Christianitie by their dispearsinges and scatteringes according to the purenes and sinceritie of the Gospell did teach at this time that the Masse did retaine and hold nothing of the institution of Christ neither for the liuing nor for the dead that the consecration was not tyed to the wordes of the Canon but to the Lordes institution that the holy Supper ought to be celebrated according to that institution or else that it is no supper that all other ceremonies therein are vnprofitable and the vulgar or naturall tongue of euery people necessary for the instruction of the people c. If also the king S. Lewes although caried away with the streames of custome did exhort Henrie king of England to heare sermons taken out of the word of God rather then to frequent Masses Matth. Paris addit Because saith he the one will bee much more auaileable vnto you to saluation then the other But because we haue handled it before how that the priestes had got so much by their daies labors that they had in the end cut off and taken away the cup of the Lord from the people it concerneth vs now consequently to looke about vs and see by what proceedings they attained thereto being no change or alteration but a meere dismembring and violent rent vndertaken in so deepe a degree of presumption and performed with so high and horrible an enterprise of sacriledge CHAP. X. That the Communion vnder both kindes was practised all in the old Church SEeing for certaintie that our Lord Iesus Christ hath once said The communion vnder both kindes Take drinke ye all this is the cuppe of the new Testament in my blood which is shed for you where shall be found such a priest as dare vnder the name of the church refuse deny to giue the same vnto the faithfull and what faithfull person should he be that should not be so bold as to vrge and importune the priest if he denie the cup the blood and the saluation in the blood of our Lord shed for vs the cup of the couenant if we will not willingly bee excluded and shut out from it the cup of the new Testament if wee will not by too open and euident a contempt frustrate and make of no effect our inheritance if wee will not be blotted out of the booke of children And yet such are excommunicate as require that they may haue the communion in the blood of Christ and which do stifly hold and contend that the one halfe of the legacies bequeathed them by their Lord and Maister his last will and testament is stolne from them those are called Sacramentarie Heretickes which complaine that the Sacrament of the bloode of Christ is taken from them And it is nothing but noueltie newfanglednes and innouation to haue recourse to this will and testament whose title is so auncient and authentike or to sue by force and vertue of the couenantes and conditions contained and agreed vpon therein It is antiquitie to eiect disseise and dispossesse vs by a new ordinance which hath no ground nor foundation but meere fansies no reason but presumption an antiquitie which cannot but verie hardly and with great difficultie deriue his pedegree further then one generation But now let vs looke into the stately march and proceeding of this great abuse The holy Supper of our Lord is cut off as we haue seene close by the ground and vpon the ruines thereof is built the Romish Masse By this meanes the people hath beene frustrate of the ordinarie vse of the bodie and blood of Christ From weekes it hath beene reiourned and put off to monethes from monethes to quarters and finally from quarters to once a yeare In stead of the bread of the Eucharist there is giuen the holy bread when they go out from the Masse In stead of the cuppe of the Lord in the communion they are now vouchsafed as much as will wash their mouthes and all this from time to time couered with the glorious name of the Church And what shall wee then say if all the olde Church be cleane contrarie thereunto If of all the deformities and corruptions of the same there bee not one that is newer or later then this Let vs trace ouer therefore the ages of the worlde and the workes of the fathers for I am willingly diposed to take the paines to make it plaine vnto the readers though they might enuy me for the same and though this matter be of the nature of those whereof S. Augustine hath giuen this rule Valeat ad sui demonstrationem ipsa rei ouidentia let the euidence and clearnes of the thing it selfe deale and speake for the proofe thereof Saint Paule in the first to the Corinthians beginneth at that end 1. Cor. 11. I haue receiued of the Lord that which I haue also giuen vnto you he is not so bold as these fellowes which giue cleane contrarie euen that which they haue neuer receiued and that which hee had receiued and that which he gaue that is the communion vnder both kinds Let vs vse this word kindes for the signes or Sacraments that so we may the better apply and fit our selues vnto them As oft saith he as you shal eate this bread drink this cup c. Let euerie man proue himselfe and so let him eate of this bread and drinke of this cup c. The man saith he and not the Apostle nor the disciple nor the Priest nor the Clearke but euerie Christian for so he writeth vnto the Church of God which is in Corinth to the sanctified in Iesus Christ to them which are called Saintes Yea and vnto all them saith hee which call vppon the name of our Lord in what place soeuer they be Ignatius writing to the whole Church of Philadelpha The consent of the fathers Ignatius ad Philadelph Anno salutis 100. Iren. lib. 4. c. 32 33.34 I exhort you saith he that you vse all one faith one publike ministerie and preaching of the word and one Eucharist for there is but one flesh of Iesus Christ and one blood shed for vs one bread broken for all and one cup distributed to all He saith to all and not to the priestes onely for euen in the same epistle before these words he had made mention of the Bb. Elder Deacons and people Irenaeus ioyneth and coupleth both of them together continually The Lord hath commanded saith he vnto his disciples to offer vnto God the first fruits of his creatures the bread to be his body and the cup to be his blood c and we neuer find them seperated the one from the other in him Saint Cyprian writing vnto Cornelius the Pope Epist 2. Anno 200. How saith he doe we teach how doe we incite and stirre vp the faithfull to shedde their blood for the confession of the name of Christ if we denie vnto them his blood vnto them who haue to fight for him How shall wee fit
Trinity Of Idolatry for feare that we shold worship the Image for so goeth the case saith he that God doth not forbid onlie to worship Images but likewise to worship him in Images Of heresie also least that by such meanes wee should attribute to God a corporall and bodilie Masse or essentiall difference such as we may obserue to be giuen vnto him in these three figures and shapes And thus much be saide by the way of the pictures of the Trinitie And in another place S. Augustine sheweth the daunger generally of all Images in these wordes saying When men see them set in places appointed to honour in the resemblance which they haue with our members toucheth and striketh the spirites of the infirme and weake with some affection of praying and sacrificing vnto them especiallie at such time as the multitude is seene to runne and flocke thether August l 1. de consens Euang. c. 10. And in an other place speaking of such as deuised Epistles letters from Iesus Christ to S. Peter and S. Paule Can it bee sayeth hee because they had seene them pictured together And thus deserue they to bee mocked which haue sought Christ and his Apostles on painted wals and not in the holy scriptures Chrysostome vpon Genesis Chrysost in Gen. c. 31. ho. 57. mocketh at Labans Gods Wherefore saieth Laban vnto Iacob hast thou stolne away my God A deepe dotage And thy Gods sayeth hee are they such as that one may steale them from thee Again You know that when you were Gentiles you were turned aside vnto dumbe Idols euen you who speake see and heare vnto insensible thinges and is it possible that this thing should bee pardoned But and if in the Temples of Constantinople any such abuse had beene how had hee beene able to haue spoken these things and not to haue become ridiculous But yet sayeth hee to the ende that it might be known that these rules reached to the Images of the Christians We haue not to deale but with the Images of our Saintes for wee doe not inioy their presence by their bodilie Images but by the Images of their soules which wee haue in asmuch as that which they spake Litur Chrysost was the Image of their soules Now there is no cause why any shoulde obiect that in the Lithurgie attributed to him there is mention made of the Image of the Crucifixe for how can that be Chrysostomes seeing therein is prayer made eyther for Pope Nicholas the first neere hand 500. yeares after him or for Nicholas the Patriarke of Constantinople who was more then 700. yeares after likewise for the Emperour Alexius the first more then 700. yeares after for who cannot perceiue see that it was made 400. Hieronym in Esa c. 2. Idem in Iere. Idem in Danicl c. 3. yeares or thereabout after his death a long time also after the second Councell of Nice which established Images S. Ierome sayeth Man a liuing and reasonable creature doth worship copper and stone c. And againe This error hath ouertaken vs euen to place and put religion in riches And in another place notwithstanding that he entreat of the matter of the three children in the bote fierie furnace yet he giueth this generall rule The seruantes of God must not worshiââe Images And vpon the 113. psalme hee dealeth no better with them then S. Augustine did before But amongst the rest of his Epistles there is one of the famous man âpiphanius Bb. of Salamine in Cipres writing vnto Iohn Patriarke of Ierusalem which S Ierome hath not disdained to translate by which it appeareth manifestlie vnto vs what opinion the Church had conceiued of Images euen vnto this time Epist Epipha ad Ioh. Hiero although as hetherto it neuer came in their mindes to worshippe them but onlie to haue them as remembrances As I was come sayeth hee into a village called Anablatha had espied as J went along a burning lampe and therewithall learned after some enquirie made that it was a Church I went in to pray and found at the entrance into the same a vaile hanging dyed and painted hauing the Image as it were of Christ or of some Saint for I doe not perfectlie call to mind of whome it was Then when I had seene this thing that in the church of Christ against the authoritie of the Scriptures was hung vp the image of a man I cut in pieces the vaile furthermore gaue counsell to the keepers of the place to burie some poor dead persoÌ therin c. And now also I am to entreat you that you wold giue in charge by straight commandement that there be not any moe such vailes hung vp in the church of Christ as do stand against our religion for it is more seemlie to take away this disquieter of a tender and soft conscience being vnworthie of the church of Christ of the people which are committed vnto thee They labour themselues fall into a great pusle about this place some one way some an other way some disputing against Athanasius and indeed these are they that haue vndertaken the waight and burtheÌ of the strife and contention others in most solemn and deep sort auouching that this Epistle was but lent him which notwithstaÌding is alleadged vnder his name in the famous Synod of Paris whereof we shall speake by by But whome may we better belieue then himselfe if he teach the same in his works Epiphanius tom â cont haereses l. 3. In the second tome against heresies hee maketh a beade-roule of the traditions then obserued in the Church and our aduersaries would make vs belieue that images come in by Apostolike tradition but of images notwithstanding not one word What is there of more honor in the Church of Rome then the image of the holy virgine and yet you shall see what he saith euen of her selfe We vnderstand saith he that there are some which would bring her in for a God and which doe sacrifice vnto her Collyridem this was a certaine kind of tarte or cake and which assemble and come together in her name but this is a blasphemous worke contrarie to the preaching of the holy spirite a diuelish worke and the doctrine of the vncleane spirit And herein are accomplished the wordes of the holy Ghost Some shall depart from the faith giuing themselues to fables and the instructions of deuils c. And let it be then saith he that she be dead and buried admit that shee were taken vp or suppose that she abideth and liueth still let vs take out this lesson that we may not in any case honour the Saints further then is decent and becommeth but rather the maister of the Saintes our Lord. And let this errour broached by these seducers vanish and cease for Marie is no God let no man offer in her name for hee that doeth it destroyeth his owne soule c. Who will belieue that hee which spake these
And amongst men who was more great then Iohn Baptist of whom the Lord saith amongst those that are borne of women c. Thou seest then this great mountaine to shine but heare his confession We haue saith he all receiued of his fulnes It is then from him of whom they haue receiued that we must looke for our succour and not from these mountaines from Christ the Sonne of the most high and soueraigne father c. And if thou lift not vppe thine eyes by the scripture thou shalt not bee admonished and taught how to bee enlightened of him Saint Ierome haue lifted mine eyes Hieronym in psal 121. the eies of my spirite vnto the toppe of the bookes that is of the laâ and the Prophetes from whence I see comming vnto mee my Lord my aide and my helpe that is Christ and so Saint Augustine vpon S. Iohn doth expound it of the scriptures I an other place Saint Ierome ioyneth these two places together to the same end August tract 1 in Iohan. Hieronym in Esa c. 52 l. 14. I ââue lifted mine eyes vnto the hils and I haue lifted mine eyes vnto thee which dwellest in the ââauens opposing and setting them against the ordinarie intention and drift of the ââeuill who would curbe and keepe in our soules vnder the slauerie of these inferior pâwers Theodoret Being compassed and set about with calamities say the captiues of Baâlon Theod. in psal 120. we haue cast our eyes on euery side but we know that there is no help of man that can do ãâã good we rest in the good pleasure and will of God c. Saint Bernard likewise speaking of Christ persecuted in the Church and in his members saith Who is hee that without teares can see the teares of Christ Bernard in ep ad Simonem Abbatem S. Nicol. lifting his eyes from the deepe pitte of mire and elay vnto the mountaines from whence help and succour is to come vnto him c. And surely then not from the Saintes for they know themselues to stand in neede to bee helped of Christ but rather saith he From the Lord which hath made heauen and earth Caietan also most fitly and for the purpose saith This is here as a dialogue betwixt the people and the Prophet shall I here stand and waite for my helpe from the mountaines from the princes and potentates of the earth nay rather from the Lord c. In the Psalme 134. it is said Iudicabit Dominus populum suum in seruis suis deprecabitur Psal 134.14 Of a bad and naughtie Grammar construction they make a bad piece of diuinitie He shall bee prayed vnto say they in his seruants But the Hebrew saith Hee shall repent himselfe or he shall be appeased towarde his seruantes And so haue Caietanus Pagnin and Arias Montanus their interpretors translated the same And the Chaldie Paraphrast in like manner that is That God according to his mercie will be appeased towards to his people At the least they should haue kept themselues vnto their Glose which from a badde translation hath notwithstanding gathered a good doctrine Deprecabilis saith it efficietur seruis suis exaudiendo seruis suis placabilis fiet hee will bee intreated at the prayers of his seruantes and in the same manner Haimo But let vs heare the fathers Haimo in psal 134. Saint Augustine hath read it Et in seruis suis adorabitur and expoundeth this place of the casting off of the Iewes and calling of the Gentils comming into the Church on euerie side Saint Ierome Consolabitur and gathereth the former sence thereof also That the Lord shall bee comforted in the incredulitie of the Iewes and in the faith and beliefe of the Gentiles But Theodoret commeth more neere vnto the purpose and scope of the Prophet For saith he Thou O Lord seeing vs assailed by enemies wilt not cast vs off neither wilt thou chasten vs according to our sinnes And thus likewise Caietanus But say they doth not intercession presuppose inuocation Now the fathers of the olde Testament haue caused the names of the Patriarkes to steppe in to helpe their prayers If intercession presuppose innocation Genes 32. Exod. 32. Deutr. 9. Psal 131. Exod. 6.5 32.13 Leuit. 26.42 Dan. 3. Deut. 8.26.34 1. Kings 8. Psal 89. Iacob said The God of my father Abraham and Isaac deliuer mee c. Moyses Call to minde thy seruantes Abraham Isaac and Iacob Call to mind thy seruant Dauid and his afflictions c. But assuredly they do plainly enough expound themselues in the same places To whome saith Moyses thou hast sworne by thine owne selfe I will multiply their seede and giue vnto them this lande And Salomon Performe vnto thy seruant Dauid that which thou hast said the couenant that thou hast assured and confirmed vnto him c. And the Lord himselfe I haue remembred my couenant made with your fathers and not your fathers not their merites to witte they all alleadging to God and God vnto them the whole cause and reason of the graces and deliuerances that they craued at his hand or that hee performed vnto them to be the free promise which hee vouchsafed to make to the Patriarkes to Dauid to his people c. and not their merites which as wee shall see hereafter are none at all at Gods hand And this is the same which the Glose saith in the like places Firmiter promisisti non licet mutari Thou hast infalliblie promised and it is not lawfull for thee to reuoke or change thy promise But whereas they go about to deriue and find the originall of intercession these places cannot serue for an example For by their owne coafessions those that were in the limbes could not be intercessors And that wee may not need to bee still repeating the same thing let this which hath beene saide serue and be vnderstood of all such like places In Iob 33. Iob. 33.23 Elihu after he had shewed by how diuers sortes and waies God chastiseth men for their amendment hee addeth these wordes according to the old translation If there bee an Angell speaking for him one of a thousand to declare of the equitie of this man Then will he haue mercie vpon him and say deliuer him for I haue found wherefore to bee reconciled vnto him c. Thereupon they infer that Angels do make intercession for vs. But according to the Hebrew the truth of the word translated Angell is ambiguous and may be taken for a messenger and seemeth also presently after that it ought to be vnderstood for a prophet or interpreter of the will of God as in the booke of Iudges 2. Chap. And that because of the worde which followeth ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã that is to say an Interpreter And hee saith not for him but with him ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã let him make God acquainted with the vprightnesse of the man but vnto man his
