lyght so shyne before men Let the confession of your fayth and your good conuersation be so manifeste that they maye see your good woorkes and gloryfie your father which is in heauen Thirdly therfore it is to be considdered that the Church for maintayning of her visible vnitye hath certaine outwarde signes wherin her children do participat one with a nother wherby she is knowen and distinguished frō other companies For as S. Augustine sayth Into no name of religion either true or false can men be firmely compacted excepte they be tyed together by some fellowship of visible signes or sacraments And these outward signes are esspeciallye the blessed Scacrifice the holy sacramentes of the same publike prayers and seruice of God which are not in the protestants churches And therfore whosoeuer resorteth thither doth manifestly fayle in these tokens of his profession and so diuideth himselfe frō the visible vnity Fourthly this vnitye requireth not onlye that a man participate in sacramentes and prayers but also that he be obediente to his lawfull pastours And now it is euident that the whole churche in the Councel of Trent by condemning the heresies of this time hath also forbidden vs to haue felowship with the folowers of those heresies in diuine thinges Neither was it needful by expresse wordes to prohibit the comming to their churches seing that it was forbidden expresly to pray with heretikes euen by the Cannons of the Apostles and in diuers ages by sundry Councels whiche wee shal haue occasion to cite herafter And who knoweth not that the meaning will and commaūdement of all Catholike pastors at this daye is that we shold abstaine from the a foresayd churches vnder no lesse payne thē to be cast out of the true church Fiftly the practice of our country is most manifest wherby those that only haue bin presēt at the scismatical seruice are holden for very scismatikes accordingly are dealt withal in their rising vp from their ruine and they in the mean time in their owne consciences do acknowledge them-selues to be debarred from the vse of al holye Sacraments Sixtly al this is grounded vpon great reason for like as the protestants are heretikes in respect of their false doctrine so are the scismatikes in their different manner of seruing God And therfore who soeuer doth but seeme to concurr with them in that outward acte of seruice the Churche being not able to searche his harte and minde but iudging him acording to that which he sheweth outwardly must needs cēsure him as a scismatike Which censure is more greeuous terrible then if a man were adiudged to be striken with a sworde to be consumed with fire or to be deuoured with wilde beastes And more bitterly and vnhappily is a man bound by the keyes of the church after such iudgment then by any other most greuous and harde bondes albeit they were of yron or Adamant stone Neither let anye man thinke to be acquite from the crime of scisme or from this heauy cēsure because his acte of going to the protestants churche is constrayned by feare of worldlye losse and not altogether voluntarie For although he wold not doe this acte if the feare were remoued yet according to the condition of this presente time he choseth it as most expedient for him And therfore al circumstances considdered and as thinges goe now it is more voluntary then against his wil and simpliciter as it is termed as the case now standeth it is voluntarie For if feare might haue excused the Churche had done greate wrong not onlye to those who had denyed their fayth by doing sacrifice or casting of incence into the fyre before Idoles through constraint of torment but euen to those who had geuen vp their names among thē that sacrificed al which sortes of offenders were long time with-holden from the Sacramēts and caused to doe harde penance yea manye of them were not admitted to the company of the faithful vntil that eyther the persecution ceased or that the extreme poynt of death ouertoke them or if such faynt hartes might be holden blamelesse where should become the glorye of martirs or the inuincible perseuerance of constant Confessors And therfore great cause haue you rather to suffer your selues to be condemned to the payment of twenty poūdes by the moneth then to be subiecte to this so iust and withal so heuye damnation LIkewise you refuse to dissemble in matters belonging to God your conscience which kind of dissimulatiō S. Augustine reckeneth for the first and worst kind of detestable lying Therfore in one place speaking or Seneca who in his harte knew the Idols of the gentils to be most false and vayne and yet by his outward behauiour seemed to honour them the same doctor pronounceth this sentence in this sorte that he dyd more damnablye worship those false gods for-somuch as those thinges which he did faynedly he did them in suche sorte that the people thought him to doe them truely and in deede from his harte and in a treatis of purpose writtē against the Priscillianists who defended it as a thing lawful for a man to counterfayt a contrarye religion for aduantage and also against certain Catholikes who forsoth as they sayd to espye and finde out heretiks would put on a visard of heresy He determineth that dissimulation in no wise to be vsed shewing that if they shold cōuert any of those heretikes by going among thē in that sort yet shold they as muche confirme their disciples in that errour of thinking it lawful to lye dissēble as they shold edify them in other poynts of doctrine So that neither the catholiks shold know whether an heretike were in other things cōuerted or no so long as he remained in that doctrine of lying Nether shold the new conuert knowe when or wherin to beleue his maister whom he had found in many thinges here to fore haue bin a dissembler a lyar In the same treatis he reciteth the example of Iehu who fained to cōmit Idolatrye therby to entrape the priestes of Baal as wicked and sacriligious and by no meanes to be folowed For neuer did the Apostles who were in deed right holye and true martyrs any such thing for the sauing of their owne lyues as this King did vppon indiscreete zeale to take away the liues of others And wherfore because that with the harte we beleue to Iustice but with the mouth confession is made to saluation Which confession is of dutye and necessity when soeuer a man by his silence should be thought to haue forsaken his faythe or that the religiō should be the worse lyked of or that others should be induced to wauer in their fayth thorough dissimulation All whiche conditions may doe concurr in this case of yelding to heretikes to resorte to theyr churches and seruice And here it is to be noted that the Priscillianists were not the first that would warrant
