is to make your owne affirmation à lawe and rule of your faith Which though it appeareth well to be so to your selfe yett will it not be admitted of others And if I should here againe presse you with your owne rule non eredimus quia non â—egâ—nous you would find ei 〈…〉 your rule too strickt or your assertion here that the other Apostles committed to writinge that which S. Iohn taughte by worde and omitted to write to be false Choose whether parte you will You see therfore that my reasoninge was not loose but that your iudgment thereon was light Your reason followinge is a miserable begginge of that which is in question and which you should prooue and is more easilie and trulie denyed then affirmed And for your better instruction I wish you to marke a litle more diligentlie the wordes of the Apostle and you will as I suppose perceiue the argument to be of more force then you tooke it to be of vnles you dissembled For he giuinge the reason why he would not vse paper and inke to make knowne vnto them to whome he wrote those thinges which he had to teache them he saith not that it is for that either he himselfe or anie of the other Apostles had or woulde sett them downe in writinge but because he hoped to be with them and to speake vnto them mouth to mouth Manuall Proofe 2. And the rest I will dispose when I come Where the Apostle euidently sheweth that he reserued something more to be ordayneth by worde then he wrote PILK This is litle to the purpose for the Apostle doth not there speake of matters of faith which is our question but of such things as belonge to order and comelines as it is playne by the word in greeke which properlie signifieth orderinge of rites and matters of decencie not teachinge of doctrines and matters of faith as appeareth 〈◊〉 the same epist cap. 16. 1. concerninge the gaâ—â—â—â—inge for the Saincts as I haue geuen order to the churches of Galatia euen so doe yee The rest saith Aquinas videlicet these thinges that are not of such danger will I dispose of when I come howe you shall obserue them But lett it be graunted that he meaneth doctrines and matters of faith it is an inference without coherence that because he writte them not then therefore he did omitte them for euer or because he wrot them not therefore the rest were silent and writte them not When you consider of these consequences then you may see that it is as farr from your purpose as Gades is from Ganges CHAMP Your second answere to this testimonie is effectuallie frustrated in my reply to your answere of the precedent testimonie and therefore needeth no further confutation Your former answere admittinge it in your owne sence doth expresselie graunt traditions in matters to be obserued and practised in the churche which seeinge they concerne the vse of the Sacraments and other holy obseruations to be kept by all Christians established and ordayned by the Apostles by the expresse commaundement of our Sauiour Christ Matt. 28. 20. I would knowe of you some reason why you deny the authoritie of traditions in thinges to be beleeued and graunt them in matters to be donne and obserued will you say that they are more fallible in the one then in the other To say this onlie without some ground or reason will haue small grace or force Manuall Proofe 3. The Apostles were commanded to teache all nations to obserue all thinges which our Sauiour had commaÌ„ded Which doubtles they fulfilled but they were not commanded in anie place to write all the same neither doth it appeare by anie scripture that they did write all thinges which they taught men to beleeue and obserue This is a demonstration that they taught more then they wrote if nothinge be to beleeued but that which is contayned in holy scripture PILK That Christe charged the Apostles to teach all nations whatsoeuer he commanded which they fulfilled also but he charged them no where to write all The fathers shall answere We knowe not the dispensinge of our saluation from anie where then from them by whome the gospell came to vs which then they preached and after by the will of God deliuered vnto vs in the holy scriptures to be the foundation and piller of our saith S. Aug. saith that when the Euangelists and Apostles did write what God shewed and sayd we may not say that he writte it not for whatsoeuer he would haue vs to read either coÌ„cerninge his wordes or workes he commandeth them as his owne hands to write it If what the Apostles preached after they writte as Ireneus saith If what God commaunded them so to doe as S. August auoucheth Then it plainlie followeth that they writte as much as they preached and that not onlie by the allowance but by the commandment of our Sauiour Christ For they writte nothinge but that with which they were inspired Nowe inspiration is a commandement as Bellarmine confesseth CHAMP Stande to your grounde and doe not flinche from it you say nothinge is to be beleeued but that which is written If you will therefore that it should be beleeued that the Apostles wrot all things they taught shewe it written or acknowledge your ground to be false The scripture testifieth that the Aposties were commanded to teach all thinges necessarie to be obserued but that they were commaunded to write the same it no where appeareth If therefore they did it either they did it by Christs commaundement and then you must needes confesse something necessarie to be beleeued more then is written for it is no where written that he commaunded them to write all thinges they taught Or they did it without his commaundement And then it was not necessarie they shoulde doe it and consequentlie was it not necessarie there should be anie thinge written at all in the newe testament And thoughe they writte nothinge but that was inspired into them yea that they were inspired to write both which thinges you beleeue thoughe you finde neither of them written yett it no where appeareth that they were inspired to write all they had by inspiration You say the fathers shall answere for you but I receiue not theire answere as sufficient vnles you will stande to the fathers testimonie in all other points You promised scripture for all your positions performe therefore your promise or confesse your position of beleeuinge nothinge but that which is written to be false Notwithstandinge because the testimonie of the fathers is venerable with me I will not