shall first be called away hence let them continue their amitie and loue without ceasing in the presence of God let their prayers neuer cease for their brethren and sisters crauing in their behalfe the manifolde mercies of the father That is Saynt Cyprian extending and stretching the care that the Saintes deceased should haue not vnto the Church in generall onely but by a continuance of holy affection vnto them whome they had loued in Christ here vppon earth And this although it haue no example in the scripture yet it is far off from our aduersaries their doctrine for he prayeth to the liuing and not to the dead Now the controuersie or question betwixt vs is not if they pray and to what end but if wee ought to pray vnto them at all I know well what they haue to alleadge out of the sermon of the starre and the wisemen of the East As that the infantes slaine by Herode are made Senators in Paradice and obtaine grace for them which doe not merite it c. But they are not ignorant that this sermon hath by themselues beene alwaies numbred amongst the deuised and faigned ones As likewise that which they bring out of the booke of S. Cyprian his penitentnes How that he had beene a Magician and that by the help of the Deuils hee would haue assailed the chastitie of a maide and that she calling vpon Iesus Christ her husband and afterward the virgine Marie was deliuered and thereupon also S. Cyprian conuerted But with what face seeing S. Ierome telleth vs that S. Cyprian was a Rhetorician and wonne vnto Christ Hieronym in epist ad Paul in Comment in Ionam c. 3. Cyp l. 2. ep 2. Gelas D. 15. c. Sancta Rom. partly by the familiaritie he had with Caecilius whereupon he was surnamed the Cecilian and partly by the reading of the Prophete Ionas And seeing that S. Cyprian in setting downe his owne conuersion saith not a worde of all this And as little is that which commeth to light by Pontianus his Deacon who hath written his life But which is more seeing that Pope Gelasius at the verie same time when the inuocation of Saints had rooted it selfe verie deeply did pronounce and affirme vnto them that this booke was Apocrypha And yet they are still abusing the common people with the name of the fathers For as concerning the sermon of Gregorie Nazianzene Marulla hath very well obserued that he hath made Cyprian of Damascus and Cyprian the Carthaginian all one whereas the first suffered in the time of Valerian and the second vnder Dioclesian And it hath beene noted by many others before and after him We are now in this place to bring in Dionysius the pretended Areopagite for hee cannot be so auncient as we haue proued as they would make him Dionvs eccles Hierarch c. 3. and this we say and affirme by the way that we need not doubt that the miracles which God wrought vppon the establishment of the Church at the sepulchers of the Martyrs made many to looke downe and to fixe their eyes vppon the Martyrs whereas they ought to haue lifted them vp and to haue caused them to looke vpon God alone and that so much the more because it was called and accompted to be the honouring of God in his Saintes as also for that it seemed to bee an instigation and pricking of men forward to suffer for the name of Christ Whereunto also you may adde as another cause the want of a Paule or Barnabas at the corner of euerie fielde to represse these disordered and vnruly deuotions of the people Actes 14. and to cause them to leaue the creature to betake themselues to the liuing God But so it is that this Denys rehearsing the causes for which he made mention of the Saintes in the seruice speaketh not but of those that follow To the end saith he that those that liue may learne by these examples to liue and die well in God and that they might bee admonished and taught that those that die in him doe liue out of this life in a better That God hath them in his remembrance according to that which is said God knoweth those that are his The death of the Saintes is precious before God That they are also one with Christ by an indissoluble vnion and bond that can not bee broken which are the causes saith he that this mention or rehearsall is made at the time of the celebrating of the Sacrament the Sacrament of the coniunction and vnion of Christ and his members That is to shew vnto vs that those that bee not the greatest parte in this world that yet they cease not to be a part of the Church The contention raised about the Arrians was a cause that for a certaine time men did speake without fault The Christians reasoned Christ is truely God for we are all agreed to pray vnto him but we pray not vnto neither call vppon any but God This argument had beene of no force if the Church at that time had vsed the inuocation of Saintes for the reply had beene verie readie But tell mee how many Saintes doe you pray vnto Hillar in psal 129. which you know to be no Gods And although S. Hillarie doe playe the Philosopher as others before him vppon the mediation of Angelles the protection of the Patriarkes and Apostles c. yet he reserueth inuocation for Christ alone Idem in Psal 123. Because saith he that he belieueth that he is very God that he is present by his nature when he is faithfully called vpon and for that he is present with him that belieueth in him c. Idem c. 27. in Matth. Athanas orat 2. cont Arrian Idem de incarnat verb. But in regard of the Saintes The virgines saith he doe answere that they cannot giue any oile because it behoueth euerie one to buy for themselues and that none doe expect trust to be helped by the merites and workes of another c. Athanasius in like manner The Saintes saith he doe not craue any helpe of the creatures but they crie and call vnto Christ in their necessities He is not therefore a creature hee is verie God Againe If thou worship saith he Christ as he is man because the word dwelleth in him then worship the Saintes because that God hath a little house or dwelling place in them c. which thing hee proueth to bee absurd What force should such a reason haue had if the sermon intituled of the virgine the mother of God were his wherein he praieth vnto her for succour by the names of Ladie Mistresse Queene c. But the learned know that the greatest part of the third and fourth Tome of Athanasius are suspected of vntruth as Nannius likewise hath confessed being publike professor in the vniuersitie of Louaine and hee that did translate them And this is one speciall marke thereof for that the word ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã was not
for feare saith he that veritas abeat in erroreÌ the truth be turned and changed into error that is for as much as that which is performed duely vnto God can not chuse but be misplaced vnduely bestowed when it is performed vnto creatures Now these honors such as is adoration as also inuocation are parts of that which he calleth Latria For so he expresseth his meaning to be by the examples which he mentioneth of them in Ieremie that honour the hoasts Queene of heauen of Noe giuing thanks for his deliuerance by a sacrifice of Iacob crauing aide of the Lord in his necessity in powring the oile vpon the stone c. And whereas the abuse did grow more plausible by reason of the name of the virgine Marie There are some saith he which do not honor her sufficiently there are some that glorifie her too much The Deuil vnder the colour of doing good entreth into the spirits of men deifieth the nature of man to cause theÌ to worship the dead c. But although the bodie of Marie were holy yet notwithstanding it was not God she was a virgin to be honored and reuerenced but not to be adored worshipped she her selfe falling downe worshipping him that was borne of her according to the flesh whereupon he saith vnto her What haue I to doe with thee O woman for feare that any man admiring too much her excellencie might fall into heresie These are the reasons hee vseth in all this disputation In the first place It is not spoken of in the scriptures Where is saith he the scripture where is the Prophet that hath spoken it And for the second Rom. 1. It is an old error which must not rule ouer vs to forsake the liuing and to worship that which he hath made according to that which is written They haue worshipped the creature more then the Creator c. And therefore neither Helias nor S. Iohn nor Thecla nor Marie For if it be denied the Angels why should it be granted to the daughter of Hanna that is to say Mary And afterward also whole pages to the like purpose Let Ieremie saith he hold in these sillie simple women that they may not trouble the whole world that they may not haue any more to say we honor the Queene of heauen c. What other thing should he heare at this day in the deuotions of the Church of Rome Then he concludeth And this wee haue written for their sakes that are desirous to attaine the truth of the scriptures But if there bee any man that liketh better to heare the contrarie for this superstition did not want Monkes to support it he that heareth let him heare he that is disobedient let him be disobedient c. Chrysostome may seeme to haue taken to taske the pulling downe subuersion of this abuse he taketh such paines by all maner of meanes to vndermine the very foundations thereof Hee saw that the people were more inclined to receiue helpe from the suffrages of another then to amend their owne liues Therefore hee impugneth this opinion Nay saith he We are a great deale more assured certified Chrysost hom 5. in Matth. by our owne suffrages theÌ by the suffrages of an other neither doth God so soon grant our saluation at the praiers of another as at our owne For by that meanes was he moued to pittie the Cananitish woman by that meanes also he gaue the harlot to belieue thus also did the thief obtaine paradise there being neither aduocate nor mediator to moue him to any of these by intercession But Idem hom 12. in Matth. Thou saist I haue no good works I cannot trust to my good life hereupon it is that we are to betake our selues to his mercie the calme and quiet hauen of sinners where iudgement ceaseth wherein consisteth vnspeakable safety according to the example of the Cananitish woman who neither went to Iames nor Iohn nor Peter c. But in stead of all these she embraced as her dearest companion vnfained and hearty repentance and it was also vnto her as her aduocate going on her behalfe directly vnto the soueraigne head and fountaine And wherefore said she is he come downe to take humane flesh vpon him why is he made man but that I may speake vnto him In another place Idem hom de prof Euang. Wilt thou see saith he what more we do for our selues by our owne praters then by those of an otherâ when the Apostles pray for the Cananitish woman they are repelled I am not sent but to the lost sheepe of Israel c. But when shee pleadeth her owne cause by prayer how great a sinner soeuer shee were euen then it was that shee obtained grace euen then it was that the Lord did graunt her petition Yea but the scripture commandeth vs to pray one for another Other mens praiers therefore are not vnprofitable Admit it yet it must be by the Saints that are aliue and not by them that are dead And of this intercession of the Saints it is that he speaketh and not of that of the Church of Rome When we offer saith he altogether vnto God Idem hom 44 in Genes 1. Idem hom 5. in Mat. Idem hom in 1. ad Thes Genes 18. Ierem. 7.16.11.14 that which commeth from our selues and the intercession of the Saints is ioyned therewith it doth greatly profite vs. For saith he in another place the praiers and supplications of the Saints are of great force power on our behalfe and therefore let vs not neglect them but rather let vs pray them to pray for vs and to lend vs their helping hand But what Saintes euen those that are liuing and wee know them by the examples and patternes that he giueth vs of them As of Abraham making intercession for Lot and of Ieremie whom God forbiddeth to pray for the people and many other Where in the meane time wee haue to obserue and note the faithfull and good dealing of the Doctors of the Church of Rome who alleadge the same of the Saints deceased and not of the faithfull liuing which are in all the scipture commonly called Saintes As concerning the Saints deceased he sometimes speaketh of them according to the common opinion Idem in Basil Martyr especially in his Panegyricks That the magnanimitie and vndaunted boldnesse of the Martyrs is a terrour vnto the tyrantes the deuils and the Prince of the deuils That they pray to God with confidence as soldiers are wont to shew their wounds vnto their Prince Idem in Iuuent Maxim That if S. Paule haue loued men here below he hath also in heauen a more feruent loue towards them but that this neuer reacheth either to praying vnto Saintes or vnto Martyrs on the contrarie in all his praiers we doe not heare of any other but onely God But haue they not purchased Paradise by their sufferings and merites
hauing beene from the beginning belonging thereunto For hauing said In communicating and worshipping the memoriall of the holy Virgine of such men Saints and women Saints c. it followed that the Priest said some thing and he cut it off al too short leauing the sentence imperfect and hanging in suspence for this cause consideration that he might make an end with a praier which he linked thereunto and it is attributed by some to Pope Siricius by others to Gregory Of the Letanie altogether after the like manner for it was a generall praier which was made into Articles for all the necessities of the body of the Church and of the members therof yea for the estate of the world c. And at the end of euerie Article the Cleargy and the people were wont to answere ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã Lord haue mercy vpon vs a thing as yet practised in the reformed Churches of England And in al the Liturgies aboue named all these Articles are craued of one onely God by Iesus Christ Likewise that of Clement the Pope Pro superna pace Deum oremus pro salute animarum nostrarum pro prosperitate sanctarum ecclesiarum pro clero populo pro magistratibus totius mundi Let vs pray for the peace that is on high for the saluation of our soules for the prosperitie of the holy Churches for the Cleargie for the Cominaltie for the Princes of the world c. And to euery Article that the Deacon pronounced the people and the Cleargie answered Lord haue mercy vpon vs. But for as much as the third Councell of Carthage had said that all praiers should be directed made to God those who had resolued to thrust in the Inuocation of Saints began indirectly O Lord heare vs by the intercession of the Virgin Lord doe thou prepare and guide our waies pathes by the praiers of thy Saints c. But Gregorie proceedeth further euen to a direct praier Saint Mary pray for vt c. And to the end that this might find a more gracious intertainment welcome it was said that there were some that had heard the Angels in the celebration of a certaine solemne Letanie crying Regina coeli laetare Reioyce thou Queene of heauen c. Gregor l. 12. Comment in Iob. c. 13. As also to establish this doctrine vpon a more durable and firme foundation Gregorie laboured to race and blot out as much as hee could that which had gone before For S. Augustine had said proued by the Scriptures that the Saints did not intermeddle with humane affaires Gregorie to the contrarie Those that see saith he the charitie and tender loue of Almightie God it is not possible that they should be ignorant of any thing And this fell about the yeare 600. Towards the yeare 680. the sixt generall Councel was held at Constantinople wherein was condemned the heresie of the Monothelits They cite against vs out of this Councell these words After the worshipping of the one onely God let men pray vnto the Saints to become intercessors vnto his Maiestie The East and West Churches were already become corrupt inough euen in their being come to that state But when we bring that Councell against them in an other instance then they haue learned to say that there were no Canons made in it and that those nine which stand in the Tomes of the Councels are fained Damasc l. 4. de Oithod fid Damascen about the yere 800. mult plied enlarged this opinion and that so far as that he taught that we ought to adore worship the holy Virgin calling her the Queene of al creatures and the Saints the friends of God to the erecting of Churches vnto theÌ directly against S. Augustine Beda his fellow in time did the same For how could it be that the Saints should be lesse priâed when as the second Councell of Nice had ordained at the same time that their Images shuld be worshiped But behold at the same time Claudius B. The doctrine of Inuocation of Sainth opposed first of Auxer afterward of Turin the same with Adalbert the Scot reestablished the vniuersity of Paris in the time of Charls the great did oppose himself therunto Return hee you that are so blind vnto the light Claudius Taurinens aduers Theod. Abba which inlightneth euerie man that commeth into the world to that light that shineth in darknesse and so as that the darknesse cannot comprehend or put it out What is the meaning of this though Noe and Daniell and Iob were in the midst of you but to the end that no man shuld trust either to the merit or to the intercession of the Saints Because that if we haue not the faith the truth and the righteousnesse that they had we cannot please God Heare then O you which are so foolish amongst the people which runne to Rome which seeke at Rome the intercession of the Apostle heare I say that which S. Augustine hath so often pronounced against you c. But Ionas Bishop of Orleance answered him after his death neither in deed haue we any part almost of the writings of this Claudius of Turin more then is by him alleadged But so it is that it was not growne to any worse condition either with Charles the great nor with the Emperour Lewes the Gentle his Son neither yet with the French Church of his time A manifest testimonie thereof appeareth in that the holding of the contrarie to the Inuocation of Saints was not accompted heresie Synod Paris sub Lothar And in deed this Synode of Paris which wee haue alleadged here aboue hauing to proue that Images Non sunt colendae neque adorandae ought not to be worshipped or adored prooued by the Ancient Fathers that the Angels and Saints are not to be worshipped or adored Now Inuocation is a principal of the true Adoration of the true worship In like manner the Letanie was not then come to the point that it is now but comprehended and contained more of the calling to remembrance then of the inuocating of the Saints For there is a Letanie to bee read in an old booke in the Abbey of Corbee vpon Weser in Germanie which is of the yere 900. or there about as it seemeth by the mention which it maketh of the Emperor Arnulph and of Pope Steuen Bauo Abbas Corbiensis sub Arnulph apud Krantzium in Metto l. 2. c. 10 that should bee the seuenth Wherein the Deacon contenteth himselfe with the naming of the Saints and the people and the Cleargie in stead of answering Ora or Orate pro nobis that is to say Pray thou or Pray yee for vs doth answere throughout Exaudi Christe Heare vs O Christ O thou the redeemer of the World help them c. For example the Deacon said Arnulpho regi vita victoria God giue life and victorie to Arnulph the king The people answereth O Sauiour of the world aide and
thing was said to be done And here it is not to be forgotten that Bonauenture saith that when he was dead these scarres and printes were seene and acknowledged by many in so much as that some of them put nailes into them And Mathias Paris on the contrary a Monke that liued at the time of his death of a longer standing and more auncient by fortie yeares then Bonauenture writeth in his Chronicle that there was not any manner of print to be seene after his death And yet the man was not to bee suspected for the matter Dominick for he speaketh as superstitiously as any of the rest And haue they said any lesse of Dominick Nay rather it belonged to them to incroach dayly enter deeper into blasphemy And so much the more because of the emulation raised betwixt these two orders because that Dominick who was the formost in time seemed to come last in reputation account Anton. Archicp in tit 23. c. 11. the Archb. Antonine therefore that was of this order peiseth his miracles not against those of S. Frauncis but against the miracles of our Lord giueth them the start prerogatiue both for number for greatnes Christ saith he raised but three from death at all Dominick at Rome onely raised as many and 40. neere to Tholosa which were drowned on horsebacke in the riuer Garona besides infinite others Christ after his resurrection went in to his disciples the dores being shut Dominick whilet yet he bare about this mortall bodie which is much more went into the temple the dores being fast Now by the way let vs note that this was by their owne speech either by the proprietie of a spirituall and glorified bodie or els by an Almightie power And thus he goeth through all the miracles of our Lord alwaies preferring and giuing S. Dominick the vpper hand To be short Christ said after his death All power is giuen to me in heauen and in earth and verily saith he this power was not in a small measure communicated bestowed vpon Dominicke ouer all things in heauen earth or hell and that euen in this life for he had Angels to attend vpoÌ and serue him the elements obaied him and the deuils trembled vnder him And this he laieth downe in many examples He addeth further that at Rome there were two images the one of S. Paul and the other of S. Dominick that at the feet of the former was written Per istum itur ad Christum by this men go to Christ and at the feet of the latter Facilius itur per istum but more easily and readily by this man that is to say by Dominicke That is saith Antonine Because that the doctrine of Paul and the Apostles induced and persuaded men to belieue but Dominicks to obserue and keep the councels Which is a shorter course and cut And thus you may already see that he was more then S. Paul and all the Apostles But what shall we say now of that which followeth Quia saith he Domino nostro similis est Dominicus aptissimé denominatus est verie fitlie and rightly was he called Dominicke because he was like Domino to our Lord. And he was possessiuelie in possession that which our Lord was authoritatiuely in authoritie for the Lord said I am the light of the world and the Church singeth of Dominick you are the light of the world The Prophets beare witnesse Domino vnto the Lord and to Dominicke also Zacharie 11. I haue chosen me two roddes the one I haue called Decorem beautie