yea you shold cease altogether to be Christians for by the iudgement of S. Cyprian S. Augustine he is no Christian who is not in the church of Christ Wherby you sholde departe out of Noes arke commit your selues to present drowning Wherby you sholde be debarred frō eating the lambe in God his house so be exterminated from the people of God Wherby you sholde be found out of the house of Raab to perishe most vndoubtedlye by the sworde of Gods iudgment Wherby you shold be diuided from the bodye of Christ hauing him no longer to be your heade receyuing no influence of his grace no liuely motion of his spirite no parte of his merits no fruite of his blessed passion Wherby you sholde be cut of frō the true vine and so wither become fuel for hel fier Wherby you shold lose the felowship cōmunion of holy Angels sancts in heauen being also excluded from the suffrages of the millitant church here in earth You should be seuered from the promises of Christ by forsaking his spouse and ioyning your selues to the aduouterous cōgrecation You should be excluded from the rewardes of the heauenly kingdōe by forsaking her that is apointed there to raygne You sholde lose the benefit of your baptisme and withal the right that you haue to receaue other Sacraments which cannot be fruitfully receiued but in the Catholike church You should depriue your selues of the meanes to haue remissiō so much as of one veniall sinne although you sholde punishe your selues with neuer so hard austere penance You should lose the fruite of all your good woorkes heretofore done making all your actions from thence-forthe altogether vnprofitable in respecte of euerlasting lyfe although you sholde liue neuer so lawdablye although you sholde geue neuer so great almes although you shold shed your blood for the name of christ yet continuing so out of the churche you could by no meanes be saued To be shorte you sholde breake that vnity for whiche our Sauiour so earnestlye prayed vnto his Father For the establishing wherof he suffered his Passiō and shedd his most pretious bloode In defence of which vnitye Dionisius Alexandrinus holdeth it no lesse glorious to dye then to suffer for refusing to sacrifice to Idols For saithe he in that euerie one suffereth martirdome for one soule but in this case for the whole Churche Now that all these inconueniences here mentioned what soeuer else may be comprehended vnder the detestable name of scisme shold ensue of your going to the protestants churches I thinke it maye be manifest by these reasons folowing First of all the Church is a city or cōmon wealth hauing a participation or felowship of spirituall benefits with-in itselfe and therfore whosoeuer doth communicat in spirituall things with any other cōgregation must needs be diuided frō the fellowshipe of the Church from those benefits which cannot be receiued but in the same society euen as he that should ioyne with the enimye of his countrey should worthily be depriued of all such priuileges as he enioyed at home Neyther is it possible for one to participate at once with two distinct churches no more thē for one member to be in two seuerall bodyes you cannot drincke the chalice of our Lorde sayeth Saint Paule and the chalice of deuills you cānot be partakers of the table of our Lorde and of the table of deuills So likewise you cānot be of Christ his Church and repayre to Sathans Sinnagogue But some perhaps will answer that by going to church they doe not in deed participate but only seme to participat with those of a nother religion To this I saye Secondlye that as the Churche is visible so must all her members be knowne manifest So that no man can rightly saye him-selfe to be in the Church although in bodily apparance he ioyne with heretickes For wher-as he visibly exhibiteth his presence there is he a visible member and not other where For a Cathecumen might saye muche better that he is mentally in the Church and yet is he not properly actually accounted of the Church nor is admitted to any Sacrament before he be baptised Saint Cornelius in a certayne epistle to Saint Ciprian maketh mentiō of some that were reduced frō the schisme of Nouatus who protested openly that although they seemed to cōmunicate in some sorte with a schismaticall and hereticall man yet neuerthelesse their sincere mindes were alwayes within the church And thinke you the moste parte of Scismatickes at this daye wolde not saye as muche if this excuse were sufficient But this is not enough neither did it then suffice those men vntil they were openlye reconciled to the church and admitted in presence of the whole concistorie of priestes at Rome And furthermore their reconciliation was notified to the whole people to the end that al might see them present in the church whome before they had seene with sorowe to err wander as sheepe dispersed from the Catholike flocke Also S. Augustin reportethe of one Victorinus a man greatly honored in Rome for his excellent learning and eloquence that being conuerted from Idolatrie to the