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A03880 A treatise of the vnvvritten Word of God, commonly called traditions. Written in Latin, by the R. Father Iames Gordon Huntley of Scotland, Doctour of Diuinity, of the Society of Iesus. And translated into English by I. L. of the same Society. The second part of the first controuersy; Controversiarum epitomes. English. Selections Gordon, James, 1541-1620.; Wright, William, 1563-1639. 1614 (1614) STC 13996.A; ESTC S115739 25,730 61

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and hold the Traditions which you haue learned whether it be by word or by our Epistle he writeth thus Hence it appeareth sayth S. Chrysostome that he did not deliuer all things vnto them by his Epistle but many things also without his letters but as well these as those other worthily deserue to be belieued therfore we esteeme the Tradition also of the Church to be worthy of credit It is a Tradition seeke no further Thus S. Chrysostome But it is most certayne that the Apostle and consequently S. Chrysostome also who expoūdeth him doth not only speake of ceremonies and customes but also of poynts of Fayth 3. S. Augustine whom Caluin acknowledgeth to be the best and most faythfull witnesse of antiquity writeth in this manner Many things are not to be found in the Apostles writings nor in the ensewing Councells and yet notwithstanding because they are generally kept through out the whole Catholike Church they are iuged to haue byn deliuered and commended by none but by them Thus S. Augustine Neyther can it be sayd that S. Augustine speaketh of ceremonies and not of poynts of fayah For in that place he proueth against the Donatists that those which were baptized in the accustomed forme and matter by heretikes were not to be baptized againe but none vnlesse he be an Anabaptist will deny that this is a point of fayth CHAP. VI. Wherin euen by the doctrine of our Aduersaries it is proued that there are Traditions THE fourth argument wherby we proue Traditions is taken out of the doctrine of our Aduersaries For all those things which our Aduersaries do affirme to be poyntes of fayth against the Catholike doctrine they teach and belieue them without any expresse Scripture For it cannot be found expressely in Scripture that fayth only iustifyeh that there are only two Sacraments of the new law that none should pray for the dead c. for all these things and many others which they teach against vs they gather only out of Scriptures and that by some false and very weake consequence but it is no where expresly written that fayth only iustifieth that there are only two Sacraments that we must not pray to Saynts or for the dead c. 2. Moreouer there can no Catholike be found who doth not receaue and assuredly belieue the whole authenticall text of the holy Scripture why do they therfore condemne vs when they affirme that nothing is to be belieued besids the text of Scripture wheras the whole Controuersy betwixt them and vs is of the vnwritten points of fayth which we affirme they deny 3. Our Aduersaries being conuinced by this argument do now at the last confesse that not only that is to be admitted and belieued as the pure word of God which is expresly written in holy Scripture but all that also which by a necessary consequence may be gathered out of it 4. But when they answere thus they are forced to depart and forsake that their first principle wherby they affirmed that all the poynts of fayth are expresly conteyned in Scriptures and that they were set downe in writing by the Apostles 5. Furhermore not perceauing so much they ioyne in opinion with vs so that they must needes indeed confesse that the Traditions of the Church are altogeather necessary For such things as are gathered out of Scriptures do rather belong to Traditions then to expresse Scripture For that which only consequently by reasoning discoursing is gathered out of Scripture albeit it very well and necessarily may be deduced from thence is not expressely in Scripture but only obscurly secretly or virtually is conteined therin For no man can truly say that the conclusion which is only inferred out of the premisses is expresly conteyned in the same premisses for otherwise our discourse and arguing were vayne and to no purpose But therfore do we reason and discourse to the end that that which lyeth hidden virtually in the premisses may be expresly manyfested in the conclusion 6. And that we may alleadge an example out of the Scriptures themselues when God the Father sayd This is my welbeloued Sonne heare him Out of these wordes we may very well gather and by a necessary consequence that the whole doctrine of Christ our Lord is to be heard and receiued of all yet none will say that all the doctrine of Christ is conteyned expresly in those few wordes And truely the holy Scripture is so fertill plentifull that many pointes of faith do as yet lye hidden and vnknowne therin which hitherto hath neuer byn gathered togeather by any but these thinges are conteyned virtually and not expressely in it 7. Moreouer after so many debates and contentions after so many bookes set forth against vs after so many slaunders wherby our Aduersaries charge vs as though we taught that the Scriptures are imperfect they at the last returne to our opinion For we do not deny yea we willingly acknowledge that all those things which rightly and without errour are deduced or gathered out of the expresse wordes of the holy Scriptures do belong vnto the written word of God and are contayned in holy writ obscurely not expressely virtually and not plainly For in that God doth reueale any thing in expresse wordes consequently and virtually he reuealeth all things which necessarily and without any errour may be deduced from thence 8. We graunt also that the Scripture consequently mediatly virtually as in a generall principle conteyneth all things necessary to saluatiō yea in that one only article of the Creed I belieue the holy Catholike Church in those few words also of Christ he who heareth you heareth me if the collection be rightly framed as we haue also said before in the 25. Chapter But when these thinges are gathered togeather which are not expressely in Scripture there is scarse any of them which is not vncertayne doubtful without the authority and Traditions of the Church Wherefore these collections do manifestly conuince the necessity and authority of Traditions 9. But that these collections may be vncertayne and deceytfull both experiēce reasō teacheth vs experiēce because almost all Heresies haue had their beginning not from the Scripture alone in it selfe but from these collections badly framed and made For there is not almost any one heresy which is only grounded on the expresse wordes of Scripture without some other collection seing that almost all Heretikes both in tymes past as now also go about to proue and gather their heresies from the Scripture by certayne deceytfull sophisticall argumēts Arius for example out of those wordes of Christ the Father is greater then I did gather but badly that Christ euen according to his diuine Nature was interiour to his Father The new Arians out of those words of the ten cōmaūdemēts thou shalt not haue strāge Gods before me do gather but foolishly that the Sōne is not God the holy Ghost is not God So the