that is to say the order of Saint Dominicke the other Funiculum a corde or band that is the order of the Gray friers thus they abuse the scripture Dominus that is to say our Lord was borne on the bare earth but the virgine for feare of cold laid him in a manger Dominicus from his swathing clothes abhorring the pamperinges and tender delightes of the worlde was found oftentimes by his nurse lying all naked vpon the bare earth For our Lord there appeared a starre in beauen in token that he did lighten the whole world In the forehead likewise of Dominicke as he was baptised the Godmother espied a star signifying a new light to be borne into the world c. The praier of our Lord was euer more heard when he would for in the garden that which he asked of a fleshlie desire hee would not obtaine according to reason But Dominick neuer demanded any thing of God which he did not whollie enioy according to his owne desire Dominus that is our Lord loued vs and washed vs from our sinnes in his blood Dominicke through a perfection of charitie tooke euerie daie three disciplines or corrections from his owne hand not with a corde but with an iron chaine euen to the causing of his blood to runne downe One for his faults though they were verie small another for those that were in Purgatorie and the third for them that liued here in the world c. And thus this Archbishop Antonine draweth this comparison through all the parts of the life of our Lord. In a word our Lord being to depart out of this world promiseth the Comforter vnto his disciples And Dominick saith vnto his Be not grieued for I wil do you more good in the place whither I go then I haue done here for there you haue me a better aduocate then any other that you can haue there c. And what shall now become of that which S. Iohn saith vnto vs If we haue sinned we haue an aduocate euen Iesus the righteous c. And notwithstanding these blasphemies are authorized by the Church of Rome for the good establishment that they haue procured vnto the Popes their authoritie for Gregorie the ninth canonized Dominicke in the yeare 1223. ordained a festiual day to be kept vnto him authorized also his rule and order and bestowed priuiledges vppon the same Now hee that writ these thinges was an Archbishop of Plorence high accounted of amongst our aduersaries Albert. Krant in hist Saxon. l. 9. c. 7. Abb. Trithem in Chronic. Hirsaughtiens But in the meane time they are warie enough not to tell vs any thing amongst the rest of their miracles of that which Krantzius reporteth vnto vs That one Bernard a Iacobine Confessor and Chaplen to the Emperour Henrie the 7. did poison him in the host Whereupon saith Trithemius the Abbot Pope Clement the fift inioyned them for a marke of reproch and ignominie that the Priests of their order from thence forward should neuer receiue or deliuer the communion but with the left hand An example for the Popes of these times to ordaine by the same reason that they should as yet be restrained from the vse of their right hand in detestation of the murther committed by frier Clement a Iacobine vpon the person of K. Henry the third In a word to come to our purpose Bullae fraternitatum ordinis
Idem Serm. 5. dedicat Jt is impossible with men but not with God Wherefore wee are assured of his power but where are we so of his will For who knoweth say they who is worthie of loue or of hatred This is it which Abailard did obiect vnto him of Salomon and our Aduersaries vnto vs. But saith he It is here that faith must helpe vs that the truth must succour vs to the end that that which is hidden from vs in the heart of the father may bee reuealed vnto vs by his spirit And that this spirit that beareth witnesse vnto and perswadeth our spirits that wee are the children of God doth perswade vs of it in calling of vs and in freely iustifying of vs by faith c. CHAP. XX. How the doctrine of merite entered into the Church after what manner it grew and increased and how it hath beene resisted and withstoode in all ages euen vnto the time of Saint Barnard SEeing then that this doctrine of free iustification opposite and quite contrarie to the merite of workes is so cleare and manifest in the Scriptures so euidently and plainely taught and of such continuance in the Church from whence possibly may this doctrine of merit at this day taught and held take his beginning And what may be the meanes that it hath prospered and so well succeeded And how is it come to occupie the roome of the bloud of Christ And how hath such deepe presumption seazed vppon vs as not onely to arrogate vnto our selues an abilitie to fulfill the whole Law of God but furthermore to worke an infinite sort of workes of Supererrogation and those more meritorious then the other of the Law Not seruing onely to saue our selues but others also and that so farre forth as that we should bee bold to say no more with Dauid Saluation is of the Lord but my saluation yea and thy saluation is of me But and if we stand in need to search out the antiquitie of this opinion where shall we rather find it then in the mouth of the Serpent Gene. 3. ââay 4.24 In the eare of the woman Yea which is worse in the hart of our first father You shall become as Gods you shall bee like vnto the most high and Soueraigne Lord c. In like manner the whole Scripture aymeth and tendeth to the rooting of this pestiferous weede out of the heart of man ãâã ââope and ãâ¦ã the ãâ¦ã Scrip ãâã to hum ãâ¦ã by ãâã of his sinne thereby ââining him to see the necessiue of the merit of christ Ezech. 16. The Law as wee said and all the pedagogie thereof teaching and training vs vp to see our infirmitie and want of abilitie The Prophets controlling and reprouing vs of the same continually and that both generally and particularly In generall God by his Prophets saith vnto his Church Thou tookest thy beginning from out of the land of the Cananites Thy father was an Amorrhite and thy mother an Hittite In the day that thou wast borne thy nauel-string was not cut Thou wast not washed with water nor salted nor wrapped in swathing clothes Euerie man was afraid of thee I alone stoode forth to take pittie vpon thee I saw thee defiled in thy bloud I caused thee to liue in the same I cast the lap of my garment ouer thee I couered thy nakednesse I entered into league with thee I washed thee I annoynted thee with oyle I clothed thee with imbroidered worke I caused thee to grow vp and raigne then didst thou put thy confidence in thy beautie and hast plaid the harlot by reason of thy fame and high renowne c. What other thing can bee made of all this throughout this whole growth of the Church but that there is nothing in her as of her selfe but pollution and imperfection And that the whole matter of her being and felicitie is onely of God That her vncleanes and disloyaltie proceedeth from her trusting in her beautie notwithstanding that it proceede not from her selfe Esay 64 In particular hee saith of the most righteous and iust the Prophetes themselues being reckoned amongst the same You are all as a polluted thing and all your righteousnesse as a filthie cloth your iniquities haue carried you all away as a wind neither had you any manner of remedie left but onely to flie and haue recourse vnto me who deface and blot out your offences Idem 43. Idem 53. and that for mine owne sake who am not minded to call them to remembrance and through the attonement made by Christ vpon whom is laid the chastisement of your peace who is wounded for your sinnes and in whose stripes you are healed c. All which notwithstanding did it let or hinder this people consisting of men these men tainted and stained with this first and capital pride of man from hasting and endeuouring from time to time continually to returne to this pretended righteousnes which is euer floating and swimming vpon our hearts In the time of our Sauiour Christ Merit amongst the hereticall ââwes we see two sorts of people to bee infected with this poyson the Essees which would be so called as doers and fulfillers of the Lawe accusing the Pharisies to bee no better then bare teachers of the same whose will worship is taxed of the Apostle as deuotion of their owne deuise as also their superstitions Tast not touch not c. wherein they laid the foundation of their merits And the Pharisies who taught that it was in the power of man to fulfil the Law hauing also these same workes of supererogation whereof the Prophet speaketh saying Who hath required this at your hands Of these according to the diuers obseruations which they had tied themselues vnto the Thalmud maketh seuen sects but one especially which had this name What ought I to doe and I will doe it And of these we haue an example in him that is spoken of in the Gospell All these things haue I done euen from my youth c. Both the one and the other being verie vnfit to cast and repose themselues vpon the rest of grace and by consequent enemies of our Lord who reckoneth more basely of these sorts of people then of the Publicans and harlors And heereupon hee breaketh out to the denouncing of diuers curses against them as such as would not onely not receiue the kingdome of God themselues but hindered the people also by their interpretations and constructions to receiue the same that is to say remission of sinnes in Christ Whereupon S. Iohn Baptist preparing the way to this kingdome to vnbewitch them beginneth his Sermons at that point Repent the kingdome of beauen is at hand c. So then some of the circumcision that receiued Christ brought this errour into the Church of Christ as also they which did obstinately cleaue vnto Iudaisme had not any other ground for the same then the righteousnesse purchased by the Law and the workes thereof in which
truth And by consequent Pope Nicholas and the Councel of Rome consisting of 114. Bishops and the whole Romish Church mentioned in the Canon Ego Berengarius So slenderly was this Beares whelpe as yet licked In the meane time this goodly recantation is sent throughout all Christendome and Prouinciall Synods assembled in euerie nation to cause it to be receiued But Berengarius returneth into Fraunce refuseth it and publisheth the cruell and violent dealing wherewith he had beene tormented by the Church as hee calleth it of the malignant Ecclesia Malignantium Auersanus Episcopus the Councell of vanitie Then beginne Humbert made Cardinall vpon that occasion and Guitmond of a Monke of the Crosse Saint Leuffroi made Bishop of Auers to write against him This was towards the yeare 1059. In the end Berengarius died in Fraunce the fierie and terrible threatnings of the Pope according to his former practise still perseuering And he had an Epitaph made him by Hildebert or Fuldebert Bishop of Mans Epitaph BereÌgar per Fuldebert Episc Cenoman apud Mamelsbur vel per Hildeb ex Gaguin such as hee could for the greatest and most holy person of that age which beginneth Quem modo miratur semper mirabitur Orbis c. Wherein hee extolleth his pietie and wonderfull learning both for the benefite of those of his owne time as also of the posteritie wherein hee bewaileth his death as threatning a ruine to the whole Church in as much as in him resteth the hope and glorie of the Cleargie wherein hee saith that enuie her selfe which did oppresse and beare him downe dooth weepe ouer him c. Afterward hee concludeth with a verie feruent desire and wish that hee might lie downe and liue with him that his estate and condition at the time of his departing out of this life might bee no better then his Mamelsbur l. 3. c. 58. c. But it is more to the purpose to see it in Mamelsburiensis who reciteth it wholly And Platina likewise the Popes their Historiographer in the life of Iohn the fifteenth dooth giue an honourable testimonie of him Some adde that dying hee should say To day Christ will appeare vnto me according to my penitentnesse as I hope vnto glorie or because of others vnto paine The most sound interpretation whereof is that he did repent of hauing yeelded or turned aside from the profession of the truth and that he feared that he had offended his brethren through his infirmities And it is to be noted herewithall Lanfrancus Guitmond do not speake as our aduersaries that Lanfrancus Alger and Guitmond doe not yet vse such tearmes and speeches as these dayes are full of But they beginne to call the bread and wine Kinds after the consecration where the Fathers called them by this name before the same vnderstanding by this word Substances and not appearances or fantasies onely as those of this time Againe they beginne to say that the bodie and bloud inuisible in the Kindes are Sacraments of the visible bodie and bloud for feare that mans infirmitie should be offended and surprised with the horrour of the thing But they as yet had not beene to learne their lesson at Sorbone As that the substaunce of bread and wine doe vanish that the accidents abide hanging in the ayre and yet notwithstanding are remooued by the hand and are brused with the teeth of the Priest c. Neither had they as yet intituled this their carnall fantasie and called it by the name of Transubstantiation But after the consecration they retained the name of signes and markes Lanfrancus saith oftentimes with the fathers The Sacrament of the Altar is the figure of the body and bloud of our Lord c. And what shall we say more Pope Gregorie the 7. his staning in doubte of the truth of Transubstantiation âenno Card. in Gregor 7. when as Benno Cardinall of Hostia and Deane of the Cardinals doth make mention in his Historie that Pope Gregorie the seuenth called Hildebrand who had beene present at the Councell of Tours as Legat from Pope Victor II. against Berengarius is in such distressing doubt as that hee sendeth two Cardinals such as were his trustie and faithfull Agents in matters of weight Acto and Conno vnto S. Anastasius to the end that they should fast three daies with Suppon arch-priest of that Parish singing three dayes the Psalter and the Masse to the ende that God would shew vnto them by some signe which was the sounder iudgement that of the Church of Rome or that of Berengarius And notwithstanding all that saith he there came nothing of it Not yet satisfied hee inioyned the whole companie of the Cardinals to fast for the same end and purpose And when as Iohannes Portuensis to whome he committed all his secrets euen he that first said Masse in Latine at Constantinople according to the maner of Rome said after his death Ex ambone B. Petri from out of the Chaire or Pulpit of Saint Peter in the hearing of all the people and Cleargie Hildebrand and we haue done a deed for which we ought to haue beene burned aliue Being about to say saith Benno That he had consulted with the Sacrament as with an oracle against the Emperour Henrie his enemie and that afterward hee cast it into the fire in the presence and against the good liking of certaine Cardinals which then were there with him This Hildebrand I say of whome they cannot sufficiently content themselues with saying and that for good cause Vir Pontificatu dignus c. A man worthie of the Popedome c. Wherfore the Decree of Pope Nicholas II. could not so quickly root out of the harts of men the old and ancient truth but that the traces thereof might as yet be seen in such as were most deuoutly addicted vnto the Romish Church Anselme Lanfrancus his Disciple and successour as well in the Abbey of Bec-Heloin as in the Archbish-oppricke of Canterburie teacheth conformably to the Fathers That the Fathers vnder the Law did eate the same spirituall meate that we euen the body and bloud of Christ That in the Sacraments they signifying things that is to say the signes do take the names of the things signified And thus saith he the rocke was Christ That the breaking of bread was a signe of the breaking of his bodie which should be done at his Passion that to eate him vnworthily is to eate him with the mouth of the bodie worthily with the mouth of the heart c. Saint Bernard intreating vpon the supper A ring is absolutely giuen for a ring and it carrieth no further signification with it It is also giuen to aduance a man to some place of honour and dignitie or else to set one in possession of an inheritance in so much as that hee which hath receiued it may say The ring is nothing worth but it is the inheritance that I seeke and aime at After the same manner our Lord drawing
that they are yet notwithstanding they are turned into another thing Note They continue the thing that they are And he expoundeth it by way of consequence For as thou hast taken the similitude of death so also dost thou drinke the similitude of bloud Then not the bodie reallie nor the bloud But the Glose saith In as much as they signifie them In briefe The sacrifice of the Church consisteth in the Sacrament and the thing of the Sacrament as Christ consisteth of God and man Constat ex Deo homine c. Seeing that euerie thing containeth the nature and truth of those things whereof it is made Now then reason thus Christ to bee God ceaseth not to be man neither therefore the bread and wine to be bread and wine notwithstanding that they bee Sacraments And thus you may see how by the decree it selfe made by Gratian the Monke and authorised by the Popes there cannot bee any transubstantiation Let vs come to Peter Lombard Lombard commonly called the Maister of the Sentences How oft is he troubled to shift himselfe of the fathers And so much the more hardly because he would needes broach his owne opinion whereas Gratian for the most parte contented himselfe to report what other men thought To the ende therefore that he may establish the receiued opinion of his time he cutteth off by the foundation Idem l. 1. d. 2. that which the first and ancient ages had embraced and allowed concealing keeping backe such parte of that which he alleadged out of the fathers as might hurt him August in psal 73. not making mention of any thing as farre as in him lay saue that which hee thought might serue his turne First S. Augustine had said in a hundred places after S. Paule That the Fathers vnder the law had eaten in their Sacraments the same spirituall meate that we doe eate in ours He teacheth that those did onely signifie and shadow out saluation but that these do giue it alleadging a lame and maimed place out of Saint Augustine which he ordinarily expoundeth by these words That they were Sacraments of Christ to come and ours of Christ alreadie come c. Secondly S. Augustine after Saint Paule hath taught vs That we put on Christ in Baptisme That therein wee are made partakers also of the bodie and bloud of Christ And all the fathers were wont to reason from Baptisme to the holy Supper from the water to the bread and wine acknowledging the power of the holy Ghost alike in the one and in the other Lombard perceiuing how this might seeme preiudiciall vnto him in the pretended transubstantiation more sparingly and pinchingly Baptisme saith he washeth vs the Eucharist doth perfect vs in goodnesse Lombard l. 4. d. 3. c. euen so farre as that he letteth not to preferre and set confirmation before it Thirdly the Fathers had not acknowledged in the Sacrament any thing besides the signe and the thing of the Sacrament in the holy Supper namely the bread and wine sanctified for signes and the bodie and bloud for the thinges Now Lombard against the nature of a Sacrament acknowledged in all other Sacraments to lay the foundation for his transubstantiation acknowledgeth therein a double signe and a double thing The double signe The kinds which he calleth bread and wine before the consecration And after the same The inuisible bodie and blood signes of the visible bodie and bloud of our Lord And for the double signes One contained and signified that is the flesh of Christ which he tooke of the virgine and the bloud which he did shed for vs and another not contained and notwithstanding signified the vnitie of the Church and the coniunction thereof with Christ which hee calleth the mysticall flesh of Christ C. Non hoc C. Dupliciter directly contrarie to Saint Augustine and the Canon which saith You shall not eate the flesh which the Iewes shall fasten to the crosse neither shall ye drinke the bloud which they shall shed c. Fourthly All antiquitie did tell vs that the signes abide in their nature Saint Augustine and S. Ambrose in speciall After the consecration they are the same that they were Lombard l. 4. d. 8. Lombard subtillie They retaine the names of that which they were before Contrarie to the Canons Non oportet In Sacrament Cum omne Panis hoc est quod dicimus c. Fiftly The Fathers by consequent did teach That the faithfull receiued Sacramentum De consecr d. 2 rem Sacramenti the signe and the thing the vnbelieuers the Sacrament onely He then that maketh a double signe a double thing the thing which he calleth contained and signified a signe after the consecration of the signified and not contained that is to say the bodie and bloud of Christ inuisible vnder the appearances of bread and wine signes of the visible and sensible bodie of Christ teacheth as it were by the spirit of contradiction That the wicked eate the thing of the Sacrament and not the Sacrament They eate not the Sacrament so did the Fathers call the bread and the wine for according to Lombard there remaineth nothing but Accidents which are not subiect to the teeth And notwithstanding our Lord hath said Take eate And the Apostle He that shall eate of this bread c. And notwithstanding if we beleeue him they eate the inuisible bodie and bloud of Christ but without being partakers of the visible bodie and bloud whereof it is the signe Against the Canons Qui discordat Christus Qui mandacant c. And that which is worse against the Sonne of God himselfe who saith vnto vs He that eateth my flesh drinketh my bloud he dwelleth in me and I in him he hath eternall life c. Take this for remission of your sinnes c. Whereas certainly he doth not distinguish by inuisible and visible And against the true Diuinitie also which teacheth vs That the flesh and bloud of the Sonne of God are not without his soule without his spirit or without his diuinitie Neither then without eternall life or without nourishment to them that receiue him and that vnto life to the resurrection vnto life And this is it that Lombard saith in these words Lombard l. 4. d. 9. The wicked receiue sacramentallie that is to say vnder the sacrament that is to say vnder the visible kind the flesh of Christ taken of the virgine c. but not the mysticall which is not receiued of any but the good that is to say the vnitie which is betwixt Christ and his members that which they call the proper and naturall bodie this the spirituall bodie whereas the old Church did neuer know in our Lord any moe bodies then one and that a verie true and naturall bodie And also he hath not a little to doe to cleare quite himselfe of Saint Augustine yea and when he hath done his best yet hee