Christian religion he deferred a longe while or feare to displease his worldly friendes to make open shew of that he beleeued in secrete And yet saying often to some of his faithful acqaintāce that he was alreadie a christian he was alwayes tolde that they wolde not so repute him vntil they saw him in the church of Christ wher-vnto he wolde replye in scornful manner asking whether the walles made men to be Christians as manye at this daye wil aske whether their resorte to the material churche of heretikes can make them cease to be of the Catholike churche But in the ende by God his grace he turned ouer the leafe and going gladlye to the church he was instructed in the faythe baptised and made a true Christian And when the time came that he should make profession of his faythe before the faythful people for that was then the manner for suche as were newly conuerted It was offered him that he should do it more secretly leste so great an assemblye at the firste should abash him But he made choyse to confesse his fayth before the whole multitude And so he did most confidentlye the whole people cryeing for ioye Victorinus Victorinus A notable example to be folowed by many a Victorinus in our age I meane manye an honorable man famous scholer being in harte and conscience Catholikes withal it is an euident proofe that it sufficeth not to be a Catholike in secret vnlesse by outwarde signes a man doe also shew and professe his religion according to the saying of our Sauiour that Men doe not light a candle and put it vnder a bushel but on a candlestick that it may shine to all that are in the house Therfore sayth he Let your
A CONSOLATORY LETTER TO ALL THE AFFLICTED CATHOLIKES in England Philip. 4. Sic state in domino Charissimi So stand in our Lorde my Dearest Imprinted at Roan in Normandy TO HIS MOST DEARE COVNTREYMEN ALL THE AFFLICTED CAtholickes in England H.B. wisheth all comfort and strength and ê‘seueraunce in Christ Iesus RIght Noble Lordes and worshippfull GentlemeÌ„ with other worthy Confessors of Christ his Church and religion generally all ye that vnder the name of wilfull and obstinate Recusants but in verye deed because you be true and constant Catholickes eyther alredy haue ben or by likelihood may be herafter endomaged in your worldly goods and possessions empeached of liberty or other wyse persecuted and afflicted If the light of fayth did as clearely shine the fire of godly zeale and charity were now as feruent in mens harts as it was in the golden dayes of those first Christians among whome the precious blood of our Sauior was yet warme the memory of the blessed Apostles most fresh the example of invincible Martirs in euery sex age and condition so frequent as that nothing could be more coÌ„mon then dayly to see men and women olde and young rich poore Priestes and secular for Christs sake to offer them selues with willing and glad mindes to all kinde of exquisite and greuous torments If it might please God I say but in some parte to renue kindle againe the deuotion of those times in this our dull age dead season neyther should this present persecutioÌ„ seeme so terrible as now I feare it seemeth to many neyther should it be needfull at all to vse so much comfort encouragement and exhortation as now perhapps to a great number shal be very necessary to be applyed For so farr were the most Christians in that flourishing prime tyde and cleare Noone dayes of the Church from being afrayde of any kind of death although most cruell and painfull that euery one deemed him selfe the more happy by how much more he might endure for the loue of our Sauiour and as for temporall goods they were then so litle esteemed as that many preuented the persecutors hands by selling all that they had and distributing their money for the reliefe of their poore Christian brethren But now alas that saying of the Prophet Ieremie is to playnly verified of this our miserable time Vae nobis quia declinauirdies quia longiores factae sunt vmbrae vesperi woe to vs because the day is farr spent because the shadowes are growen longer in the eauening The light of true knowledge being diminished charity waxing colde iniquity encreasing the shadowes of transitory things ar become so greate that now a mole hill appeareth more then a mountayne did in times past the losse of a litle money is now accompted greater theÌ„ here-tofore of a whole world of wealth yea more at this day perhapps ar dismayed at the pinching of their purse then would in former age haue ben appalled at the tearing of their fleshe breaking in sunder of all their bones I meane not in this speach to include many of you most constant and approued Confessors of whom I confidently trust better things and nearer to saluation who haue well dâ—seruâ—d that honorable testimony which Saint Paule giueth to the Hebrues hâ—uing susteyned already a great fight of passions on the one part by reproches and tribulations made a spectacle and on thother part made companions of them that coÌ„uersed in such sort You haue taken compassion on them that were in bondes the spoyl of your owne goods you haue taken with ioy knowing that you haue a better and a more permanent substance Ther remayneth for you no more but that you doe not lose your coÌ„fideÌ„ce which hath a great renumeratioÌ„ How long this persecutioÌ„ shall continue to what extremitie it may grow hereafter God knoweth And although we may hope the best yet in respect of our sinns we haue cause also to feare the worst Therfore patience is necesarie for you that doing the will of god you may receiue the promise for yet a litle a verie litle while he that is to come will come will not slacke Liue you in the meane while by the assured fayth hope of Christ his coÌ„ming and withdraw not your selues from the Catholike Church being redy to resist vsque ad saguinem Even to the patient shedding of your blood if