was and what a notable ring leader you haue in your Religion THE XX. REASON Keeping in memory Gods benefits GOd almighty hauing bestowed infinite benefits vpon man beginning euen at his creation demaunded chiefely at his hands as a signe token of gratitude and thankefulnesse that he woulde be mindefull of them and neuer by any meanes suffer them to depart out of his memory And this was the cause of so many Ceremonies of the Celebration of so manie Feates amongest the Israelites The like hath the Catholike ROMANE Church done by ordaining diuers sundry feasts for the due worshiping of God in yelding thankful liuely remebrance of special benefits receiued at his hands namely of the benefite of Redemption which without comparison surpasseth all the rest by calling yeerly to minde by setting before the eies of hir children in a most vniforme maner al that our Sauior did suffered for vs as his Conception his Aduent his Natiuity his Circumcision his Manifestation his Presentation his Baptisme his Fasting his Preaching his Miracles his Passion his Death his Burial his Resurrection his Ascention his sending down of the Holy Ghost his second Aduent c. The which are Celebrated Solemnized and recalled to memory in a most solmne and decent manner with lystories most apte fitte for euery sason and with exacte application of all Shadowes Figures Promises Prophecies and with such like out of the olde Testament as maye testifie and confirme the ChristiaÌ„ faith at Chrst-Masse at Candle-Masse at Shroâ—etide at Lent at Easter at Whitsontide and at other seasons of the yeere And I woulde to God that you were but once present here vpon Christ-Masse Eue at night and vpon Christ-Masse Day to beholde the liuelye representation of our Lords Birthe Oh what Torches what Tapers what Lights what Singing what Sensing what Mirth what Melody what playing vpon Organes and other Instruments what praying vpon Bookes Beades what weeping for ioy and deuotion and what a number of goodlie Ceremonies should you see And as great solemnitie is at other times of the yeare befitting the season Wherby all that our Redeemer did for vs is most liuelie and most freshly renewed in the memorie of mankinde Besides all this there are also celebrated and that verie solemnely the birth dayes not into this world but into heauen of his Apostles Martyrs Confessours Virgins and the feastes of his blessed Mother By all which there is a kind of heauen vpon earth Christ with his Saints and Angels being continuallie seene here after a sort as he is there in face and fruition Thus is he honoured in himselfe thus is he worshiped in his Angels thus is he praised in his Saints And to al this may be added the Dedication of euery particular materiall Church which Feast in England you vsually call the Wakes being a moste solemne Feast to put the Parishioners in minde of that triumphant Church in heauen vvhich they daylie trauaile towardes to recal refresh in memory the day that their parish church was first dedicated to God or to some one of his Saintes vvho in particular sort hath the protection thereof declaring thereby their gratitude and thankefulnes to God for his benefitts of Redemption and calling All these Feastes and solemnities I say doe renew and retaine in the memorie of man the actes and benefittes of his Redeemer and doe mooue and stirre vppe his stonie heart to loue him prayse him and to serue him they doe sette before his eyes the holie liues and happie deaths of his blessed Saintes thereby to make vs to imitate them to honour GOD by them and to praie to them to be a meanes to him for vs that we maie hereafter enioy their blessed company for euer Manie other thinges hath the Catholicke Church ordayned thereby to keepe continuallie in the minde of man the matters afore-saide as Crucifixes Pictures Images and Crosses in euerie common place highwaie vvhich people beholding may presentlie conuerte theyr minde to some heauenlie misterie represented thereby And by these meanes the moste vnlearned amongest the people vvere they young Maidens or olde Wiues knew more of the Mysteries of Christian religion then manie of your Ministers daughters or their wiues yea or some of the Ministers them-selues doe knowe And no marueile when as they haue abolished and abrogated in a manner all Ceremonies and after a sorte all feasts and those who hold themselues the purest doe altogether lay