And we haue a decree from Honorius the third about the yeare 1220. after the Councell of Lateran in these wordes Let the Priest oftentimes teach his people reuerently to bow themselues when the wholesome and sauing host is eleuated L. 3. decret de Celebr Missar Blond l. 7. dec 2. Thom. Cantipratensis Iacob de Vitriâto Gerard. Lorich l. 5. ââprtuat Mâss C. Tribus gradib de cons d. 2. Innoc. 3. l. 3. de r. tit 44. in Conc. Lateranens c. 20. c. Gregorie the ninth about the yeare 1230. addeth thereunto a little bell to giue euerie man warning to fall downe vpon his knees The which is done saith Durandus That the people might be forewarned of Christes comming downe vpon the Altar And this is the cause why Gerardus Lorichius in his booke of the Masse inferreth of this eleuation That the Masse was not lawfull if it were not done for the publike vse of the Church the people there taking the Sacrament or els celebrating the sacrifice of praise and by consequent that the priuate Masses that are made without the people in generall are rather abhominations then oblations Vnto the time of Clement the third about the yeare 1188. we see that the Eucharist had not any peculiar place in the Churches where it was kept and worshipped For he ordained That there should be so much bread set vpon the Altar as the people could make an end of and that what remained should be made an end of by the Clearkes Innocent the third therefore after the Councell of Lateran about the yeare 1215. after that he had brought to passe so farre as in him lay that transubstantiation should go for an article of faith commanded that in all the Churches there should be made a coffer wee call it the boxe wherein the Sacrament is kept or ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã as Saint Mathew who putteth vs in mind thereof wherein the Eucharist that is to say this host consecrated by the priest may bee kept vnder key And because that this ordinance was not well obserued it was shortly after renewed by Honorius the third about the yeare 1220. Honor. l. 3. Decr. de celebr Miss Also these words were ordinarily written in Cathedrall Churches vppon the boxes or tabernacles made for the hostes in great letters Hic Deum adora here honor God or else Flecte genu lapis hic honorabilis hospite Christo c. Bow the knee this stone is worthie honour because that Christ lodgeth in it c. What is this but a cleare and plaine exposition of the place of Saint Mathew Mat. 24. ecce est in ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã nolite credere If they say vnto you behold he is in the secret places c. beleeue them not The same Honorius ordained That the Priestes should carie the host honorablie when it should bee taken out of the boxes to bee carried to the sicke whereas the old Church did send them the Sacraments of the assemblie euen the Sacrament of the faithfull as we haue seene in Iustinus Martyr And at this time there was a Councel held at Colen vnder the Emperor Radulph of Hapsbourg the chiefe of the house of Austria where we note how much the Church had profited since the Councell of Lateran for it is there that we doe first of all reade these goodly and wholesome Canons whereof the old fathers neuer tooke any manner of notice That the Priest should make choise of a verie sound cuppe and such a one as had a fast and sure foote That the pottes should bee marked that so he may not take water for the wine That he looke well to it that his host bee whole sound and not ouer old That hee put not aboue two or three drops of water That he make as quicke dispatch in the pronunciation of the words of the Canon as possiblie he can that so he may not be tedious vnto those that are present auoide other inconueniences That the eleuation be done after the words Hoc est c. And that the little bell be rung thrise that so they may come from euery part corner to adore worship That if there fall any small thing of the bodie or of the bloud vpon the pall of the Altar In piscinam that then the stone bee cut and burned and the ashes put into the holy place or cast into the fish-poole if it be any part of the shrowde it must be washed and the water drunke fasting by the Priest If it be vpon the stone or vpon the ground let the Priest licke it vp then let it be scraped afterward and the scrapinges put into the holie place or into the holy fish-poole if that a spider or a flie bee fallen into it let them be taken out warily and burnt ouer the fish-poole Caute let the priest haue a boxe of gold siluer Iuorie or at the least of copper to keepe it in c. That when hee goeth to carrie the host vnto the sicke hee say the Letanie and other prayers at hee goeth and let him go with the little bell and the waxe candle burning let such as shall accompanie him reuerently going and comming haue ten daies pardon let such as meete it if they bee on horsebacke light downe that they may kneele vnto it let the priest demand before that any man do communicate if he doe not belieue that vnder the forme of bread is the bodie of Christ borne of the virgine Marie crucified risen againe c. If a man should vomit it vp againe that the peeces be gathered vp and that they be giuen to a faithfull man to take and eate and that the rest of the vomit be burnt and set neere vnto the Altar c. And this I thought necessarie to set downe at length in this place to the end that euerie man may know that all these inuentions are of the appendances and begetting of transubstantiation And therefore it cannot bee but new in the Church seeing they are so new and so lately entred thereinto But the abuse stayed not here for in the yeare 1264. The feast-God Petr. Praemonstrate sis Arnold Bostius Bull. Vrban Pap. ad Euam reclusam data apud vrbem veterem 6. Id. Septemb. anno Pontif. 3. Platim in vit Vrb. 4. Naucl. de Tho. Vrbanus the fourth instituted and ordained the celebration of the day which they call the feast-God with his Octaues and that vpon the pretended reuelation of a certaine woman of the countrie of Luke called Eue shut vp in a Monasterie whom he had knowne before his Papacie We haue as yet his letters written to the said Eue which beginne We know holy daughter that thou hast desâââ that there might bee instituted a solemne feast of the bodie of Christ in the Church c. Then follow these wordes more then blasphemous which turne the song of the holy virgine to be applied to this silly woman and
and qualitie that their doctrine and pure life hath aduaunced them vnto in the Church for there is some such a one that is worth manie according to their times according I say as they haue beene nearer or further off from the true light seeing that Saint Ierome complaineth himselfe S. August ad Ianuarium Bed l. 4. in Sam. c. 2. that he was in his time come vnto the lees Saint Augustine That all was now become full of presumptions preiudicate opinions and more then Iudaicall Ceremonies Beda likewise That it was a lamentable thing and not to bee vttered without teares how that in his time the Church grewe worse and worse euery day And this will proue true in counting cleane contrarie to our Iesuites for they to cast dust in the eyes of the world doe tell vs Such a one who liued 800. or 1000. yeares since hath said this or that whereas they should say such a one who liued 200. 300. or 400. yeares next after the Apostles hath spoken thus c. For our question is not how long time a lie hath indured The diuell saith the Lord is a liar from the beginning but what manner of doctrine that was which was first that is according to Tertullian the truth then when how by what degrees falsehood and lying sprung vp increased and grew great aduaunced it selfe against Vincent Lyrinens c. 39. and aboue this truth c. And this is that which Lyrinensis saith For the expounding of the Canonicall Scripture we must summon and call togither the aduises of the fathers but preferre that euermore which they haue spoken either all or the greatest part of them and that verie manifestly often constantly assuredly c. what hath beene otherwise deliuered what Saint Martyr or Teacher soeuer he hath beene let vs hold it inter proprias occultas priuatas opiniunculas for Apocrypha and priuate opinions Furthermore we are euer to proceed forward to the fifth that they are to be read as great personages That we must reade them in such sort as they will be read but neuerthelesse as men whose writings cannot be equall with the Scripture as little as their spirits can match the holy Ghost yea such on the contrarie as must be iudged by the scripture examined one by another euen the old with those which in regard of them are new as they haue sufficiently learned in some places to reproue them of whom they had beene instructed in many things Cyrâl in Leuit. l 5. according to the rule which S. Cyril giueth vs. If there be any thing in the scripture to be decided besides the two Testaments let vs know that we haue not any third the authoritie whereof we are bound to receiue This also is the same that the Fathers say vnto vs. S. Ierome Let euery thing that shall haue bin spoken after the Apostles time be cut off Hieronym in Psal 86. let it not carrie any authoritie with it how holy or eloquent soeuer the Author may bee Saint Augustine Augu. de vnit eccles c. 6. Reade to me of the Law Prophets Psalms Gospel and Epistles reade we wil beleeue c. Al others saith he how holy or learned soeuer they be I read them not to belieue that which they affirme to bee true because they say it but in as much as they proue it vnto me by these canonical Authors Ep. 19. ad S. Hieronym Ep. 111. 112 c. For how Catholike so euer they may be there is alwaies something in their writings which their honour reserued it is lawfull for vs to reproue if it doe not agree with the truth Thus am I affected in other mens writings and such wish I them to be in mine c. And if you would know of what manner of men hee purposeth to speake he speaketh of his owne bookes Rest not thy selfe saith he in my books Lib. 3. de Trinit contr Crescon l. 2. c 21 Ep. 112. but correct them by the reading of the Scriptures Of those of Saint Cyprian I doe not hold them for Canonicall but I examine them by the Canonicall Wherein I find them conformable I praise him where otherwise there with his good leaue I reiect and forsake him Of these namely Saint Ambrose and Saint Ierome Contr. Faust l. 11. c. 5. l. 2. Contr. Donat. c. I purposed not saith he to intermingle their opinions that so thou maiest not thinke that wee should follow the sence of any man as the authoritie of the Scripture Of all them in generall that haue written since the time of the Apostles In them all saith be the reader or hearer hath free iudgement to approue or disprouethem not being bound of necessitie to belieue them but with libertie of iudging c. Yea saith he elswhere All the letters of Bishops without any exception to those of the Bishops of Rome which haue beene written or are written after the Canon of the Scriptures may be reprehended by the Councels and the prouinciall Councels giue place to the generall and the first generall are oftentimes amended by the latter Sine vllo typo sacrilegae superbiae without any swelling of wicked pride In like manner saith hee to Maximinus Bishop of the Arrians August contr Maxim l. 3 c. 14. I alleadge not vnto thee the Councell of Nice though the worthiest that euer was by way of preiudice neither alleadge thou against me that of Rimini For as I hold not my selfe bound to the authoritie of the one so neither doe I take thee to be bound to the authoritie of the other wherefore let vs reason the matter together by the authoritie of the Scriptures c. Of which onely saith hee against the Donatists by a speciall priuiledge denied to all others that come after it is not lawfull to doubt And in the meane time Peter Abbot of Clugnt Petr. Cluniac l 2. amongst the pretended errours for which Peter Bruits who read the Diuinitie Lecture at Tholosa was burned about the yeare 1200. obserued this That hee belieued in the Canonicall Scripture only and would not consent that the Fathers had the same authoritie with it And that this was the errour of that time appeareth in Gratian who liuing at this time maketh the Decretall Epistles of the Popes equall with the Epistles of Saint Paul and falsifieth Saint Augustine to fortifie his owne saying How farre better dealt Gerson and the Count Picus of Mirandula who doe more accompt of a lay man an idiot an olde man a child with a place of Scripture then a Pope or vniuersall Councell without Scripture Now who so shall read the Scriptures and the Fathers vpon the Scriptures furnished with these rules calling vpon the name of God and bringing a right zeale to the searching out of the truth let vs not doubt but that hee may easily discerne of the controuersies of this time as to know on which side truth or
the Scriptures Walafridus speaketh Who first instituted and appointed lessons to bee read out of the Epistles of the Apostles Walafrid de diuin Oftic c 22. Microlog c. 1. and out of the Gospels before the celebrating of the Sacrifice it is not certainely knowne but it is thought the Apostles their first successors did so ordaine especially because the celebration of these Sacrifices is commaunded in the Gospels and in the Apostle is taught the manner how it must bee done c. And in the same Chapter Telesphorus sayeth hee the ninth Bb. of Rome ordained that the Gospels and Epistles should be read in the assemblies of the Christians in steade of the propheticall writinges And againe Before Pope Celestine that is before the yeare 430. or thereabout there was nothing rehearsed before the consecration but the Epistle and Gospell Againe sayeth hee there was a time when there was nothing read but Saint Paule namelie as may bee presumed the place which concerneth the holie Supper Albinus Flaccus in like manner sayeth Albinus Flaccus de diuinis officiis Rabanus de instit cleric Berno Aguiensis cap. 1. Heretofore the Epistle of Saint Paule onelie was recited and after it the holy Gospell and then the Masse was celebrated Rabanus likewise vseth almost the verie same wordes saue onelie that hee addeth that this fashion of singing was not vsed in the Church in such sorte as it is at this day All these cited Authors were about the yeare 800. and 900. The Abbotte Berno alleadging the life of S. Gregorie He bindeth vp saieth hee into one volume Gelasius his booke of the solemne orders and Customes vsed in Masses cutting off much changing a little and putting to somewhat and calleth it the booke of the Sacraments and it may be that in the former times there was nothing read but the Epistles of Saint Paule Then afterwarde it fell out that other Lessons Amalar. lib. 3. cap. 5. both of the olde and of the new Testament were mingled therewithall in such order ad manner as solemne thinges are wonte to require Amalarius Bishoppe of Trire Celestine was the first that ordayned that the Psalmes of Dauid shoulde bee sung by course not sayeth hee that they had beene vsed to haue beene sung for before time the Epistle of Sainte Paule and the holie Gospell were onelie wonte to bee read and afterwarde the Sacrifice was celebrated and the Masse beganne by the foresaide Lecture where vppon custome hath retayned it vntill this daye in the vigilles of Easter and Whitsontide that is to saye at these solemne feastes wherein now in these latter dayes euerie man appointed himselfe to receiue the holie Supper And this I woulde haue marked by the waye against those that finde faulte with the reformed Churches for hauing taken the chiefe grounde and principall foundation for their prescript forme of administring and receyuing of the holie Supper out of the first Epistle of Saint Paule to the Corinthians chap. 11. where hee rehearseth the institution of our Lord seeing they may well perceiue that it was so practised in the first olde age as their owne Authors doe witnes vnto them Of Psalmes Radulph Deane of Tongres sayeth That the olde Diuine Seruice consisted in Psalmes and in Lessons but that the Psalmes made vppe the greater parte insomuch as that the Psalter was runne through there euerie weeke and hee giueth a reason for it Because sayeth hee that it is a perfect abridgement of Diuinitie wherein Dauid hath spoken more like an Euangelist then a Prophette and furthermore it is to vs and to all true repenting sinners an example of the mercie of God and that for the same cause the reading of Saint Paule his Epistles was so much vsed as wherein we are instructed and taught the manner of his conuersion and profiting Walaf c. 26 in them likewise obseruing the rich and bountifull goodnes of God and in like manner Walafridus in Chapter 26. Now after these Lectures there was a place wherein they vsed to speake of the preaching that had beene made and framed thereof for the Bishoppe or Pastor was wonte to expounde some one place or other vnto the people wherevppon wee reade these wordes in the Lithurgie attributed vnto Clemente How that after the Lessons the Bishoppe speaketh vnto the people by waye of exhortation and hereuppon sprung so manie Homilies of the olde Fathers Clemens siue alius in Liturgia aswell Greeke as Latine as likewise the Bbs. when they tooke their oath did bind themselues by promise to performe this dutie in signe and token whereof the booke of the Gospell was deliuered to them with these wordes Take the Gospell and preach it vnto the people that is committed vnto thee as wee shall see hereafter The traces and steps whereof may seeme still to bee seene in that part of the Masse called in French the Prosne wherein the Curates doe laye open vnto the people some rudimentes of their Christian faith but the ignorance or else the riotousnes of the Prebates hath now through tract of time so preuailed with these Copiers out of bookes as that they haue left out what was mentioned of making of Sermons and goe on with a smooth foote from the Lecture to the Offertorie or offring which Walafridus and Berno affirme to bee sprung vp Walafr c. 22. Berno Augiensis c. 1. ex prioris populi consuetudine of the custome of the Iewish Church And these offrings in the Christian Church were for the most parte of breade wine or of the first fruites thereof in corne and in grapes and these were consecrated vnto God by prayer afterward they tooke that which was necessarie for the Communion of the holy Supper and looke what remained it was eyther eaten of all in common or else giuen to the poore And further let it bee marked that both of them say in proper and apte tearmes We do not reade it in plain and euident forte who it was that added vnto our Lithurgies that which is sung inter offerendum at the offring and as little of that singing by course vsed in the communion and as certainelie doe wee receiue verily belieue that the holie Fathers in the first times did offer and communicate without anie voice heard which also is furthermore obserued vpon the holie Saturday of Easter Wherby wee perceiue verie clearelie that the Bbs. or Priestes did not say Offero Sacrifico Offerimus Sacrificamus but that according to the example of our Lorde after they had pronounced and vttered the holie wordes of the institution of the Sacrament they gaue it vnto the people without saying anie thing all those precise and strict ceremonies coupled and fastened to a number of wordes vttered with one breath to certaine signes of the Crosse c being crept in a long time after and whereof these honest fellowes can render no other reason saue that according to the measure of the growth of the Church in mightines