the glory of Christ his name shall so require But I speake of the base minded multitude who hardlye be perswaded in hope of felicitie in the life to come to liue here with patience in penury or willingly to endure a paynfull death who ar ether with holdeÌ„ by feare of penall lawes agaynst their coÌ„scieÌ„ces froÌ„ the harbour of saluation or if they be yet in the Church they stagger and ar ready to fall at the terror blast of euery new statute that commeth forth behauing them selues in the meane time so coldly in their profession that scarcely shall you perceiue them by any outward acte to be Catholickes For these espeacially I haue taken in hand this labour of exhortation although I trust it shal-be acceptable to you also who by likelihod haue lesse need to be comforted for even those that fight or runne best are encouraged not onlye by their maisters and gouernours but also by the vulgar multitude that standeth a farr of that which to others is a necessary perswasion to you is a great and excellent commendation for so much as you do that of your selues with out externall admonition wher vnto others haue neede to be often and vehementlye exhorted And if I profite not otherwise by this endevour yet I hope I shall reape profite by calling to remembraunce that which maye bring comfort to my selfe wherof I confesse I stand in neede in respect of the sorowe which I suffer for your affliction my deare beloued contrymen and for the lameÌ„table state of our natiue Land being absent in body yet alwayes present with you in minde and spirit likewise doe I need the prayers of good folke which I besech all Catholikes that shall read this simple treatise of their charitable goodnes to bestow vpon me ANd now to come to my intended matter The weyght of this preseÌ„t persecution seemeth chiefly to consist in two penall statutes thone enforcing you to make shew by outward signes of yelding to a contrary religioÌ„ the other debarring you from practise of your owne the one proposing vnto you detriment of temporall goods the other thretning bodily deth I meaÌ„e thone in flicting penalty of .xx. pownd by the month to be exacted of all those that refuse to be present at the schismaticall prayers now called in England by the name of diuine seruice the other forbidding you to receyue catholicke Priests and consequently excluding you from the benefite of god his seruice SacrameÌ„ts vnder no lesse payne theÌ„ for the same to suffer death as in case
of Saint Paule the famous doctor saint Augustine inferreth that we ar forbidden to vse or to doe that wher-by we maye be thought to doe any thinge in the honour of straūge gods receiuing it in such sort that although in harte we despise such things yet we edifie or induce those that know not our harts in deed to honour the same In lke māner to compare the case of goinge to church in these our dayes vnto meates offered to Idols If men shall see you in churches in time of sacriligious seruice should not their consciences be edified eyther to thinke yt the seruice of God or at the lest with out feare to frequēt the same and so in tract of time to like and allow of heresy and so sinning agaynst your brethren stryking their weake consciences you shall sinne agaynst Christ Therfore sayeth the Apostle if meate scandalize my brother I will neuer eate flesh Of the same mynd was that notable Eleazaurus who chose rather to dye then to make so much as a shew of eating meates forbidden by the lawe saying that he would first be sent vnto hell for sayeth he it is not seemly for our age to fayne that many young men thinking Eleazaurus now of ninty yeares age to haue passed to the lyfe of the gentills may also them selues thorough my dissimulation and for a litle time of this corruptible lyfe be deceyued therby I may procure a blemish malediction to myne olde age for although I be deliuered at this presēt time from the tormēts of men yet shall I not escape the hand of the almighty neyther aliue nor dead And shoulde not men haue greate cause to thinke that you were passed to the lyfe conuersation of heretikes seeing you to differ nothing from them in principall signes tokens of religion should you not cause many to saye ther is no differēce men contēding among them selues haue made these controuersies god is to be honoured euery wher yf the very silence of a man in matter of fayth by Saint Augustins Iudgement should cause many to thinke all religiō indifferent And therfore thryse well aduised ar you in refusing to doe such an acte wherby your catholike brethrē might be offēded scandalized or weakened MOreouer you refuse by conforming your selues as men terme it to the proceedings of a nother religion to denye that fayth which you vndoubtedly knowe to be most true sincere vniuersall auncient as that wherin you haue byn borne and baptised wherin al your worthy auncetors haue liued and dyed which alwayes onlye hath floryshed in this Realme of Englande till within these late yeares yeelding in euerye age most plentiful fruite of deuotion towards God of obedience towardes Princes and other superiors of mercy towards the poore of charity of trueth fidelity and plaine dealing of all sortes of men towards their neighbours And that you shold so denye your faith by going to church with the protestantes yet is it moste playn by the nature of the thing it selfe being an acte properlye belonging to Religion by the intente of the lawe being made to no other ende but to exacte of you some signe of yeelding in matters of conscience by your longe refusal and suffering for the same cause heretofore by the iudgment of the aduersaries holding them-selues satisfied if you relent but in this one poynte of or externall behauior and finally by the confession of all men of any meane vnderstanding if they wil vtter plainly what they thinke if it were thought heretofore in times of persecutiō that