away all Ceremonies Feastes in such sort as you may see theÌ„ doe all kind of work yea vpon Christmasse day it self to make no more account thereof then of anie worke day in the whole yeare And they all haue abolished generallie all Shrines Pictures Images Crucifixes Monumentes and euerie thinge vvhich might present to the minde of the beholder any Misterie or Document of Christian Faith or any good example to be followed they haue leaft their churches as fit to mooue people to pietie and deuotion as theyr barnes are when all the corne and hay is out of them and nothing left to be seene besides the roofes walles and silles Consider here with your selues whether Iewes Turks or Heathens if they had gotten any Catholike countries could haue made greater spoile in the churches or haue left them more bare then the Protestants haue done Or wheather Christians if they had vanquished Heathen countries could haue dealt otherwise with the churches of theyr Idols then the Protestantes haue done with Catholike Churches And besides this they haue defaced throwne down Crosses in Market places in high waies as though they would not suffer nor endure that people by beholding any such thing should remember and call to minde the Passion of their Sauiour This out of all doubt was no smal subtiltie of the Diuel to mooue them vnder some other pretence to make rid all away that should retaine and keepe in peoples mindes that which chieflie they ought euer to haue before the eyes of their minde And verie rediculous it is to see them keepe such a stirre about keeping Holie the Sabboth reiecting al other holy daies whereas they haue no more vvarrant for the solemnizing of the Sondaie then they haue for S. Laurence his day or for any other holy or festiuall daie in all the yeare for other reason or warrant they haue not but the authority of the Catholike Roman Church which instituted and ordained all Festiual dayes by the same Commission that it chaunged the Sabboth of the Iewes which was vpon Saturday into the Sabboth of the Christians vvhich it ordained to be vppon Sunday And in time I assure my self if they should proceede on the Diuell would bring them to lay away Sunday also as hee hath caused some to doe alreadie and consequently the Word and all and so driue them to plaine Atheisme to which many of their brethreÌ„ are driuen to alreadie THE XXI REASON The Protestantes beginning and proceeding against then
which were done in England in the coÌ„uersioÌ„ therof writteÌ„ by the same Greg. li. 9. ep 58. And by venerable Bede l. 1. hist Ca. 31. In the eight the miracles of S. Cutbert S. Iohn in England also Bede lib. 4. hist 5. In the ninth the miracles of Tharasius writteÌ„ by Ignat. Nicen. of others In the tenth the miracles of S. Romuald recorded by S. Pet. Damian of S. Wenceslaus of others which Surius writeth In the eleueÌ„th the miracles of S. Edward k. vir of S. Ans of others In the twelfth the miracles of S. Mal. S Barn of others In the thirteenth the miracles of S. Fran. S. Dom. S. Bonauent S. S. Celest of others In the fourteenth the miracles of S. Bernardine S. Kather. of Sieuna of others In the fifteenth the miracles of S. Vinc. S. Ant. of others And last of al in this our sixteenth age are the miracles of the glorious S. Fran. de Paula of the holy Iesuit Zauer Aug. de vtil cred cap. 17. lib. cont ep fund cap. 4. in the Indies of many moe And therfore I say vnto you out of S. Ang. I am bound tied in the Catholike Church by the band or chaine of myracles And I am bolde considering and moste steedefastlye beleuing these infinite glorious myracles of all times and ages in the Catholike Romane Church to crye out to Almighty God with Richard de S. Victore lib. 1. de trin cap. 2. Lord if it be not true which we beleeue thou hast deceaued vs for these haue beene confirmed in vs by such signes and woonders as could not bee wrought but by thee But on the contrary part neuer any Protestant coulde worke any myracle at all but assaying to make some shewe thereof to make their Doctrine the more probable to their followers felt the iust reuengement of God who turned all to their shame and confusion as hee did by Simon Magus Egesippus lib. 3. de excid hierosol ca. 2. by Cyrola the patriarke of the Arrians as witnesseth Grego Turones lib. 2. hist Franc. cap. 3. by the Donatists Optatus lib. 2. contr Parmen And in our daies by Luther endeuoring