vpon his cap he then turning himselfe about gaue one of them a blow with his fist Theodor. l. 3. c. 15.16 esteeming himselfe as saith Theodoret defiled and not cleansed thereby because he was a Christian And furthermore he saith the like elie where as namely that Iulian caused all that which was sold in the market to be sprinckled to the ende that the Christians might not buy any thing at all there And that by this sprinkling they held that sinnes were defaced appeareth by these wordes of Hippocrates himselfe de morbo sacro Hippocr de morb sacro that I may haue nothing to doe here with the alleadging of Poets In going in saith hee wee sprinkle our selues with this water to the end that if we haue any sinne we may bee purified and made cleane And Proclus saith That it was not onely made of fresh water but of Sea water also Proc. de sacrif Magia Turneb in Aduers l. 13. c. 21. Athenaeus l. 9. because that salt is detersiue And they sprinckle Aspergillum either of Rosemarie or of the boughes of the Bay tree or of the Oliue tree and not onely for the purging and cleansing of men but Citties Temples and other things without life as also is practised at this day in the Romish Church To be short as they had amongst the Gentiles a peculiar and proper forme of sanctifying it dipping therein as Athenaeus telleth vs a fire brand taken from off the Altar whereupon they offered their sacrifices Durand l. 4. c. 4. so likewise haue they a peculiar manner of making this exorcising the salt first and then the water and after that them both being mixt together which being done both they and the Gentiles do thinke that it purgeth away sinnes Of burning of incense it was so common a custome amongst the Gentiles Of burning of incense Theod. l. 3. c. 16. Sozom. l. 5. c. 17. as that Iulian the Apostate that hee might cunningly binde the Christians to the same ordained that when anie came vnto him according to the custome to receiue anie gifts at his hands they should burne incense before him whereupon certain notable Christians hauing vnderstanding of his purposed intent came and brought them backe againe vnto him that so they might not be polluted and but for a little he had caused them to haue beene put to death Ruffin lib. 1. C. 36. To be briefe Thurificantes that is such as burnt and offered incense vnto creatures no otherwise then to idols were in old time accompted amongst them which had turned aside from the puritie of Christianitie But whether it come from the Gentiles or from the Iewes amongst whom incense represented the sweet smell of the holy praiers of the faithfull in Gods nostrels by the same maner of peruerse lewd imitation it came to passe that in the end it was brought into the Christian Churches but yet not so soone as some would haue vs to belieue For S. August S. Ambr. S. Basil S. Chrysost and other ancient fathers do not speake one word of it in any of all the books they haue written if onely certain Lithurgies alleadged out of them be excepted which yet hereafter wee will confute proue to be false and counterfeit stuffe S. August in Psal 49. 50. S. Augustine to the contrarie Behold saith he we are out of care we go not any more to seeke incense in Arabia God requireth of vs a sacrifice of praise and such a sacrifice had Zacheus in his patrimony c. Againe shal we not then offer any thing vnto him shall we come before God in such sort How then shal we appease his wrath Offer thou hast whereof to offer in thy selfe go not about to take any farre iourney to buy incense Plat. in vit Sixt. 1. Polyd. l. 5. but saie Thy vowes are vpon me O Lord which I will render vnto thee in singing of praises vnto thee c. The onely man wherein it is found is S. Denis an Author better stuft with vaine ceremonies then with solide and sound doctrine And a long time after about the yeare 800. wee reade that Leo 3. ordained that it should be vsed in the Masse For Tapers waxe-candles lights in the Church it is to be noted that the greatest part of Christians their diuine seruice was done in the beginning in priuate Lightes and secretly before day as we may reade in Plinie the second and in all the ecclesiasticall writers and thereupon they could not be without light Now this custome of comming together in the night because of persecution did likewise continue and hold on in the times of peace Euseb l. 4. de vit Constant whereupon it commeth that wee reade that Constantine continued in holy watch vntill it was day and caused to bee lighted for his going to the place and comming backe againe great waxe candles Tapers and verie great torches throughout the whole Citie and lampes in the place of prayer to giue light to them that were present Epiphanius calleth them thereupon Psalmos orationes lucernales Epiph. l. 3. t. 2. that is Psalmes and praiers which were said by a lampe and this was the office of the Acoluthes ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã to light them after cleare day we do not see that euer the Primitiue Church did euer vse them Tertull. in Apol. Tertullian on the contrarie Wherefore saith he do we not deck the posts with baies vpon the daies of ioy and why breake we not off the day-light by lighting torches Againe Who forceth the Philosopher to sacrifice to play the malecontent Lanct l. 6. c. 2. and to light fond and vaine torches at high noone because the Gentiles constrained the Christians to do it And Lactantius after he perceiued that he had beene a long time mocked of the Pagans at length concludeth in these wordes Who can esteeme or make account of him to bee wise which offereth candles and lampes for giftes vnto him who hath created and giuen the light a reproch which had beene vnfitly charged vpon the Pagans if then it might haue beene cast backe vpon and obiected against the Christians To be briefe the Elibertine Councell forbiddeth them vpon paine of the curse to light any in the places of the buriall of the Martyrs being the places where the Christians vsed to assemble and come together for hee called it The troubling of the Ghostes and spirites of the Saintes and holy ones But as a great number of others did this ceremony tooke his passage from the Gentiles to the Christians in the time of S. Ierome that is more then 400. yeares after the death of our Lorde And Vigilantius the Pastor of Barcelonia writ against the same Conc. Elibert c. 34. complaining of it that he should see the superstition of the Pagans drawne into religion and deriued fetcht from the Gods of Paganisme to bee bestowed vppon the Christian Martyrs Saint Ierome did
and sung twice The Psalmes at the first were wont to be sung intire whole of all the people and with one voice where afterward they were diuided into pauses and in the ende into verses in the singing whereof the Cleargie and the people did by course sing one one verse Hermanus Gigas in Flore temp Psalmes and the other the other Gregorie appointed an Antiphonarie for the time and space of the whole yeare consisting of Versicles Responsories for euery day Likewise he ordained a schoole of singers to sing the lithurgie and hee laboured greatly to haue his song or maner of singing receiued euery where throughout the Latine Churches finding himselfe much offended with the barbarous voyces of the French Singing Germaine English men Ioann Diaconus l. 2. c 6. 7. Walafr c. 22. Kyrie cleison as not hauing beene able to fit and tune themselues thereunto He taketh the Kyrie eleison from the Grecians and was found fault with therefore for said some This is far off from reducing the Church of Constantinople vnder the church of Rome seeing thereby he did nothing els but draw their fashions manners vnto Rome But he excuseth himselfe in these wordes Amongst the Grecians all the people doe say it but amongst vs the Cleargie that is the Ministers of the Church onely and the people answereth Greg. l. 7. epi. 63. indict 2. Prayers Againe Looke how oft we say Kyrie cleison so many times also do we say Christe eleison which is not done amongst the Grecians For prayer hee made a booke some part whereof was taken and drawne out of that of Gelasius which is called the Sacramentarie containing those thinges which were to be said euerie day throughout the yeare If there be found saith Walafridus any thing in this booke which halteth it is to be thought Gregor l. 2. c. 17. Walafr c. 22. Lessons that it is none of his but that some other hath added the same thereto afterward yea and there are old Masse-bookes to be seene where are noted the praiers secrets and Post-communions of Gregorie to make them tobe knowne from the others which in deed are more corrupt then his For the lessons of the Gospell and Epistle he followeth directly and altogether the booke of lessons or the bookes called Comes attributed vnto Saint Ierome saue onely that vpon the festiuall dayes the institution of Pope Vigilius was receiued and kept and thereto also was his booke of Anthemes fitted and squared endeuouring to raise and draw Anthemes taken out of the Psalmes to answere to the seuerall drifts and purposes of the lessons whereas before this prescript forme of reading the Gospels Epistles Prophesies and other bookes of the old and new Testament were read through Sermons And as for their preachings and expositions of the word of God vnto the people hee speaketh of himselfe in a certaine place that he had expounded forty lessons out of the Gospel as it had beene accustomed to be read vpon certaine daies in the Office Gregor in praef Homil. and that some of his expositions were deliuered by word to his Clearke or Secretarie that he might afterward reade them to the assemblie and that he had himselfe pronounced and vttered other some of them with his owne mouth But therewithal he complaineth himselfe greatly of the iniquitie and abuse of the time which had preuailed so far as that The Pastors of the church had left and abandoned the chaire of teaching and preaching of the Gospell Gregor D. 92. and would not find leasure to do any other thing then sing And this saith he grew because singing men were aduaunced and placed in the Ministerie of the Church who supposed themselues to haue discharged their duty when they had opened their pipes tickled the people with their singing though they had done nothing vnto them eyther in instructing of them in the articles of their faith or in the doctrine of manners For offerings Offeringes they continued and were brought in euerie day notwithstanding that the Church was growne very rich in so much as that diuers of the old Fathers complained themselues saying that the Bishops had not done as Moses did who caused proclamation to be made amongst the people that they should not bring any more Gregor in Dialogis when he saw that there was enough for the building of the tabernacle For wee find likewise that in the time of Gregorie there were offered sheep and calues c against the expresse Canon which commanded that nothing but bread wine should be offered But the greater abuses hapning about the consecration of the offerings cause vs to leape ouer the other which were not so waightie with a lighter foote Now we haue alreadie seene that it was the peoples custome to offer of their fruits and increase vnto God as the old people of the Iewes did and that these fruits were consecrated vnto him by a holy prayer after the manner vsed by the Priest amongst the Israelites wherin he was humbly intreated to take in good part that their thanksgiuing and to accept of this their sacrifice of praise And these fruits as all the peace offerings amongst the Iewes were lifted vp or shaken for to shew them vnto the people after that of the same fruits that is of the bread and wine was taken that which was sufficient for the Sacraments and the remainder reserued for the poore c. Now all this so commendable a custome beganne not to degenerate but to turne into a plaine poison about this time of Gregorie Walafr c. 22. and not without iust cause saith Walafridus seeing he ordained the order of Masses consecrations as well as of singing For in deed the forme of consecration was so far changed at that time by chaunging of the subiect as that the words properly vsed in the blessing of the gifts and offerings were appropriated directly to the Sacraments The Canon There then beganne the worke about that part of the Masse which properly they call the Canon In the Primitiue Church the holy Supper was celebrated euery Lords day and all the faithfull there present were bound to participate thereof by little and little thir zeale waxed cold whereof we heare S. Ambrose S. Chrysostome and others to crie out In the ende it came to that point Can. non iste C. quotidie de consecrat dist 5. that the people did not for the most part accustome any more to communicate neither were they pressed any thing thereunto by the diligence of the Pastors Whereupon likewise followed a tolleration and ceasing from the looking vnto of the seueritie and straitnesse of the Canons namely those which enioyned men that they should communicate at the least three times a yeare at the natiuitie of Christ Easter and Pentecost otherwise they should not bee taken for good Catholikes which afterward was restrained to the Natiuitie of Christ onely And thus it
came to passe Synod Agath c. 18. that there was not any one ordinarily to coÌmunicate saue the ministers of the church whom they call Clearkes or the Cleargie And what came vppon this The Priestes notwithstanding would not leaue taking of offerings and to the end that the people might not quaile or let fall their deuotion that way they make them belieue that the worke which they doe doth not cease to profit them being but onely present But by little and little these offeringes were not any longer brought from the table to the Altar or from the bodie of the Church into the Quire for to bee consecrated by the priest as also in deed it had beene vndecent seeing they were of such things as the Canons did forbid that is to say consisting of siluer wooll cattell c onely that part which consisted of bread wine and was to serue in the Sacrament continued his former course And yet whereas they were wont to consecrate many loaues for the seruice of the whole assemblie being cut into peeces distributed now the Priest contenteth himselfe with the blessing of so much as he thought would bee requisite and needfull for the number of communicantes and that was verie small In so much as that ordinarily hee needed not to consecrate aboue one loafe which in Gregorie his time was great large and round kneaded after the manner of common bread and of no other substance or matter then the ordinarie bread then vsed was he calleth it Coronam or Corollam and this loafe grew lesser Greg. l. dial 4. euen as deuotion it selfe diminished in so much as that within a little after it became nothing as the Canon testifieth which saith That the Priest cannot celebrate the Communion with fewer then three to communicate with him And thereupon also it came vp for a custome to breake the bread made so small and thin into three peeces whereupon afterward as we shall see in place conuenient diuers and sundry allegories haue beene framed and made Now we come by these steps and degrees The change alteration which was ab oblatis ad oblatam falling out in this time to passe ab oblatis ad oblatam that is from all such thinges in generall as were offered vnto this small pettie parte reserued for the Sacrament which by corruption came to bee called a Wafer cake from such breads and loaues as were vsually brought for offeringes as Saint Gregorie teacheth vs to one onely bread without leauen which also the priest himselfe within a small time after tooke vpon him to prouide for the seruice of the Sacrament Gregor in dialogis And so also the praiers and supplications which were wont to be said and made in the consecration of these first offrings came to be transferd applyed vnto the bread and wine appointed and put apart for the priest and that small companie that was to communicate with him And here it was that they found themselues incumbred whether it were Scholasticus or Gregorie wheÌ as the question was of reforming these praiers that made vp a part of the Canon for in deed these words Vt accepta habeas benedicas haec dona haec munera haec sancta sacrificia illibata that is that thou woldest accept these gifts these offerings these holy and whole sacrifices Againe Qui tibi offerunt hoc sacrificium laudis that is which offer vnto thee this sacrifice of praise Againe Supra quae propitio vultu ac sereno respicere digneris accepta habere sicuti dignatus es munera pueri iusti tui Abel c that is that it would please thee to behold them with a mercifull and fauourable countenance and accept of them as thou didst of the offerings of thy righteous Sonne Abel c Againe Iube haec perferri per manus Angeli tui in sublime Altare tuum c that is Command that these may be conueyed by the handes of thine Angell vpon thine high Altar c I say all these wordes cannot be soundly vnderstood but of these offeringes nor without folly be turned to the blessing of the sacraments which wee receiue from God in stead whereof it pleaseth him to receiue againe at our hands the sacrifice of praise No not without blasphemie can they be wrested to the oblation which the Priest pretendeth to make of the Sonne of God seeing likewise that it is said Qui tibi offerunt they which offer vnto thee for this must needes bee meant of the people that are present and not of the priest alone And yet notwithstanding all this they skip me at one iumpe in their Canon ab oblatis ad oblatam from the oblations and offeringes to the Wafer cake without any manner of agreement coherence or consequence from a sacrifice of praise to a Sacrament and from a Sacrament to a sacrifice propitiatorie from the signe to the thing signified from the remembrance of the death of Christ to the pretended real sacrificing offering vp of himself And they will haue it that all this which hath beene spoken and said of these offeringes should bee spoken of Christ whom they pretend to offer and sacrifice vp vnto God notwithstanding whatsoeuer absurdities in construction and diuinitie vtterly conuincing and ouerthrowing them in their fond and blinde assertions As namely in Diuinitie these That he would be intreated to vouchsafe to accept of the sacrifice of his onely begotten sonne as he did of that of Abel That his Angels should offer him vp vnto him vpon his Altar and a thousand such impertinent thinges which shal be better examined in their place And notwithstanding after certaine praiers which stand indifferent betwixt both they cannot looke to themselues to goe on with the course which they are fallen into but they returne againe vnto these offringes yea and that after the consecration Per quem say they haec omnia Domine semper bona creas sanctificas viuificas benedicis praestas nobis by whom thou O Lord doest alwaies create sanctifie quicken blesse and giue vs all these good thinges c. which is most euidently and directly applyed to dona munera sacrificia illibata to the giftes offerings and whole sacrifices and was wrested by them first to the Sacraments and afterwards to the sacrifice of Christ himselfe which by such their accompt and reckoning they did acknowledge for a creature that was to be created sanctified quickened and blessed day by day And in deede in the lithurgie which they attribute to Clement yea and that after the consecration they pray Pro dono oblato for the gift offered but in no such sence or meaning as the Romish Masse that is to say after this manner That it wold please that our good God to receiue it vppon his holy Altar by the intercession of Christ for a sweete sauour which cannot by consequent bee spoken of Christ himselfe In the Seruices going before there was mention made of