the onlye wearing of a garland in certayne feastes of Idoles were to be holden as a signe that a man had denyed his fayth In so muche that Tertulian saythe although a Christian man hold his peace whiles others doe sacrifice to false goddes yet by wearing that garlande vppon his head he maketh aunswere in fauour of Idolatrye whereas this was a thing by nature indifferent being onlye made a signe of religion by vse and opinion of men what shall wee iudge then of ioyning with protestants in their publike prayers and seruice which is peculier to them as the blessed Sacrifice of the Masse is common to all Catholikes And therfore as wee are knowen by the one so they are knowen and discerned by the other If it were not permitted hereto fore that Christians shold in anye sorte conforme them-selues to the Gentils not euen so-much as to hang a lantern or a branche of Laurell at their dores when greate feastes were celybrated in honour of Idoles How can it be lawfull to keepe feastes with hereticks and to enter into their churches when they are busied in suche actes whereby they are distinguished not onlye from Catholiques but also one secte and sorte of them from a nother If it were thought a great offence to be present at the publike spectackles playes because the beginning and fynall ende of them was the honour of Idoles Is it possible that a catholike mā shold safly exhibit his presence at such kinde of seruice as had beginning by deuisiō from the Church and was inuēted for the setting forth of heresie Let vs here what Tertulian saith of the aforesayde plaies in a peculier treatis of that argument he requireth herein the iudgmēt of the very Gentils whether Christians might be there present or no. For saith he They most of all vnderstād a man to be made a Christian by the refusing of such spectakles Therfore he denieth manifestlye who taketh away the thing wherby he is knowen In like maner may we saye at this present the protestants especially vnderstande that one is become a Catholike by the refusing of their churches Therfore he denyeth himselfe to be a Catholike whosoeuer fayleth in this poynt pf his profession Nether let anye man thinke to escape this daūger of deniall by subtile euations For as S. Ciprian saieth whosoeuer seeketh deceytfull sleightes to excuse him-selfe hath denied and he that will seeme to haue satisfied the Edicts or lawes proposed a gainst the Gospel hath obeyed euen in this that he wolde seeme to haue obeyed Now who-soeuer shall thus by his outwarde acte denye himselfe to be a Catholike shall therby denyethe whole Catholike religion euen as he that denyeth him-selfe to be a Christian denyeth Christe And consequently a Christian and Catholique being all one to goe to Churche with heretickes is plainely to denye Christ As contrarie-wise to refuse their conuenticles is a cleere cōfession of Christ And this is a most important reason of your refusall where-vpon I haue stayed the longer because it concerneth you as muche as to be acknowleged or denyed before God the Father and all his Angels when Christe shall come in his maiestie to iudge the worlde HEreof it foloweth also that you refuse by damnable schisme to seuer your selues from the Church your mother where-by you shoulde cease to haue God to your father
to sitt in the chayer of pestelence teaching the doctrine of Balaam to geue scādal Ouer many such haue bene in our dayes and I praye God there be not yet some remayning But let them take heede for Christ wil come quicklye wil fight against them with the sworde of his mouthe that is to saye with the trueth of his worde The a foresayde verse Tertuliā thinketh sufficiēt to forbid al resort to al vnlawful assemblies whether they be gathered with entent of Idolatrye of iniquitye or for vanities sake as wanton playes and dishonest spectacles although they be not expreslye forbidden in scripture And therfore vndoubtedly it may wel be applied vnto the cōuenticles of heretiks wherin so many vngodly folke concurt together in the verye acte of dishonouring God by impugning his true religion of contempt of the churche by vsurpatiō of their new deuised seruice of derision of Christs Sacraments by profane rites of their owne friuolous inuention Yet furthermore the same royal Prophet in an other psalme declaring his owne innocency sayth I haue not sitten that is to say I haue not stayed any while with the councel of vanitye and with them that doe wickedlye I wil not goe in by once seeming to alowe that which they doe I haue hated the church of the malignant and with the vngodly I wil not sitt I wil wash my handes among innocents and I wil cōpasse thine altar round a bout by cleauing fast to Christe and his Catholike Church And within a few wordes I haue loued the cōelynes of thy house and the dwelling place of thy glory As a Catholike might saye the cause wherfore I refrayne in this sort from wicked company of heretiks in their churches is the loue and zeale whiche I beare to the beauty of Gods Church the merueylous disposition of her seruice the reuerend maiesty of her Sacraments decent order of her Ceremonies wher of I find no resemblance in the newe deformed congregation In an other Psalme he saythe after he hath spoken of vngodly men I wil not cōmunicat with their elect or chosen men Which S. Augustine in his time applyed to the cheefe masters of the Manachies who were called Electi And we may applye it wel ro all those of Caluins crew who most vndoubtedly presume that they are elected by God and predestinat to euerlasting saluation Contrariwise in an other Psalme an euil man is reprehended by God with these wordes Thou didest see a theefe and didest runne with him and with aduouterers thou didest lay thy portion Heretikes are the theeues by stealing and abusing the Scripture They are also aduouterers by corrupting the sincerity of simple mens faith with false doctrine