to dispossesse a wenche and by Caluin going about to delude his disciples as you may reade in Hierom Bolsec in vit Caluin cap. 13. Vid. Staph in abs resp And therefore they are most foolishe and miserably inconsiderate who beleeue these newe fellowes not beeing able to quicken a flea leaue the doctrine of the Catholike Church coÌ„firmed with innumerable miracles THE VII REASON Visions and the gifte of Prophecie AS TRVE Miracles neuer were wrought but by them who were of the true Church so heauenly Visions and the gifte of Prophecie were neuer founde to bee but in the same And therefore the holye Apostle amongest other thinges which he vseth to commend his Doctrine himselfe to the Corinthians against Heretickes 2. Cor. 12. and false Apostles he bringeth in this as one saying Now will I come to Visions and Reuelations of our Lord c. 2. Pet. 1. And S. Peter alleageth for confirmation of his preaching the traÌ„sfiguratioÌ„ of our lord in the mount which he sawe Mat. 17. Act. 10. 11. calleth it a Vision he had a Vision of a sheet with al kind of beasts in it wheÌ„ he was to deale with the Gentiles And for the trueth of Religion and confirmation of that which they did Act. 2. he alleageth the prophecie of Ioell Ioel. cap. 2 who sayeth amongst other thinges Your young men shall see Visions and to bee briefe of this sort is the whole boke of the Apocalyps So that to see these kind of heauenly Visions and thereby to foretel things most certainly is only amongst them who are of the true Church For although there haue beene prophecies amongest the Heathens yet were they not vndoubtedly true as the Oracles of Apollo such like illusions except they were for the confirmatioÌ„ of right Religion as the prophecies of the Sybills Euseb lib. 5. hist cap. 16. 18. and of Balaam And the same may be saide of heretikes as of Montanus of Luther of Muncer and of such like who loke vpon them to prophecie some to their vtter shame some to their own destruction But the Catho Romane Church hath had in it in all ages those which had true Visions Cochlaeus in actis Lutheri and the gifte of true prophecie as Agabus Act. 11. Gregory Thaumaturge so Basil li. de spiritu sancto Cap. 29. S. Anthony the Abbote Iohn of whom see S. Aug. lib. 5. de ciuit Cap. 26. S. Monica see Aug. lib. 3. Confes Cap. 11. S. Benedicte see Gregor lib. 2. dial Cap. 15. S. Bernard see in eius vita lib. 4. Cap. 3. S. Frauncis see in eius vita Bonauentura with many others for seldome was ther any who had the gifte of miracles but the same had this gifte also And in these daies I knowe diuerse and sundry Papists as you cal them who haue seen vndoubtedly wonderful Visions which perhaps you maye see recorded hereafter with sufficient and irrefragable testimony THE VIII REASON Scriptures NEither may here the Protestant reply and say that the Papistes builde vpon Miracles Visions Prophecies and vpon such like but not vpon the WORDE for al that they alleadge are most agreeable to the worde of God Neither doe they teach any Doctrine but such as is deriued out of the holy Bible for the maintaining thereof they are not compelled to denye certaine partes of Gods holy Booke as the Protestantes and their predecessours heretiks haue bin inforced to do The Manichees for that their heresies were so manifestly confuted by the Gospel of Saint Mathewe Aug. l 28. con Faust cap. 2. de vtil cred cap 3. and by the Actes of the Apostles as they coulde coine no aunswere nor other shifte they denyed them to bee Scripture The Ebinites because the Epistles of Saint Paul disproued most plainelye Cyrcumcision which they maintained denied them to be Scripture Luther reiected the Epistle of S. Iames because it was so plaine against the doctrine of onely Faith His ofspring refused the bookes of Tobias of Ecclesiasticus of the Machabees and of some others because in them is plainly taught the Doctrine of the custody of Aungells of Free-will of Praier for the Faithfull Soules departed and of Prayer to Saints al whâ—ch they deny and therefore must they needes denie those parts of the holy Bible For heretikes euer framed the Bible to their opinions chainging wresting paring sometimes flatly reiecting al which made ouerplainely against such Doctrine as they deuised and so doe most impudentlye the Protestantes nowe Whereas the Catholikes euer squared their Doctrine by the line and the leuell of the Worde of her Spouse and therefore neuer had cause to reiecte the least â—otte of the holy Bible and at one worde the Catholikes followe the Bible