is neuer contrary to the antecedent The Apostle therefore speaketh of doctrine contrary to his and not absolutly of any other distinct doctrine 10. And in this sense the Fathers doe often say that S. Paul affirmed in this place that nothing was to be taught besids that which is in the holy Scripture For so S. Augustine speaketh in one place But in another he clearly explicateth himselfe by this word praeter to vnderstand contra because we must preach nothing contrary to the holy Scripture That this is the true sense and meaning of S. Augustine it is manifest by the words themselues wherby also he proueth that the word praeter in those words of the Apostle doth signify diuers but not contrary thinges For in this manner he writeth when he warneth his schollers to take heed of the opinions of the Manichaeans other heretikes because these are not only distinct but also contrary to those which the Apostles taught Let the admonition sayth he of the holy Apostle neuer depart from your hart If any shall Euangelize vnto you besids that which you haue receiued let him be an Anathema He doth not say more then you haue receaued but besides that which you haue receaued For if he should say that he should be preiudiciall to himselfe who coueteth to come to the Thessalonians that he might supply that which was wanting to their fayth Now he which supplieth addeth that which is lacking taketh not away that which was But he which ouerpasseth the rule of fayth doth not goe on in the way but departeth frō the way That therfore which our Lord sayth I haue yet many things to say vnto you but you cannot beare them now were to be added to those things which they knew and not to be ouerthrowen by those they had already learned Hitherto S. Augustine CHAP. X. Wherein other obiections of our Aduersaries against Traditions are resuted THE fourth argument is deduced out of those words of the Apocalyps which they also cite and alledge in their confessiō at Rochell If any man shall adde to these things God shall adde vpon him the plagues written in this booke But who doth not see that S. Iohn speaketh expresly of the booke of the Apocalyps only and not of the whole Scripture for he sayth I testify to euery one hearing the words of the Prophesy of this booke if any man sall adde to these things c. and in the 19. verse following If any man shall diminish of the words of the booke of this prophecy c. he speaketh therfore only of the propheticall words of the Apocalyps For it is manyfest otherwise out of Ecclesiasticall histories that S. Iohn wrote his Ghospell after the Apocalyps and consequently that he added many things besids the Apocalyps But let our Aduersaries take heed least they incurre those paynes which S. Iohn threatneth to those which adde or detract any thing from the Apocalyps seing that they so often and so bouldly wrest the prophesies of the Apocalyps to many strange senses against the Pope and the Catholike Church 2. Our Aduersaries alledge many other things but their arguments which be of lesse moment are taken out of those places of Scripture which commend vnto vs the great excellency of holy Scripture But all these are very easily confuted by that one ground which as we haue declared before euen our Aduersaries do admit to wit that to the end the holy Scripture be perfect in it selfe and sufficient to euerlasting saluation it is not necessary that it should expresly cōteyne al points of fayth but it is sufficiēt that all such poynts may be deduced by a good consequence out of it But all the Traditions of the Church which belong vnto fayth may be gathered as we haue sayd out of Scripture the which also we declare more at large in euery one of these controuersies Our Aduersaries therfore haue not reason to say that we teach the Scripture to be imperfect or insufficient For as concerning this sufficiency and perfectiō of Scripture they are forced at least to yield and subscribe vnto our opinion herein but these their arguments whereof they make great account we haue therfore alledged to the end all may know how badly they interpret the holy Scriptures and by how friuolous reason they are perswaded to forsake the Catholike fayth 3. But euen this sufficiency of Scripture which they pretēd they proue very foolishly by those wordes of the Apostle wherein he teacheth that the Scripture is very profitable as though forsooth euery thing which is profitable for obtayning some particuler end or purpose were also absolutely sufficient then the which nothing can be spoken more absurdly The head truely is not only profitable but also necessary that a man may liue but who I pray you will say that the head only without the rest of the body is sufficient for the lyfe of man But to our late Aduersaries to the end they may make this their discourse or reason the stronger say that in humane thinges not euery thing which is profitable is also sufficient but in diuine matters whatsoeuer is profitable is also sufficient whervnto Iunius like a fine young stripling addeth that this can be ouerthrowne by no sophistry But who doth not see that the Eucharist by the diuine vertue thereof is profitable to the obtayning of eternall saluation and yet notwithstanding without Baptisme it is not sufficiēt as also without faith and pennance the same may be sayd of Baptisme and of euery booke of Scripture Yea euen the Apostle doth not speake of the whole Scripture as our Aduersaries thinke he doth when he saith that euery Scripture is profitable but of euery particuler part thereof For how could he speake of a thing which was not then extant But as then the Ghospell of S. Iohn was not yet written nor the Apocalyps For these were after S. Pauls death written by S. Iohn hence it is that the Apostle S. Paul doth not say the whole Scripture but euen Scripture inspired by God is profitable For there is not one parte of Scripture which is not profitable vnto vs if it be well vnderstood Yea for all that notwithstanding euery one part precisely in it selfe abstracting from the rest of the Scripture as all do very well know is not sufficient 4 Finally it is also to be considered that all those places wherin the integrity perfection and vtility of the Scripture is commended vnto vs must needes be vnderstood not of the bare wordes only but of the same well and rightly vnderstood But this true vnderstanding of the words cannot otherwise be had then by Tradition and the vnwritten doctrine of the Church it selfe as we haue already declared Wherefore all those places which do commend vnto vs the holy Scriptures do also consequently cōmend vnto vs Traditions and the vnwritten Word of God seing that therein consisteth the principal part of