And whereof did proceede such boldnes to ioyne and take parte with iniquity Thou hast thought wickedly that I wil be like vnto thee as commonly men wil saye God is mercyful as gentle to beare with schisme as thou to fauour heresye I wil reproue thee and saye it to thy face by charging thee with it at the dreadful day of iudgment But these places may seme a like for the auoyding of al euil companye Now more particularly for the shunning of such as wilfully diuide thē selues from Gods church we reade in the Gospel of S. Iohn that the Iewes did not communicate with the Samarytans who were schismatikes in respect of the olde law and therfore were most abhorred by the faithful folke of Gods people And although they did also abstayne from hauing conuersation with other Infidels Wher-vppon our Sauiour geueth vs a rule to shunn an heretike or anye one that disobayeth the Churche euen as the Iewes did deteste the Heathen and the Publicane And the like cōmandement hath ben geuen continualye by the blessed Apostles in their writings First by S. Paule I desire you brethern sayth he to marke them that make dissentions scandals contrary to doctrine which you haue learned and auoyd thē The reasone he yeldeth within a few words for that this cōpany is perilous Because by sweete speeches benedictiōs they seduce the hartes of innocents By often naming of the Lord and his woorde by frequēt cyting of Scripture by reading the Gospel the Psalmes other partes of the olde and new Testament they steale to them by title and litle the mindes of ignorant people And to the Corinthians he vrgeth the matter more vehemenlye after that he hathe geuen commandement not to beare the yoke with Insidels that is to say not to communicate with them in anye sorte in their woorkes of infidelitye shewing by diuers poynts of disagreement that there could be no felowshipe or conueniencie betwene them First in respect of the diuers disposition of their wils what participation hath Iustice with iniquitye Iustice requireth that a man exhibet his seruice to God in the Catholike Church it is great iniquitie to withdraw him-selfe and others from the same seruice as heritikes do by raysing perticuler factions Then because of their different doctrine What societie is there betwene light darknes So you haue bene brought vpp in the lignt of Gods trueth and the protestantes wander in darknes of sunderye foule and absurde errors Thirdlye because of the diuers Authors and founders of their congregations what agreemēt betwene Christ Belial Now Christ hath builded his Church vppon the succession of S. Peeter and Belial the spirite of disobedience is the verye beginner of all heretical and schismattical conuentickles Fourthlye because their whole state differeth what parte hath the faithful with the heretikes or Infidels yea and the worse sorte of Infidels because of their departure from the faythe once receyued by reasone wherof their error is lesse excuseable their malice commonly greater their company more perilous for infection and lesse hope of their recouerye then of such as neuer knew Christs religion Lastly for the diuersitie of their external seruice What agreement hath the Temple of God with Idols for you ar the Temple of the liuing God sayth the Apostle which he proueth by that saying in the lawe that God wil dwel and walke in them and wil be their God they shal be his people So the whole Catholike church is the Tēple of God but the doctrine of heretikes their cōmunion al their other external rites of religion are spiritual Idoles of their owne inuention and haue succeded in place of grosse and carnal Idolatry and therfore no lesse to be shunned and detested For which cause sayth the Apostle aledging the Prophet Isay and Ieremye Goe out of the midst of them by geuing no credit to their false teaching and seaperat your selues by auoyding of occasions of contagion and touche not the vncleane by seeming in anye sorte to consent vnto their wickednes and I will receyue you and I will be a father to you and you shalbe my sonnes and daughters sayth our Lorde omnipotent Likewise to the Thessalonians he denounceth in the name of our
Lord Iesus Christ that they should withdraw them-selues frō euerye brother walking in ordinatly not according to the tradition which they had receyued Also yf any were disobediente they should note him by an epistle and not companye with him that he might be confounded Wihche is one principal cause why the Churche layeth vppon heretikes this payne to be excluded frō the societye of her children intending therby their correctiō as hauing more power ouer them then other Infidels A nother cause which is the peril leste the sincere parte should be corrupted by their companye is expressed in one of the Epistles to Timothye where it is sayde That their speache spredeth as a canker pernitiously creeping from one member to a nother Also the same Apostle commandeth Titus by expresse worde to auoyd an heretike knowing that such a one is subuerted that is to saye he is commonly past hope of amendment and condemned by his owne iudgmēt by his wilful running out of the Catholike churche And agreably vnto this S. Iohn in one of his epistles sayth Yf anye man come vnto you and bring not thys doctrine meaning that which had bene taught by the Apostles other lawful pastors receyue him not into thy house nor saye God saue you vnto him for he that sayeth vnto him God saue you communicateth with his wicked wordes And in his Reuelation he maketh reporte of Christ his owne wordes denouncing terrible punishment vnto all that shal participate with heresie vnder figure of those that cōmited aduoutry with a certein famos woman And in the same booke of Pro. phecye he reherseth the voyce of an Aungel who geueth warning vnto the seruants of God to auoyd flye al vngodly godly cōpany signified by the name figure of wicked Babylon