Doctors scarselie one except Augustine ToÌ„ 2. ger fol. 443. 449. vnderstood what the spirit the letter were in all theyr books there is great darkenesse of Faith Gregories Sermons are not worth a deafe nut the diuell deceaued him grosselie in his Dialogues Thus doe they censure the auncient Fathers but of themselues they speak farre otherwise for the same Arch-Protestant saith that hee himselfe is a faithfull Prophet an Apostle an Euangelist Tom 2. Ger fol. 522. fol 79. Tom. 3. f. 334. Coll. mens fol. 488. a liuing Saint c. And further he said of himselfe that hee is Esay the Prophet Phillip MelancthoÌ„ Ieremie Was there euer any Thraso so impudent as thus to bragge of him-selfe And yet his followers were not ashamed to extoll and praise him in such sort as I cannot without shame and offence to Christian eares declare the same but yet to giue you a little taste thereof I vvill here set downe a distichon which his Disciples made in praise of him In parte contra Stephanum Agricolam ca. 4. b. 9. a. and which Cyriacus Spangenbergius one of his principall followers stoutlie maintaineth to be true and allowable the distichon is this Christ is habet primas habeas tibi Paule secundus Ast loca post illos proxima Luther habet ¶ Which thus maie bee Englished The chiefe of all is Christ himselfe the next is Paul by grace Backe Saints Apostles Angels all for next is Luthers place Col. mens fol. 159. And Luther himself in another place coupleth himselfe with the same holie Apostle Saint Paule But to see vvhat staffe his adhaerentes vse in his commendation and praise is too redicu-to behold Col. mens ger fo 354 159. Beza in lib Icom r 4. a in praef in nouum test f. 144. a. Luth. in praefati in commeÌ„ Phill. in Epist ad RoÌ„ p. 2. tom 2. Ien. fol. 79. in li. coa regeÌ„ ang toÌ„ 2. IeÌ„ f. 119 col meÌ„ f. 144. f. 474 toÌ„ 2. Lat. Witten f 457. in l. deâ—eruoarbit Stigel l. 2. Poemat n. 4. Amsd desc Luth. Ab. coÌ„ Carola an l. 7. b. Eus l. 7. cap. 24 Soc. li. 6. c. 8. ZozoÌ„ li. 8. c. 8. Nicph l. c. 16. idem li. 11. cap 12. Tertul. in lib. de preser aduers hers Epip her 49. 79 Aug her 27 Hieron ad Etesiph aduers pelagianos Euseb which you may see at large in their writings and thus they do not only write of their master captaine but euen one of another and of theÌ„selues in a most shameful lying maÌ„ner They follow also the fashion of old heretiks in that they disagre so greatlie in Doctrine are so contentious doe affect seek after eloquence and smooth speeches more than after the truth as they did And neuer any Arch-heretike among them is coÌ„uerted as there neuer was in the auncient time for that their sin was ouer heynous against the Holy Ghost neither doe they put any difference betweene Ecclesiasticall persons and ciuill as they old heretiks did not And they season their errours with songes ballades in the vulgar tongue to the end that the common people delighting to heare and singe them might thereby sucke theyr errours as you see them doe by the Geneua Psalmes which women children and all sorts confusedlie sing so did the old heretiks as historiographers make mentioÌ„ The women among the heretikes in times past were so shameles malapert that they tooke vpon them to dispute and to reason of matters of religion they helped foreward the Heresie by teaching preaching prating wraÌ„gling iangling prophecying and by all meanes possible 5. And doe not p. 14. Niceph. l. cap. 22. Tom 1. IeÌ„ Ger. f. 336 f. 17. 341. I pray you the women amongest the Protestantes the like following therin their Father Luthers aduise who licenseth them to doe such thinges namely to preach The olde Heretikes were verie inquisitiue and desirous to heare of the sinnes and faults of Priests and of other Ecclesiasticall persons Aug. Epist 137. and when they heard any such they greatlie reioyced thereat and blazed it abroad with great exaggerations and additions and doe not the Protestants the same Yea it were more sufferable if they blazed abroade onelie thinges which were true but they most impudentlie faine make vpon their own fingers the greatest part of such tales as are tolde of Ecclesiasticall persons Wherein they shewe how farre they are from the spirit and minde of that most Religious Emperour Constantine the great Zozom li. 