Additions to the Masse which hath of so long time accompanied the Romish church hath cast it off and forsaken it in these latter times for we haue manifest marks and signes to the contrarie All the curious ouerlookers and expounders of the Romish order are of one mind and consent that betwixt the offering and the Canon or the secret as they call it there was not any prayer wont to be said But now we find within the space of these foure hundred yeares or there about fiue to be placed and put in as they themselues also doe acknowledge and it is the same which they call the pettie Canon that is to say Suscipe sancte Pater hanc hostiam or els as it is in some others Suscipe sancta Trinitas hanc oblationem Belarm de Canon receiue O Lord God this oblation or host which I offer vnto thee for my sinnes which are innumerable and for those of all them which are present and for all faithfull Christians either aliue or deade to the ende that it may be profitable vnto mee and them vnto saluation and eternall life Againe O Deus qui humanae substantiae Offerimus tibi Domine calicem salutaris in spiritu humilitatis c. Ven Sanctificator Spiritus Then the blessing of the incense Anno 1065. wherein there is mention made of a propitiatorie sacrifice and of the intercession of Saint Michael new praiers cast and molded according to the mettall of the time vpon new and straunge doctrines Alexander the second put the Alleluiah out of office from the time called Septuagesima Herm. Gigas vntill Easter albeit that by an epistle written froÌ Michael of Constantiple Anno 1090. 1165. 1200. 1370. 1250. Nauclerus Gezer 42. Vnder the Emperour Rodolph The Councell of Colen it may seeme that that decree was more ancient Vrbane the second ordained a Masse to be said vpon euerie Saturday in the honour of the Virgine Marie Calixtus the third ordained the office of the transfiguration Innocent the third commanded that the Psalme Deus venerunt Gentes should be sung after the Agnus Dei Gregorie the ninth brought in the Salue Regina with the ringing of the bell Albert the great compiled the sequences for the most part And Thomas of Aquin the Office which they call the Office of the feast of God A Councell held at Colen ordained how the host should be chosen namely round and verie smooth and sleeke not too old of what bignes how it should be couered how it should be eleuated what manner of wine it should be and what water in what proportion and quantitie how the priest should discerne and iudge of them by their odor and smell what manner of ones the hallowed linnens should bee what cautions prouisoes and remedies are to bee vsed in respect of the sowring and moulding of it as also to keepe it from the rats mice cobwebs c. that is to say according as the errour of Transubstantiation increased An. 1165. so likewise the errours in ceremonies accompanying the same increased Whereupon it came that Innocent the third in the Councell of Laterane willed that the host should bee kept in some coffer or casket appointed of purpose for the same Anno 1216. Blond l. 7. dec 2. and declareth how that the wordes of the Canon are equall to the wordes of the Gospell And Honorius the third enioyned euerie man to kneele downe at the eleuation of the host and that it should be caried in decent habites vnto the diseased and sicke And Grergorie the ninth for notice or warning sake added the ringing of the bell It was likewise instituted and ordained in these latter times that the Canon shoulde bee vttered in a lowe voice whereuppon it is called a secrete And Hugo de Sancta Victoria Durand l. 4. c. 35. Beleth cap. 44. Durandus Honorius and Beleth doe yeelde a reason Because say they that euerie man can it by hart and because that some of the Pastors abused it to transubstantiate their bread into flesh as it came to passe and yet they were neuerthelesse miraculously punished by fire from heauen Gabriel Biel. contrarie to the auncient vse of the East and West Churches as appeareth by all their lithurgies in which the wordes of the consecration are pronounced with a loude and audible voice And yet notwithstanding it is to be noted The prescript formes of the Masse were diuers and not all one till the yeare 1200. that it was a long time that is to say more then 600. yeares after Gregorie the first before it could bee obtained that there should be but one prescript forme of the Masse throghout all the latine church For we reade about the yeare 1000. and Bellarmine confesseth the same that Bruno the brother of Otho the Great Archb. of Colen did as then reforme the office and order of the Masse in his diocesse according to that of Rome And likewise in France they had Masses which they called two faced three faced and foure faced Masses bifaciatas trifaciatas c. becaused they respected three or foure diuers subiectes as namely diuers Saints for that they were to diuers ends saue onely when they came to the offertorie and notwithstanding they concluded with one Canon which time hath at length abolished Petrus Cantor in verbo abbreuiato Such as haue spoken against these abuses or rather the good husbanding of the priestes who would haue dispatched all at twice or thrice Tantae molis erat saith one speaking to that purpose Romanam condere Missam Loe here you may see how that the Masse would take his foundation root from the holy Supper hath in the end cast it quite out of house harbor so that now the place thereof doth not know it or any the signes markes therof any more And therefore they need not to maruaile if Petrus Cantor more theÌ 400. yeares since did taxe confute the multiplying profaning of Masses blamed the priests for hauing left the preaching of the word for to sing Masses for hauing sewed and set together again the vale of the Temple Petrus Cantor in verbo abbreuiato citat per Cardinal Alliac rent in sunder by the death of our Lord to bring Iudaisme again by their ceremonies in summe saith he for hauing neglected the commandements of God to follow the inuentions of men Neither yet if Arnoldus de Villa noua one of the most famous men of his time and age saide that for these three hundred yeares the Masses and sacrifices for the deade haue not beene any thing but abuses and departinges from the veritie of Christ that the Priest in his pretended sacrifice doth offer nothing vnto God and that the Deuill by succession of time hath turned out of their right way and caused to erre all Christian people from the truth of our Lord and Maister If the Waldenses and after them the Albigenses which haue replanted
the worlde did sound therein Euseb lib. 2. c. 16. 17. in the doctrine of the Gospell For whereas Eusebius would applie vnto Christians that which Philo saith in the treatise ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã that they had at that time sacred or consecrate houses which they called ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã the best learned do vnderstand acknowledge that he speaketh there of those religious Monkish Iewes which were called Essei for that he saith that they are ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã alluding vnto their name De praeparat e. uang l. 8. c. 4. and Eusebius himselfe in another place doth expound it of them Those which haue written after him as Sozomenus Epiphanius Nicephorus c. as they followed his steps so they stumbled at the same stone And that which Onuphrius saith that Anacletus the first in the life time of S. Peter did build the temple of Laterane at Rome is verie fond and friuolous And in deed the first Christians were without temples for certaine ages That there were no churches at the beginning Orig. contr Celsum l. 8. Minutius in Octauio Euseb l. 9. c. 10. Tertul. cont Valentinian Onuph in appendice Platin. Euseb l. 7. c. 9. Euseb l. 9. c. 42. which appeareth by Origen and Arnobius who were reproched by the Painims for that the Christians had not any As also by Eusebius who saith that the places wherein they prayed were caues and dennes as hauing made them places for to pray in whereas on the contrarie our Sauiour Christ reproueth and reprocheth the Pharisies for that of the places of praiers they had made dennes for theeues Tertullian sheweth vs that in his time they had no where to assemble and come together but in simple and silly houses where he saith The house of our doue is but a simple one scituate in high places daily inuaded and beset This was about the yeare 200. their first publike assemblies were in the places where they vsed to burie the Martyrs So wee reade that in the time of Valerian Aemilianus gouern or of Egypt defendeth the exercise of religion in the Christians of Alexandria by these words You are vnthankefull for the mildnes and lenitie of the Emperors c. you are not like to hold and inioy your Synodes and assemblies in the places of buriall of your Martyrs any longer And it is said of Galerius That hee may spoile vs and bring vs to nothing he will take away from vs the libertie of our assemblies in the places of the buriall of our Martyrs Euseb l. 6 c. 3. But contrariwise of Galienus That he restored them the places of the buriall of their Martyrs to the end that they might celebrate the diuine seruice that is saith Onuphrius baptisings the holy Supper and sermons c. But in time they began to build and erect certaine slight manner of buildings to defend them against the iniuries of the weather and them they called frames And this is attributed to Fabianus a Bishop of Rome and a Martyr by Damasus And hereby is seene the impudencie of those men which haue imagined and deuised these goodly legendes wherein is reported that Sauinian did build a temple vnto Saint Peter in his life time and Alexander the first another which hee called Advincula And Hyginus ordained that temples should not be dedicated without Masse that the stuffe brought into the place to build withall should not be conuerted vnto profane vses c. All such as liued in the heat and raging times of persecution being more busie to build the Church by their death then by any such monuments which might be the remembrauncers of their life After the yeare 200. at certaine spaces of time which fell out calme they assembled more freely and builded more solide and substantiall places of praier and that in Citties in the time of Alexander Seuerus Gordianus Euseb l. 8. c. 1. 2 Philippus Aemilianus Marcus Aurelius c. Whereupon Eusebius crieth out Who shal be able to describe vnto vs these goodly assemblies in euerie citie this great concourse of people vnto the places of praier which are so far inlarged and made much bigger then the old But within a short while after they were seene pulled downe again and ouerthrowne by Dioclesian The beginning of Temples in so much as that their foundations therewithal were razed and in this ruinous vnprouided estate they continued till it pleased God to raise vp Constantine who did not onely command that they should be built againe with all diligence but himselfe began to erect build them in most sumptuous and costly manner going on from necessitie to vtilitie and profit and from profitablenes to wast superfluitie conuerting and turning by little little in the great famous cities the temples that had beene dedicated vnto idolles vnto the vse of Christians the like did his successors according to his example And from that time forward we find the Bbs. of Rome more careful industrious to build churches as they call theÌ then the Church it selfe the Doctors on the contrarie calling vpon them that rather to the praise of God through the beauty and brightnes of the same they wold labor for the true ornaments of the Church Lactantius the Maister of Constantine saith It behooueth not to build such sumptuous temples vnto God but it behooueth euery man to consecrate his breast vnto him to retire and betake himselfe into the same therein to fall downe worship And Chrysostome Wouldest thou build a house to God giue vnto the poore faithfull ones to sustaine their liues withall and then thou hast built him a reasonable house Chrysost in Matth. The Martyrs take no delight or pleasure in it to be so honoured with thy siluer when the poore in the meane while do mourne and weepe But Ierome more then any other Hieronym ad Demetriad howsoeuer ordinarily too much giuen to outward decking and trimming Let others saith he speaking to Demetrias build Churches parget the walles with marble rough-cast let them gilde the heades of these huge pillars which do nothing at all perceiue their beautifying c. I speake not against it but it behooueth thee greatly to haue some other drift and purpose and what must that bee To cloath and couer saith he Iesus Christ in his poore to visite him in those that languish to feed him in the hungrie to barbour him in those that haue no house or roofe to lie vnder but especially in those which are of the houshold of faith c. Meaning by these speeches that Christian charitie proueth a far better lodging and house then all these goodly and stately buildings And vppon Aggee Hieronym in Aggeum Wouldest thou know what I meane by the money wherewith the temple of God is to be garnished verily the words of the holy scripture whereof it is written The words of the Lord are pure words they are as siluer purified in the
fire purged from the earth refinedeuen seuen times And what gold is that whereof the Prophet speaketh verily such as is hid from the outward sences of the Saints but in the inward closet of their hearts is bright and shineth with the light of God according to that which the Apostle saith that some build vpon gold others on siluer and others on precious stones c. And thus behold how that faith true doctrine is the true building of the Church And againe Many people do build walles and raise pillars c. but where is the choise that is made of the Ministers of the church And let not any man alleadge here vnto me the temple of the Iewes the table the lampes the censors c. These thinges were good when the priestes did sacrifice beastes when their blood was the ransome for sinnes c. Idem in c. 7. Ierem. But now that our Lorde poore though he were hath dedicated the pouertie of his house let vs not thinke vppon any thing but his crosse let vs make lesse accompt of riches then of durt let vs not be in loue with this Mammon which our Lord hath called vnrighteous let vs not loue that whereof Saint Peter confesseth so freely and cheerefully that he hath none let not vs say of our goodly marble stones as the Iewes did The temple of the Lord the temple of the Lord for the temple of the Lord is there where a true faith a holy conuersation and the societie of all manner of vertues doe dwell That is to say if wee belieue S. Ierome that the temple of God is that place Chorus what manner of one soeuer it be where pure doctrine is preached by good Ministers and where it is receiued by the faithfull vnto obedience of faith and charitie c. Whereby we also see that after that Christians had these gorgeous temples they now and then forsooke and cast them off to retaine and hold fast the pure seruice of God Victor l. 1. 3 Vnder the time of the persecution by the Vandals Victor maketh mention that they came again to celebrate diuine seruice without making any difference of place euen wheresoeuer they could further that because of the furious outrage of the Arrians they assembled in priuate houses And at Constantinople we reade Sozom. l. 8. c. 21. 27. that the Orthodoxes for the vniust exile of Chrysostome did forsake the temples to come together in priuate First at Constantine his cestern theÌ without the citie in a kind of old theatre finally during the sharpnes rage of the persecution Socrat. l. 6. c. 18 Chrysost ho. 46. in Math. sometimes vnder close walks in the suburbs somtimes in the fields Wherupon Chrysost saith in certain places We haue retained the fundamental points of doctrine howsoeuer we haue left for them the foundations groundworks of the temples wals thereof Now the places of Christian assemblies according to the diuersitie of the time and manner of building had diuers names In Actes 1. ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã a high hall in other places ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã houses then ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã places or houses of praier Dominica the Lords places Martyria because they met in the places of the Martyrs their sepulchers for the kindling of their zeale As they grew in the faith about the time of Constantine they called them Basilicae borrowing their names from the pallaces where Princes were wont to sit and hold their assises Then Temples at such time as Christendome fell to gratifie and temporize with Paganisme as is to bee seene in the time of Saint Augustine S. Ierome c. And in the end the thing containing taking the name of the contained they were called Churches because that the Church was there assembled as prophane authors doe say ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã Lueia in Dial. Merc. Maiae to make cleane the Church or assemblie or banquet that is the place where these things should be done In this first antiquitie it is not read that they were built or dedicate to any other then God onely To whom they were built Sozomen l. 2. c. 3. Euseb l. 3. de vit Constant l. 5. c. 2. Sozom. l. 2. c. 26. Socrat. l. 1. c. 16 and therefore were called Dominica ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã and from thence came the name Kirke as yet in vse amongst the Germains And Constantine did not vse to doe any otherwise and therein they had a purpose to differ from the Paganes In the place of Christes sepulcher he builded a stately Church Eusebius calleth it Martyrium magnum because saith hee it was consecrate to Iesus Christ the great and faithfull Martyr c. At Constantinople hee named one Irenen by reason of the peace of the Gospell and another the Church of the Apostles because of their doctrine but both of them dedicated vnto the Sonne of God For as concerning that which is read in Nicephorus that Constantine did dedicate the citie of Constantinople ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã to the Mother of God Langus although a Romanist hath verie well noted and proued from Eusebius that the accent is abused taking ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã for ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã Dei genitricem for Deo genitum that is the mother of God for the Sonne of God where there is nothing to make the difference but onely the accent And Nicephorus in another place acknowledgeth the same Niceph. l. 8. c. 49. l. 7. c. 49. Athan. in lib. de passione Domini August aduersus Maxim In Athanasius but this little booke cannot be his the Iewes of Beryta being conuerted did dedicate their Sinagogue vnto the Sauiour of the world and many others afterward by their example And Saint Augustine also reasoneth from thence against Maximinus the Arrian If we build saith he a temple of stone and of wood vnto any holy Angell be he neuer so excellent should we not be accursed of the truth of Christ and of the church of God seeing that thereby wee shoulde giue vnto the creature the seruice which is due vnto none but vnto God onely Idem de ciuitat Dei l. 8. c. 27. l. 22. c. 10. August in Psalm 94. As likewise he teacheth in euerie other place that the temples the pastors the sacrifices are not belonging or due to any but to God Vni magno debentur And that there was not any temples or altars built vnto the Martyrs Because saith he they are no Gods but haue the same God that wee haue but although there bee sepulchers built for them memorias sicut hominibus mortuis they are but as memorials of dead men whose soules notwithstanding liue in the presence of God Whereby we learne that if we reade yea though it were in his time or somewhat after as abuses crept in that there were places of prayer as chappels chauncels or temples called by the names of Martyrs or