Lest they shold be partakers of her sinnes and therby should receyue of her plagues and punishmētes This poynte was diligently obserued by S. Iohn himself who refused to tary in the same bathe with Cerinthus the enemye of truth lest the bath should fal downe and oppresse them bothe Also by Policarpus S. Iohn his scholer who would not take acquaintance of Marcian that famous heretike otherwise then by calling him the deuils eldest sonne And by S. Anthonie of whom it is written that he could not indure to speake one peaceable worde to an heretike And although it be permitted in places where heretikes are in great multitude for necessities sake to cōuerse and haue deling with them in worldly affayres so long as they be not by name excomunicated and denounced yet to haue felowship with them in actes of religiō it neuer was nor could be allowed or suffered But hath bene alwayes forbid den as I sayde before by the Cannons of the Church reyued from the blessed Apostles The authority of which Cannons moued Origen to refuse by anye meanes to be present at prayers with a certain heretike called Paule The same also moued Heraclas to cast out of the Churche certayne Christians because they had vsed the cōpanye of heretiks and not to be admitted againe before they had publikly declared whatsoeuer they had harde of those enemies of the trueth notwithstanding that he knewe them from their verye harte to be turned from all error and false doctryne The like is decreed by the blessed Pope and martyr Fabian and by the Counsels of Antioche and Laodicea by the fourthe Counsel of Carthage and dyuers others The same hath ben taught by holy Doctors as by S. Cyprian who speaking of heretiks and schismatikes sayth we must depart frō such offēders or rather we must flye frō them in haste lest that ioyning our selues with such as walke peruersly going with them in the waye of their error cryme and wandering a straye from the right and course of our iorney we be holden guilty of lyke offence And by S. Augustine who entring into conference with one of the Manachies secte maketh exception of three thinges whiche in no wise he wolde consente to doe First that he wolde not praye with them Secondly that he wolde not keepe solemne conuenticles with them Thirdlye that he wolde not take vpon him the name of a Manichie More-ouer it hathe bene practised by the whole church of al ages as may appeere by the exāple of those godly people of Allexādria Samosata Edessus with diuers other Cityes wher whole multitudes wolde rather choose to suffer deathe then once to enter the churches while the Arian prelats were present Whose godly zeale maye wel confound the colde deuotion of this vnhappy time wherin so few are found in comparison of a great number who in hart doe beleeue the Catholike religion so few there be I saye that wil be content to sustayne the losse of a fewe goods for the open profession of their fayth Yea many there be that wil not take knowledge of this case wherof in times past no man was ignorant no not the verye heretikes as Arians Donatists and suche like all hauing their seueral churches by them selues and refusing to communicate either with Catholiks or with any other sect disagreing from their opinion AND this maye be a nother important reason of your most iust and aduised refusal I meane the very iudgment and example of al Infidels touching participation with those of a nother religion the Iewes doe not enter into the churches of Christians The Turkes hold it for a signe of Mahomets religiō for one to come into their moskeyes the Lutherans and Caluinistes haue their seueral congregations one distincte from thother and al the protestantes in other countryes refuse to be present at the Catholike seruice So did as manye of them as had zeale or care of their cōscience in the late dayes of Quene Mary In which time a famos preacher of their faction inroled for a martire in Fox his booke making answere to a certayn woman who demanded of him whether she might goe to mattens and euensong for to goe to masse her conscience would not suffer her pronounced and gaue his sentēce in this or in muche like sorte that to goe to anye parte of the seruice then vsed sholde be a thing greatly against the honour of God and contrarye to the charitye due vnto her neyghbour It sholde be against God his honour because sayth he God is not to be honored but in such sort as he hath commaūded and taught by his worde meaning by God his worde expresse Scripture where-as we include also suche trueth as God hath reuealed vnto his Churche Also he sayde that by going vnto such seruice she should denye and disalowe of the whole doctrine of the Gospel And concerning breach of charity towardes her neyghbour she shold therby seuer her selfe from the congregation of the faithful She should great lye confirme the obstinate Papists in their error she should cause the weake Protestants to wauer in their religion and she should greatly offend the more firme sort of
Gospellers Beholde here the cause wherfore Catholiks be afflicted determined by the iudgment of a Protestant preacher and recorded in the a fore-sayd booke of Fox his monsterous monuments Which thing being wel cosiddered wolde make one to woūder that we should be so vrged by the Protestants at this daye to doe the same thing whiche in their owne case they haue thought must thinke very damnable seing that this common consent of all sectes and religions must nedes shew it to be a thing forbidden not only by man his ordinance but by the verye lawe of God and nature and consequently to be repugnant to the iudgment of euerye one that hathe in his breste but anye lytle sparke of vprightnes and sinceritye AND now lastlye to make vpp this matter of defence for your not going to the church you refuse to resort to such a seruice as besides that it hath bene deuised by the English Protestāts