1. cap 6. Niceph. li. 8. cap. 16. who would not in any wise heare the faults of Bishops Priests but affirmed that if he should chaunce to finde such an one violating wedlocke hee would couer him with his purple cloake for feare of scandale I could heere alleadge manie moe things both of doctrine and manners in which the Heretikes of old and the Protestants of these dayes doe agree and iumpe togeather and because of breuitie I will surcease praying you warily to weigh whose steps you tread in and whose examples you follow THE XXIIII REASON Peace and tranquilitie THE Catholike Romane religion according to the prophecies of the old Testament began with meeknes mildnes and with all quiet and peaceable meanes by which it also encreased and dilated it selfe the teachers and professours thereof vsing all patience and humilitie but neuer any violence or force in the planting thereof whereas the Protestants both haue begun and holde on theyr course vvith seditious tumults wars cruelties and other outragious Tragedies as vvith ouerthrowing noble families making away honourable personages with destroying all before theÌ„ where they set foot as Germany where they begaÌ„ can sufficiently witnes where were slaine within one yeere by rebellion war for this new religion Sledâ—n aboue one hundred thousand people country-men taking armes against their Lords subiectes against their Princes for the same And what rule and reuell they haue kept about their Gospell in Fraunce in Flaunders in Poland in Switzerland in Denmarke is wel known where they haue gathered sundry armies pitched many campes fought many battailes made many insurrections destroyed Countries Citties Townes Villages caused such slaughter and hauocke of Christian blood as euery man abhorreth to hear of And what tragedies I praye you haue they raised in Scotlande Haue they not murdered their Princes and ouerthrowne Noble houses and Lynages as the houses and Lynages of Hamiltons of Duglasses of Stewardes and of others Neither hath Ireland escaped scot free But to speake of our owne Countrye I cannot without teares recount sommarily the troubles calamities destructioÌ„s vtter ruines of noble families honorable worshipfull personages of the coÌ„mon-wealth it selfe caused by the Protestants or for the controuersie of religion In k. Henry the 8. his time two the chiefest
Cirinth for the Apostles Lib. 3. c. 30 and their schollers as witnesseth Nicephorus vvere so warie in this case that they would not so much as once reason the matter with any of them that endeuoured by their leasinges to corrupt the truth And holy Ignatius boldly affirmeth that Epist 6. ad Philadelphenses vvho so flieth not from a false preacher shal be damned into Hell 13 I should be partaker of all their wickednes consequently in daunger of al the punishment mischiefe which may befal them especially being present with them at the deede wherein principally they offend God from vvhich thing I am discouraged by the terrible death of all thē which were in company with the Schismatikes Chore Num 16. Dathan and Abiron which example as saith Saint Cyprian ought to mooue vs not to assiste or further Hereticall oblations Cyp. Epist 76. praiers sermons and errours 14 I should contrary to the iudgements of the learned of all Religions for the Gentiles thought it not lawfull to enter into the Iewes Synagogues Lact lib. 4. 5. diuin instit cur Senec de hist mahom chronic Wolsang Drisl Eus lib. 3. 4. Aug. li. de vnit Ecl. lib. 2. coa Petilian Ioh. Gard. in his Cat. art 86. or into Christiā Churches The Turks at this day refuse to doe the same the Arrians Donatists and such like would not one goe to anothers conuenticles nor to the Catholikes seruice nor the Catholikes to any of theirs The Anabaptistes will not goe to the Lutherans Churches nor the Lutheranes to the Trinitaries The Puritanes vvill hardlie be drawen to Protestantes seruice neither will the Protestantes in Catholike Countreis come to Catholike Seruice And the Iewes will not go to any Seruice but their own Those Protestantes which in Queene Maries dayes had anie conscience refused to go to Masse And therefore in reason you shoulde not mooue me much lesse vrge me to doe the thing vvhich the learned on your side in theyr owne case would not doe because they iudge it vnlawfull 15 I should doe euil to goe to your Seruice because I cannot but in mine own conscience iudge