Constantine the Emperour he pissed against the sacred table And in an other place hee sayeth that in Millaine there was a Table whereupon were offered giftes And S. Augustine vpon S. Iohn That the Sacrament of the bodie and blood praparabatur in mensa Dominica in mensa Dominica sumebatur It was prepared vpon the Lordes Table and vppon the same it was taken And after that hee had called it a Table hee calleth it also sometimes an Altar in the same place where by wee see that the table of offringes the table of the Lord and the Altar were one and the same thing he saith Men vow vnto God that which is offred vnto him especiallie the oblation of the holy Altar Idem Ep. 50. And if wee doubt eyther of the offring or of the Altar he maketh himselfe plaine saying When that which is vpon the Table is sanctified and blessed And Durandus acknowledgeth that this Altar is the Table whereat our Lord banqueted with his Disciples Durand l. 1. c. 2. That the Tables were of wood Optat. l. 6. and those Altars were of woode if wee may belieue Optatus who sayeth In some places for want of wood they haue scraped them and whereas there was good store there they broke them c. And Saint Augustine in his fifty Epistle where the Donatists breake the woode of the Altar after that they had hurt the Bishoppe And those such as were to bee taken in sunder or remoued and not set fast or made all of a peece for in another place hee sayeth that the office of the Deacon was to carrie the Altar that is this Table Chrysostome calleth it ordinarily the holy or sacred Table The Greeke Lithurgies in like maner August in quaestione veteris nouitestamenti q. 101. Iraen l. 4. c 24. And when they speake otherwise it is but by a Metaphore and yet notwithstanding not that I denie altogether that they vse this word Altar in this sence but more often in the other Thus sayeth Irenaeus Our Altar is in heauen whether our prayers and oblations are directed that is to say Christ Origen giueth the same name vnto our hearte and the Greeke Lithurgies doe pray God That it would please him to receiue the spirituall Sacrifice the Sacrifice of praise vpon his heauenlie and spirituall Altar c. And the Masse Iube haec in sublime Altare tuum ferri nimirum dona But after the time of Constantine vse preuailed by little and little whereupon they became to be made of stone as witnesseth Gregorius Nyssenus but yet not at the first dash in euery place and to make them immoueable according as the estate and condition of Christians grew more and more stable Whereupon Gerson saieth that Siluester the first was the first that made them of stone Gerson l. 4. cont Florent Gab Biel. lect 13. in Can. De Conse D. 1. Can. Nemo Durand l. 100. 7. l. 4. And Gabriel Biel That in former times they vsed a portable Altar of wood which Clement calleth the Table of the Lord. And Durandus hauing witnessed the same yeeldeth a reason worthie of himselfe why they were made of stone saying Because that the rocke was Christ the stone which the builders refused the stone cut out of the mountaine without hand c. But whether wee call them Tables or Altars they were consecrated to the participating of the holy Supper And to the end that men might come vnto it on all sides it was placed in the midst of the Temple The Table in the midst Euseb l. 10. c. 4 inclosed and set about with a certaine kinde of lattise-worke to holde out the presse and throng of the people Eusebius describing the famous Temple built by Constantine sayeth After that the Temple was finished and raised seates placed for the Presidents August in Iohan. tract 42. c. there was placed in the middest the Sanctum Sanctorum after the manner of the Hebrewes that is to say the Altar And S. Augustine teacheth vs that this was the custome Iesus Christ feedeth vs dayly behold and see the Table prepared in the middest whereof commeth it O yee hearers that you see his Table and come not to eate of the meate Concil Constantinop 5. c. 1. Whereupon wee see that in the Councell of Constantinople the fift Sub tempus Diptychorum at the time of the commemoration of the Martyrs all the people ran with silence round about the Altar for to heare And how had that beene possible if they had beene as at this day trussed close vppe to the end or vtmost partes of the Temple or place wherein they stand or fastened into some wall But further the Minister or Pastor at such time as the holie supper was distributed in the Church did not turne his backe vpon the people but saw them and was seene of them all vpon the face and hereof there remaine some prints and markes in the Cathedrall Churches of Rome Millaine Naples Florence Lyons Maguntia c. where the Priest turneth his face towardes the west hath thereby the people continually before his eyes and Durandus doth acknowledge the same Durandus l. 4. One onely Altar Ignatius ad Phila. Euseb l. 10. c. 4 Chrysost in 2. ad Cor. ho. 8. This Altar likewise was onelie one and this did shew the Communion of Christians communicating at one Table Ignatius sayeth There is but one Altar for the whole Church Eusebius speaking of this great and magnificall Temple built by Constantine sayeth One onely Altar in the middest and that a greate and statelie one And this Altar is interpreted by Chrysostome in these wordes saying One Baptisme and one Table And indeed in all the ancient Christian Temples of Greece and Italie their manner of building was not fit to receiue anie moe Altars then one as hath beene obserued by the studious in antiquities where there are more to be found they are not vsed And as to this day there is but one in the Temples of the Grecians that in the midst of the Quire And consequently this one Altar was dedicated vnto the one onely God Dedicated vnto God onely For the first ages or antiquitie which worshipped not Saintes did not yeeld them anie for else with what face should S. Augustine haue reproched vnto the Gentiles the Altars consecrated to the Gods And what power or force should this argument haue had in the mouth of the Christian against the Gentiles There may no Altar bee consecrated Augustinus â 10 serm 6. de verbo Domin but to that which is called God If at such time the Christians should consecrate anie vnto Saintes and againe if the Saintes of the Christians were not taken of them for Gods It is the Altar sayeth hee which testifieth that he is taken and held for God to whome it is erected and consecrated for otherwise what should the erecting of an Altar doe if there were not a Deitie belieued
S. Ierome Fulgentius Lactantius c. That they ought not to be honored either with inward affection or worshipped with outward gesture That wee ought not either to worshippe or serue any creature c. And that it is likewise an error to do it for the contemplating of them whose Images they are made to bee And it is so far off that Ionas should gainsaye this as that on the contrarie hee saith As for those that maintaine the worshipping of Images and saye that they giue not that worship vnto the similitude and thing representing but vnto them which are therein represented as do saith he they of the East Churches who are ouertaken with this most mischiuous error wee doe reproue and detest them euen as thy selfe And the Lord become both to the one and the other gracious and fauourable as that they may bee pulled from this vile and detestable superstition Claudius affirmed against the worshippers of Images The law Exod. 20. forbiddeth vs not onelie the Images of Gods but all whatsoeuer in generall that wee shoulde worshippe them And Ionas acknowledged that this was a wholesome sound and holie beliefe Againe If the workes of Gods hands be not to be worshipped said Claudius much lesse the workes of mens hands And Ionas thereto addeth Sobrie nobiscum sapis testifying that in that point he dealt like a wise prudent teacher What is then the oddes betwixt them Truely this saith Ionas namely that Claudius ought to haue condemned superstition and reproued ignorance and not to haue defaced the Images and that he ought to haue left them as they were not to the end that anie worship shold be done vnto them but that they might serue both for an ornament in the Temple and for a memoriall of thinges past vnto the ignorant As indeed saith hee France hath and suffereth them howsoeuer it be held and reputed for a great abhomination to worshippe them and so likewise the case standeth with Germany In briefe that it is a plaine and manifest fault ignorance error and superstition to fall down before the Images of Saintes but yet that the offenders are to bee reclaimed by reason not by curses in asmuch as that it can hardlie bee belieued that they abiding and continuing in the free and holy confession of the blessed Trinitie should haue anie purpose or resolution to turne aside to the worshipping of Idols But how far I pray you was the beliefe of the French and Germaine Churches at that time that is about the yeare 850. differing from the faith and beliefe of the times that now are yea and what great oddes is there betwixt the present and that which Ionas held and belieued notwithstanding that he was fullie armed and prouided for the defence of Images And indeed Nicetas teacheth vs that euen in the time of Fredericke Barberossa about the yeare 1160. Nicetas in vita Isaac Angel l. 2. the worshipping of Images was forbidden the Germaines For sayeth hee as hee tooke surprised Philippople the Armenians staying in the Cittie did not estrange themselues because of the Germaines inasmuch as the worshipping of Images was condemned and vtterlie detested both of the one and the other As also Anastasius the Library-keeper in his Epistle vnto pope Iohn the eight Anno. 1160. Anast Bibliot in praef in Syn. Nycen 2. witnesseth that the worshipping of Images was freelie receiued in his time in the Church of Rome but not in France and this was about the yeare 900. But the storie following will make vs to see the truth much more clearelie It is therefore to bee known that in the yeare 824. the Emperours Michaell and Theophilus the Father and the Sonne being troubled in the East about the contention raised for Images the same not being possiblie able to bee quieted by the second Councell of Nice doe send Embassadors of purpose vnto the Emperour Lewes and Lotharius in France setting before them on the one side the superstitions that were practised about Images since the breaking out of this pretended Councell on the other side the seueritie vsed for the beating downe and suppressing of them euerie where that so the very rootes of superstition might be plucked vp and dye desiring their best aduise and councell therupon Synod Paris Ann. 825. Lewes and Lotharus for the shaping of their answere caused a verie famous Nationall Synod to be holden at Paris which is yet forth comming entire and whole wherein the learned that were assembled made a collection of the iudgementes and opinions of all the auncient writers vppon this point and the same was sent with a goodlie Epistle from the whole Synod vnto the said Lewes and Lotharus by the hands of Halitgarius and Amalarius Bbs. Halitgarius The summe and brief wherof behold as followeth That with speciall care they haue read the letters of Pope Adrian the first who ordained that Images should be worshipped calling them Saintes and pretending that it was the way to great holines to serue and worship them which with the leaue of his pontificall authoritie bee it spoken is contrarie to the truth and cannot be auouched without the note of vndiscreetnes superstition and error and that all the places whereuppon hee groundeth himselfe whether they bee out of the Scriptures or out of the old Writers are drawne by the haire and that the same was likewise well aduertised the Emperour Charles the Great by Engelbert the Abbot sent for the same purpose vnto him who finding himselfe hardlie pressed did in the end declare and make known that he would containe and keepe himselfe within those limits and boundes which Saint Gregorie had drawne and set downe which were that Images might be had for memorials and remembrance sake but for to worshippe or honour them was open impietie That this superstition did afterward preuaile in some Countries partlie through ignorance and partlie through mischieuous custome and that in very deed they are not ignorant how that the Seat and Sea of S. Peter is tainted and defiled with this plague and pestilent error Pessimae consuctudinis vsu for so they call it but that as yet sustained and strengthned by Gods grace they had not giuen it place of entrance in France and by his further fauour and assistance aiding them they ment not to giue it anie more in anie time to come To this end they brought in all the places before by vs alleadged out of the Fathers that all along in their whole answer but it shall be more fit and conuenient to reade theÌ as they are there set down in the Synode then tomake any repetition of them here again If any should goe about to establish this action and course of worshipping Idols with custome Their originall is from the Pagans Egyptians Simon Magus Carpocrates c. That God is not to bee found out or knowne by his old age but by his eternitie That this is in summe to run as Ieremie sayth after the
chastly with one onely wife Nowe I am not ignorant that Origen who gelded himselfe against the expresse Canon C Apostol cap. 21.22 which they attribute to the Apostles which declareth him to be a man-slayer hath badly expounded those words Qui potest capere capiat that he was reproued of the church for the same as hauing therin gone about to conclude from this place that it appertaineth not to any but such as are chast to offer a continual sacrifice vnto God although notwithstanding that he speake it simply It seemeth so vnto me which hee would not haue done if it had beene an ecclesiastical determination wherein he was imitated of S. Ambrose in a certain place whereas in good sooth they should both haue learned of S. Paul that the bed vndefiled is not at debate with chastity neither yet by consequent with the sacrifice And the Councell of Gangres Concil Gangrens 4. D. 28. c. Si quis discernit held about the time of that of Nice for the repressing of such superstitions doeth remedie this ill throwne exposition by an expresse Canon saying If any man make a difference of a maried Priest as though by reason of his mariage he ought not to offer do for that cause keepe away from this oblation let him be accursed But it is further said 1. Cor. 7.33 that maried folkes haue care of the thinges of this world and the vnmarried of the pleasing of the Lord c. Graunt that to be true but let them consider therewithall that which Chrysostome obserueth against the superstitious of his time that Saint Paule speaketh not there of Churchmen but generally of all Christians And what is it then that can follow thereupon but that all Christians indifferently and without exception should abstaine from mariage whereas hee that hath ordained the Bishoppe will that hee shoulde haue care of the Church the house of God and his owne together And as for his owne to the end hee might receiue comforts for the cares which this worlde might minister hee hath assisted and seconded him with a wife such a one saith Nazianzene as was his mother to his father Nazianzen de matre who helped him much yea so much as that thereby he had a great deale the more leasure time to his Ministerie And Chrysostome would haue a Bb. to be a good housekeeper before that hee come to be a good politician And our Bbs. at this day who haue no wiues do nothing slack their desire to haue the gouernment of all the world But O man who art thou which iudgest another mans seruant who wouldest teach God how by whom he must be serued who controulest the state and gouernment of his house the rule of his seruice after that he hath giuen published it in such plaine and expresse tearmes and which knowest better then he what is agreeable for his seruice when as that which thou addest of thine owne inuention what is it but ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã a seruice framed according to thine owne will and pleasure condemned by his spirit because it proceedeth from thine And againe who knoweth better then he how deepe man may plunge himselfe That the vnmaried sole life doth stand onely by the positiue law D. 23.28 c. or how high he may rise by the power which he giueth him But furthermore they haue been constrained to acknowledge after all their shifts turning wiles that there is not any place in the holy scripture which bindeth ecclesiasticall persons to a sole and vnmarried life Gratian saith absolutely The mariage of Priestes is not forbidden either by the authoritie of the law or Gospell neither yet by the Apostles but rather by an ecclesiasticall law Hereafter wee shall see what manner of one and from whence it is D. 84. vbi Gl. Thom. in 2. secundae q. 88. art 11. And the Glosse vpon the decree saith in another place That before the Pope Syricius marriage was permitted vnto priestes Thomas Aquinas That the vow of continencie is not essentially tyed to the order but onely by way of accident and by occasion of ecclesiasticall constitution And of this opinion were many of the most famous schoolemen Caietan in opusc tit 1. tract 27. Cardinall Caietan of our time It cannot bee shewed either by reason or authoritie that a priest sinneth in being maried neither can his order in that it is an order neither yet in that it is a holy order hinder or let him either before or after the taking thereof he abiding within the boundes prescribed by Christ and his Apostles c. The Cardinall Cusan writing to the Bohemians Thom. in summa quae incipit Commiserationes Domini c. 165. Posthac dicendum Durand sent 4 D. 38. q. 2. Innocent 4.1 de conuers coniug C. Placet doth likewise hold the same Thomas of Aquin also goeth as farre saying But and if an ecclesiasticall person make knowne to his Confessor that bee cannot containe himselfe the Confessor shall not commit any great sinne to counsell him to marrie secretly without the knowledge of his bishop And who cannot gather hereby what he would haue said if he had not feared the censure Durand the author of the worke called Speculum Iuris speaketh more boldly That the Councell should restore the libertie of hauing wiues to the priestes againe seeing that it is but in vain by the strictnesse of a number of Canons to go about to force them to chastitie And yet neuerthelesse he holdeth that the Councell can doe nothing contrarie to the expresse word Pope Innocent the fourth who liued about the yeare 1250. saith Mariage by the lawe of nature doth not hinder any man from being receiued into orders and he which should bee ordained may enioy and vse a married estate being alreadie contracted as it is practised in the East Church as also contract a new mariage if the ecclesiasticall constitutions did not hinder the same Now as a sole and vnmarried life hath no law in the scripture That abstinence from mariage was not obserued in the old Church Ambr. in 2. Cor. 11. â Cor. 9.5 Clem. l. 4. 7. strom August in quaest ex vir iest nor yet constitution from the Apostles so likewise hath it no maintenance or defence from any practise of the Apostles or from any of their disciples Saint Ambrose vpon the 2. Corinth holdeth that all the Apostles except Saint Iohn were married and all of them but that some writers doe except Saint Iohn notwithstanding Martyrs The Gospell maketh mention of S. Peter his mother in law S. Paule saith Haue not I power to leade with me a wife a sister as well as Cephas And Clemens Alexandrinus doth expound it of a woman in the state of mariage from thence reasoneth against such as were giuen to boast brag of the goodlines of an vnmaried life S. Augustine saith that S. Peter did not cease to be the
chiefe amongst the Apostles because he had begotten children And we must not say that he had had one but that after his calling he had not any for froÌ this example in the same place S. August concludeth thus And for this cause the Apostle sheweth that hee that hath a wife Fieri posse debere sacerdes Clem. l. 7. stro prouided that in other things hee keepe the commandementes ought and may be made a priest vsing by name the word Sacerdos In a word Clement and Eusebius witnesse that Saint Peter liued to lead his wife vnto death for the name of Christ and comforted her being ioyfull that shee was called thereto Of Saint Paule the place of the 9. to the Corinthians alleadged by Clemens Alexandrinus doth giue a sufficient and most euident note and marke howsoeuer our aduersaries by the word ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã would vnderstand Mulierem a woman not Vxorem a wife and as for the word ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã which is ioyned therewithall they weigh it not But yet notwithstanding Clemens Alexandrinus neere vnto the time of the Apostles vnderstood it of mariage And Tertullian alluding thereunto Tertul. in exhor ad castir c. 8. Hillar in Psal 118. sgnat ad Philadeph saith It was allowed the Apostles to marrie and to leade their wiues about with them And Saint Hillarie concludeth That virginitie and abstaining from mariage is of free will and not of necessitie These are the oldest writers But Ignatius the disciple of S. Iohn cutteth off all saying Virgines I reioyce with you because of your holines euen as I reioyce in Elias Iosua Melchisedech Elisaeus Ieremie Iohn Baptist S. Iohn Timothie Titus Euodius and Clemens all which liued vnmaried But not saith he afterward that I would detract or withdraw any thing from the rest of the Saintes ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã for liuing in mariage For on the contrarie I long and earnestly desire that God would make me worthie to sitte at their feete in the kingdome of heauen euen at the fecte of Abraham Isaac and Iacob Ioseph Esay and other the Prophets of Peter also and Paule and other the Apostle who ledde a maried life Note this word Leade or keepe company to signifie that they had not put away their wiues as also it is to be noted how he putteth them in the number with Abraham and Isaac who continually without ceasing kept houshold together with them Then he concludeth If therefore any man confesse God and Christ Mixtionem legitimam vz. copulam Habet ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã Euseb l. 3 c 30. ex Clement Act. 21. and notwithstanding call ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã the lawfull bedde vncleannes or pollution or abhorreth any kinde of meates by the same name such a one is inhabited and possessed by the Apostate Dragon that is by the Deuill Clement saith of Philip the Apostle that he was maried had children and maried his daughters The Actes make mention of Philip the Euangelist how that he had foure daughers In a word Platina maketh mention that S. Luke liued a married man hauing his wife in Bithynia till hee were fourescore and three yeares old And the Nicolaitans do take their name from Nicolas the Deacon companion to S. Stephen of whose wife there is so oftentimes mention made in the historie of the church And likewise Clement the pretended successor of S. Peter Eusâb l. 3. c. 29. in the Epistle which is attributed vnto him speaketh of wife and children in such sorte as that it is likelie that he was maried himselfe To be short Polycrates Bishop of Ephesus saith to Pope Victor that hee is the eight Bishoppe of his race being come of seuen predecessors Bishops Our aduersaries do make great account of the Canons of the Apostles though they be declared to bee Apocrypha by Isidore himselfe Notwithstanding let vs heare them If the Bishop priest or Deacon c. do abstaine from mariage flesh or wine Canon Apost 50. not for to haue his spirit raised higher and lifted vp in the exercises of pietie but as hauing them in detestation let him be deposed and reiected of the Church and let him remember himselfe that God created them male and female c. They will say that this is meant against heretickes which absolutely condemned mariage and that they are no such But listen what is said vpon the same matter Let the bishop say they Priestor Deacon CanoÌ Apost c. 5. D. 28. Si quis docuerit D. 31. quicunque declar C. 11. in âecret Clem Alex. l. 2. c. 10. Paedag. 3. strom haue no cause to put away reiect their wiues vnder the colour of religion but and if they do it let them be cut off from the communion and if they perseuere continue let them be deposed Let vs go on see further of the old writers Ignatius his opinion is well enough witnessed vnto vs by the place aboue alleadged As also the opinion of Clemens Alexandrinus who teacheth that the maried vnmaried life haue both of them their diuers gifts meanes to serue God by that to liue well whether it be in the one or in the other is his gift so that he maketh theÌ equal Irenaeus maketh mention of a certain man named Mark an heretike who had corrupted defiled the wife of a certaine Deacon being a very faire womaÌ wherby it apeareth that the orders of those times did not forbid them to marrie Hieronym de eccles script Tertullian was a priest as may appeare by that which Saint Ierome saith and maried as it may appeare by his bookes to his wife and yet a Martyr notwithstanding if we credite some men But the matter is that he falling to bee of Montanus his heresie did likewise embrace Montanus his opinions against mariage the steps and signes whereof are verie manifest and euident in his latter bookes but in so doing Tertul. in exhortat ad castit c. 8. he giueth some more scope vnto the word aboue alleadged Licebat Apostolis nubere vxores circumducere Licebat de euangeliis viuere c. It was lawfull for the Apostles to be maried and to lead their wiues about with them it was lawful for them to liue of the Gospell c. ioyning these two lawfull thinges together although he conclude that whatsoeuer is lawfull the same is not expedient And although hee condemne second mariages in all persons yet he teacheth vs that the Catholikes or Orthodoxes of his time did not so when he vpbraideth them with their Bishops which were not once onely Tertul. de Monogam c. 12. but twice maried saying For it seemeth that all things amongst you are lawfull for Bishops how many are there that rule ouer you haue beene twise maried which are not ashamed of themselues when they reade the wordes of the Apostle the husband of one onely wife Euseb l 4. c. 23. Dionysius Bishop of Corinth in an