a mong them selues besides that it is condemned of other sectes besides that yt hathe no lyke paterne or platforme a mongste their Euangelicall brethren in other countries besides false translation of Scripture the defect of a lawful minister the want of sacrifice sacraments reuerent ceremonies and other things belonging to the honour of God which are conteyned in the Catholike seruice besides false doctrine and blasphemye which must needes be offensiue to all religious eares is mislyked of most euen at home and hath bene impugned by sundery printed pamphelets which hath geuen occasion of writing great bookes of controuersie Yea by all liklyhoode it had bene chaūged long before this day had not the grauer sorte made staye of the matter for feare to incurr the note of inconstancie yea in the last parlament holden in your Realme anno 29. wher in this monthly exaction was more aggrauated vpon you with peril of a greater forfayture a booke was exhibited for the reformation of the forme of cōmon prayer now vsed neyther was the matter determined otherwise then by contrarye commaundement of the superiors although one wold thinke by reasone it should haue bene agreed amongste them-selues what seruyce they should thinke beste to vse before you should haue bene compelled vnder so greuous a payne to resorte vnto their churches Lo now you see here the causes of your refusal A most happye refusal vndoubtedly yf you continue therin being grounded vppon so good reasons of conscience of duetye towards God of charity towards your Catholike bretheren of respect to religion of reuērece towards the Church of common honestie and playne dealing amongst men of care to auoyde the felowship of other mens sinnes being also iust as that euen those that do moste persecute you yf the case were their owne must needes plead for thē selues with the like alegations and fynally being moued with mislyke of the seruice where-vnto you are now commaūded to resort in which poynt your aduersaryes cannot iustly reproue you them-selues being not yet agreed whether it be the seruice of God or no manye of them earnestly mainteyning the contrarye The Second Parte what Recusants shall lose NOW Let vs considder what losse you shal sustayne for this refusall You shal lose so manye of you as shal not be able to discharge and aunswere this heauye summes your whole substance of moue-able goods and suche as haue landes shal lose moreouer two partes of their reuenewes and those that are of more abilitye to supporte this greeuous burthen shal be greatlye impouerished forced to abridge thēselues of that which otherwise should be verye conueniēt for their estate and calling A verye hard case vndoubtdely but yet not so harde but that by Gods grace it maye be easilye digested And firste of all those that haue greater lyuinges doe lesse stand in neede of comforte and with more quiete minds may sustayn the losse that shal fall vpon thē bothe for that they maye holde themselues the better cōtented in respect of thākfulnes towards God to lose a litle for his sake hauing receiued much farthermore because the inconueniēce which they shal suffer is but the abasing of their out-warde countenance in the world which I hope there is no Catholike but wil patiētly and gladly indure if it wer for no other cause yet for christian humilitye and modestye To such of you therfore as are of greater calling and haue more wher-with to mayntain your selues I saye that I trust there is none of you that so looketh towardes preferment but that you wil rather be content likewise to be aflicted with the people of God then by offending God to haue temporal pleasure for a while esteeming the reproche which you shal suffer for Christ greater riches then the treasure of the Egiptians that is to saye of the whole worlde There is none of you that so atendeth to purchase lands for the encreasing of your patrimonye but that you haue greater care by good deedes to buy the kingdome of heauē For if you purchase here on earth you are as it were not possessing And yf you reioyce in the worlde you are as yf you reioyced not And yf you vse the world as thogh you vsed it not Because the figure of this world passeth awaye I trust you account your selues here as straungers and Pilgrims and therfore you seeke to haue houses to dwel in for a while and not as though you should remayne in them for euer You shal be hindred by this persecution from prouiding for your children so plentifully as otherwise you would but you shal leaue vnto them Gods blessing whiche is more then al earthly riches You shal not marrye your daughters so richlye nor with so great portiōs but you shal matche them with Cotholikes who in this tyme of common necessitye shal more esteeme of religion thē of riches and shal more regard vertuous behauiour then vayne brauerye You shal perhapes not haue so great attendance of seruants but you shal be attended with Angels whersoeuer you goe And if you keepe not so greate familyes yet you maye keepe such as be deuout towards God and faithful towards your selues As vndoubtedlye you shal make them much the better by this your example of suffering for Gods cause Also you shal haue the lesse to aunswere for manye idle persons and in a smaller number you shal haue the fewer euyl You shal keepe lesse hospitality among your neyghbours but you shal be the lesse enuyed by your aduersaryes and withal you shal haue lesse occasion to entertayne vnthankful heretikes anb schismatikes who preying vpon your monye can the lesse expecte to be fedd at your tables Yea perhaps you shal be able to bestow more largelye vpon the domestical of fayth or if your almes be lesse for lack of ability your good-wils shal be rather the more For as you know the widdowes two mites is more then any riche mans treasure and good folke wil considder that you are afflicted Catholiks and therfore wil require