it to be dishonourable to God and consequentlie naught For to omit to speake how it is deuised by your selues and how your fellovv PVRITANES doe vtterlie condemne it I knowe your Translations of Holie Scriptures to be false shameles so as if my scholler should translate one of Tullyes Epistles in such corrupt maner I would soundlie breeche him for his labour Then your Ministers are no Priestes but meere Lay-men consequently haue no authoritie to deale in such things Besides you haue in your Seruice diuerse false and blasphemous things put them to the people for Scripture as in a Geneua Psal you pray to be defended frō Pope Turke Papistry c. And to speake what I thinke you haue left out all good thinges haue chosen to your selues iuste nothing of Catholike seruice although the people were made to beleeue that it was the old Seruice put into English 16 I shoulde goe to that Seruice which neuer was heard of in the world before these dayes nor yet is in anie place els in all the world but onelie there in England 17 I shoulde goe to that Seruice which you amongst your selues cannot agree vpō or decree to continue And it had by all likelihoode beene chaunged againe before this day if the grauer sorte had not made some stay for feare of incurring the note of inconstancy for how many bils I pray you haue there bin put vp in Parliaments about the chaunging of your Seruice Agree therefore amongest your selues first what seruice you will haue to continue and then I will aunswere you reasonablie to your demaund 18 In so doing my soule should goe one way and my body another which ought not to be for if they should goe two waies in this worlde they could not be ioyned togeather after the resurrection in the next life but the one should goe to heauen the other to hell which cannot be for if the bodie serue not God together with the soule in this life why should it enioy heauē in the next And if it be with Protestantes at their Seruice in this worlde why should it not be where the Protestants be in the next 19 I should loofe all the benefit of Catholike religion so either leaue off all conscience or els liue in continuall torment of mind and if I should die in that state I should be vtterlie cast away for euer Besides I shoulde loose the merite of all the good works that I euer did in all my life because I giue ouer working before euening so loose my pennie wages which otherwise would be truely paide mee Mat. 20 20 If I should so doe either to gratifie you other of my friends or by commaūdement of any power vnder her Maiestie neyther you nor they could take it well or account of mee better then of a trayterous caitiue for that you must needs think that I who will violate my faith to God almighty in doing contrarie to my cōscience iudgment for any worldly respect will easily breake my faith promise with man according to the iudgment of Constantius the Emperour Eus de vit canstant l. 1. cap. 11. for how can he be true vnto man that is conuicted of periurie to God verily such must needs be deemed of the wise to be flatterers turne-coates and great hypocrits 21 And now to come to the aunswere which you say women such sillie soules are accustomed to make I should do contrary to my conscience which thing in no case is lawfull to be done Yea if your seruice were good godly indeed the very true Seruice of God yet so long as I thinke otherwise of it I may in no case yeeld to go to it because an erroneous conscience bindeth a man to follow it neuer to doe any thing against it according to iudgement of all learned men of what sect or religion soeuer they be And therefore you may not request me much-lesse vrge me to go to your seruice before I be perswaded in my conscience that it is lawful so to doe Greatly therfore doe you offend God there in England in forcing people to goe to the Church contrary to their consciences and in imprisoning those who refuse so to do for no man is able to maister his own conscience knowledge and to doe against it he ought not therefore it is not in his power or will to goe to your Seruice without offence 22 I should do contrary to the Cānons custome of the Catholik church and against the examples of all Holie Saints learned Fathers Contrarie to the 63. Canon of the Apostles and against Concil Carth. 4. cap. 71. 72. Cōcil Antioch cap. 2. 5. Con. Laodicen c. 9. 32. 33. 37. Con. Mag. Later cap. 70. and against diuers