the cause why the verse saith O bone Calixte nunc omnis Clerus odit te Quondam Presbyteri poterant vxoribus vti c. And Polydore Virgil writeth that aboute the yeare 1100. marriage was taken from ecclesiasticall persons in the Westerne Church Polydor. l. 5. as shall appeare true hereafter in other nations Now our good Fathers of Trent haue not forgotten to note down in their Index Expurgatorius that these words Coniugium quando Sacerdotib Occidentalib interdictum should be raced out and others which we shall set down hereafter Index expurg pag. 195. CHAP. X. The further proceeding and growth of abstinence from Mariage and the full and peaceable establishing of the same vntill our time THis thing wil further verifie it selfe by the sequele of other nations In England Some holde that the Gospell came into England in the yeare 170. so that they heard not of abstaining from marriage till such time as Augustine the Monke was sent vnto them from S. Gregorie to establish the Romane ceremonies there The beginning there was with the preaching of the praises of chastitie and after by the planting of Monkes of the Order of S. Benet and in the end as other inuentions of Rome were laid for a foundatioÌ they assaied to bring in this single life Brithwoldus Bb. of LondoÌ began about the year 714. assisted by the authoritie of Beda the Monks banding and opposing themselues against the Priestes the hypocrisie of the one against the loosenes which the people knew wel to be in the other but for this time without preuailing or profiting in their enterprise Otho Archb. of Canterburie about the yeare 950. declared marriage of Priestes to be hereticall but hee was conuinced mightilie by the authoritie of the scriptures and of the ancient Church so that his attempt tooke no better effect then his Predecessors On the contrary Elserus Prince of Marsh tooke vpon him the defence of the maried Priests against the Monks who had driuen them out of their Churches and set them in againe by force Polyd. Malmesburiens Dunstan a man much spoken of in stories for the Art Magicke doth reprehend and take him vp for the same verie sharpelie goeth to Pope Iohn the 13. at Rome and there offereth him his seruice a president example much commeÌded in the stories of that time bringeth backe with him the Archb. of Canterburie his PalliuÌ for to succeede Otho as also thunderboltes newly forged and sharpened causeth a Councell to bee held at Winchester And yet notwithstanding the cause being debated and decided by the scriptures he was ouercome notwithstanding all the sophistrie that Etheluold the Monke whome he had brought from Scotland could bring out of his budget to help him withall Wherupon he preseÌtly bethinketh himself of other sleights courses so it was fained that the Angel Gabriel had brought a certain schedule which condeÌned the mariage of priests And S. Paul saith vnto vs Although it shold be an angell from heauen c. Polyd. l. 6 M. Imsburiens And further in the heat of the disputation causeth a voice to be heard from behind a crucifixe These men do not well which maintaine the mariage of Priests The people being astonished vpon the coÌming of the same the priests replied couragiously and saide that the voice of God could not bee contrarie to his own word And a Bb. of Scotland named Fathbodus amongst others being called thether by Elfred the K. as one recommended for his great godlines learning maketh all the faction and partakers of Dunstan to be ashamed and at their wits end Ranulph l. 6. c. 11. Capgranius Polyd l. 6. In which extremitie he hath recourse either to his magicke as some writers of that time do affirme or else to some other diuelish practise and saith I am now too old for to dispute but much more for to studie and yet you shall not carrie it away on this sort And by and by after hauing caused his aduersaries to bee called into a hall it shrunke vnder them and ouerwhelmed the greatest parte hee onely hauing prouided for his owne safetie stoode still vpright possessed his Archbishopricke in peace and established the Monkes of Saint Bennet in steade of the Priestes which were called Canons Regulars This was continued by king Canutus about the yeare 1020. in the Church of Cambridge and by K. Edward in that of Oxford c. And yet for all this priestes did not cease to take them wiues in England whether it were as some say that king William tooke a certaine tribute for to permit them or that the libertie thereof could not bee taken from them in so generall a contradiction and gainsaying at one blowe Anselm ad ad Arnulph The truth hereof appeareth by Anselmus the Archbishoppe of Canterburie his letters vnto Prior Arnulph which acknowledge that vnder the former king and Lanfranke the Archbishoppe his predecessor they had both Churches and wiues together Anselme then returning from Lyons out of exile helde a Councell at London aboute the yeare 1100. wherein after manie solemne protestations hee forbiddeth the Priests to marie A few yeares being ouerpassed there grew a general complaint throghout the whole realm that of abstaining from mariage they were come to fall to adulteries and incestes and from them to Sodomitrie and that it spreadeth by the infection and contagion thereof from the Cleargie to the Laitie and getteth whole Countries euen to the publike committing of the same Anselme thereupon made notable ordinances for the repressing of the same in a Synode held for the purpose in the Church of S. Paul in London he excommunicateth them which were conuicted of Sodomitrie vntill such time as they shal be thought worthy by reasoÌ of their confession and penance to be absolued and the like to be done with theÌ who shal be furtherers vnto them in the coÌmitting of this crime he ordaineth that such as are religious shal not be aduanced vnto higher order becomming by this his ouer mild and soft correction no lesse faultie then the offenders themselues On the contrary he excommunicateth the Priests who shall haue beene found talking with their wiues without two or three witnesses not contenting himselfe with hauing depriued them of their offices and benefices c. In the end the mischief coÌtinuing he goeth being perplexed in his mind for a remidy vnto Rome wherupon the Pope in steade of hauing recourse to that which God hath ordained sent one Iohn of Creme a Cardinal into England with letters to the Cleargie of England that he should be receiued with all due reuerence as the Vicar of S. Peter and the like also to Dauid K. of ScotlaÌd then keeping his Court at Roxbourg who caused the profession of a single and vnmaried life to become much more authentike that is caused the plant of Sodomie to propagate and multiplie far more plentifully in a Synode held at London Ranulph
the breade giuen to those that were catechised which wee call the hallowed breade to the washing of feete practised vppon the Apostles c. which neuerthelesse do shew vnto vs at large in their treatises that howsoeuer they abuse the word yet they doe not let as need requireth to take and vnderstand it in the right vse and signification And as for the worde Sacrifice the Grammarians likewise say ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã the priesthood that is the care or administratioÌ of holy things And this is the cause that euery consecrated action hath beene called by this name likewise it hath purposely beene vsed to signifie the diuine seruice because that the Iewes and the Gentiles did vse it so Rom. 15. Phil. 2. Orig. ad Rom. l. 10. Chrysost ad Rom. hom 29 Epiph. haeres 79. Angust de ciuit Det. l. 10. c. 6 Tertul in Apolog Idem ad Scapul Iren. l. 4. contr haeres c. 34. Psal 50.69 Ecclesiastic 35 Ad. Heb. c. 13. August epist 120. ad Honorat Euseb de Demonstr l. 1. c. 10. Tertul. c. 4. contr MarcioÌ Philip. 4. Hebr. 3. Iren. l. 4. c. 32. 34. Cypr. serm 1. de cleemos August ep 122 Psalm 51. Ecclesiastic 35. Rom. 12.2 who placed all their seruices in Sacrifices Thus wee see that Saint Paul called all the ministerie of the Gospell a Sacrifice And Origen saith This is a very worke of the Priesthood ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã to preach the Gospell Chrysostome My Priesthood or sacrificing office is to preach the Gospell Epiphanius speaking of them which were chosen in the thirteenth of the Actes saith They did sacrifice the Gospell And in the same sence Saint Augustine likewise hath said We call a sacrifice euery worke that hath relation vnto God being done to the end that wee may cleaue and sticke vnto him in a holy societie As Tertullian speaking of prayers I offer vnto him the fattest sacrifice that I am able euen prayer which hee hath commanded proceeding from a chaste bodie from a harmelesse soule from a holy spirite c. Ireneus Our altar is in heauen whither our prayers and offeringes are directed And the praises of God and giuing of thankes are called by the name of Sacrifices in the Psalmes Whereupon Saint Augustine saith Wee giue thankes to the Lord our God which is the great Sacrament in the sacrifice of the New Testament c. And Eusebius We sacrifice and burne the memorie of this great sacrifice c. rendring thankes to the God of our saluation c. And Tertullian The Samaritane intended to offer a true sacrifice euen the sacrifice of praise and thankesgiuing in the true temple and to the true sacrificer Iesus Christ c. The offeringes likewise which are made in the Christian assemblies for the reliefe of the poore haue had this name giuen them in Saint Paule A smell of a sweete sauour a sacrifice acceptable vnto God offeringes wherewith hee is well pleased In Ireneus We offer vnto God the first fruites of his giftes feeding the hungrie and cloathing the naked c. In Saint Cyprian where he reprocheth a rich widow Comest thou to the Lords banquet without a sacrifice And Saint Augustine which calleth the almes of certaine matrons sacrifices the table of the Temple whereuppon they were laide an Altar and to bee briefe a broken and contrite heart is a sacrifice vnto God Psalme 51. so is charitie towardes a mans neighbour and the vowes which wee make of consecrating and dedicating of our liues vnto the Lord Rom. 12. And why then should any man make it strange that the olde writers haue called the holy Supper a Sacrifice seeing that all these actions doe meete together in it namely a holy office a remembrance of the sacrifice of Christ vppon the Crosse the reading and preaching of his worde feruent praiers a serious and deepe meditation of sinne and of the grace of God both together the contrition of hart the vow of sacrificing from thence forward soule and bodie vnto God and the opening of the bowelles of compassion towardes the brethren all of them such actions as euerie one whereof by it selfe is called both in the holy scriptures as also in the fathers Oblations and Sacrifices and how much more then that which doth comprise them all in it selfe alone But that we may not contend about wordes let vs come to the question which is If the Masse bee a propitiatorie Sacrifice and also if the holy Supper in his puritie were instituted for the same end if our Lord Iesus bee there sacrificed a new really and in very deed for a propitiation of our sinnes that is to say for the sinnes of the quicke and the dead by the Ministers or Priestes which things we denie and our aduersaries affirme The scripture telleth vs That there are no propitiatory sacrifices in the new Testament besides that of Iesus Christ himselfe That the lambe was slaine before the foundation of the worlde And this lambe is the eternall Sonne of God whose sacrifice cannot chuse but be almighty all-sufficient absolutely perfect in respect of the desired end namely the saluation of men And therefore for the saluation of man wee haue no need neither of reiterating any sacrifice neither of any other new and neuer before offered Sacrifice whatsoeuer on the contrary all the Sacrifices of the lawe in their imperfections doe leade vs to the perfection of this same in their being often reiterated they shew vs their insufficiencie and weaknesse to bee cut off and ended in the strength and efficacie of this onely one Whereuppon it commeth that in the new Testament we heare not any more of Sacrifices or Sacrificing Priestes Of Sacrificing Priestes saue where as it is taught to bee the name and office of all and euerie Christian You are saith Saint Peter a royall priesthood a holy priesthood a holy people 1. Pet. 2. Apocal. 1. c. And Saint Iohn Christ hath made vs kinges and priestes vnto God his father to offer saith the Glosse acceptable sacrifices vnto God by him Of sacrifices also in like manner saue that wee render continuall thankes vnto God for this great sacrifice by the consecrating of whatsoeuer is in vs To offer vnto God sayeth the Apostle spirituall sacrifices which may bee acceptable vnto him in Iesus Christ 1. Pet. 2. Rom. 2. euen our selues a liuing sacrifice which is our reasonable seruing c. Likewise in the holy Supper from whence they woulde deriue the Masse there is no worke of sacrifice for sinne The sacrifice of Iesus Christ was accomplished vppon the Crosse where hee was slaine for vs and not in the holy Supper but the remembrance of that sacrifice offered vppon the Crosse is renewed in the Supper according to the institution of the Lorde vntil his comming that is without the being of any other sacrifices for sinne that partition wall and to the vtter cutting off of all expectation or further looking after of
Lord Iesus Christ of a solemne thankesgiuing for good thinges receiued and not of anie attonement or appeasing of Gods wrath for sinnes committed And indeed Ireneus sayeth in an other place Euerie where incense pure sacrifices are offered to my name S. Iohn in the Apocalyps hath called the praiers of the Saints the offerings of incense And again In asmuch sayeth he as the Church offereth in simplicitie and singlenes of heart their offering vnto God is by good right reputed a pure vndefiled sacrifice as S. Paul saith to the Philippians I was filled hauing receiued that which you sent me by Epaphroditus c. Now this was nothing else but a contribution made by them of their goods and therefore Ireneus addeth For it behoueth that wee offer vp our sacrifices to God and that wee bee found such as will acknowledge and become thankefull for all thinges that wee receiue And this offering is yet further declared and made plaine in that which followeth We offer vnto him not because hee standeth in need but that wee may bee thankefull to him for his giftes and so by this meanes sanctifying the creature For as God hath not need of any thing that proceedeth from vs so haue we neede to offer vnto him according to that which Salomon sayeth Hee that hath pittie vpon the poore giueth vpon vsurie vnto God c. Now in all this place which they make such a shielde and buckler of let them point vs out any one worde concerning a propitiatory sacrifice yea which concerneth not on the contrary a sacrifice of praise of thankesgiuing and of charitie inasmuch as that which is giuen vnto God is giuen vnto the vse of our neighbour and that which is giuen to our neighbour Iust Martyr aduers Tryphon is sacrificed to God Iustinus Martyr saieth Wee are truelie made the Priestes of the Lord according to that which hee witnesseth himselfe because that throughout the whole world there are offered vnto him pure and acceptable sacrifices In which place hee generallie opposeth the Christians to the Iewes according to this place of S. Iohn Who hath made vs kinges and Priestes c. But say they hee addeth that these are the sacrifices of bread and wine that is to say of the Eucharist Admit it so prouided that they did not cloake or dissemble that which followeth To render and giue sayeth hee thankes vnto God aswell for that hee hath created the world and all that is contained therein for the fauour and louing affection sake which hee beareth vnto man as principallie for that hee hath deliuered vs from all the malice whereunto wee stoode subiect and hath slaine with a perfect slaughter the principalities and powers which did opprese vs by him who of his owne accorde and free will hath giuen himselfe to suffer But because that Langus hath not expounded this place after their manner Index expurg pag. 75. Chrysost in Psal 109. it is ordained and determined by the Councell of Trent that hee should be raced Chrysostome sayeth The Church that followeth the steppes of Christ whither soeuer hee goeth is not excluded from anie place for it hath his Altars euerie where and his doctrine also euerie where In which speeches hee maketh doctrine to bee a part of these sacrifices whereof Malachie speaketh according to that which hee sayeth in an other place My Sacrifice is the preaching of the Gospell c. hee addeth See and be holde how well hee hath described the mysticall Table the sacrifice without blood c. That is the holy Supper But afterwarde This is then sayeth hee the chiefe and principall sacrifice that I haue spoken of before euen this misticall and spirituall gift whereof Saint Paule speaketh Bee yee followers of God as welbeloued children and walke in loue euen as he hath loued you and giuen himselfe for you vnto God for a sacrifice and offering of a sweete smell and sauour and this sacrifice hee calleth The gift of saluation namelie because thereby wee renewe the memorie of Iesus Christ sacrificed and crucified for vs binding vs in the bondes of charitie by his owne example towardes our brethren which are his members and so wee are made one with him in the receiuing of this holie mysterie that is sacrificed and crucified in him and with him in his death and passion inasmuch as hee hath suffered for vs and not for himselfe that so also wee might rise vnto glorie with him Saint Augustine alleadgeth this place against the Iewes August de Ciuit. Dei l. 18. c. 35. This sacrifice sayeth hee is that which is offered throughout the whole world by the Priesthoode of Christ according to the Order of Melchisedech the Iewes could not deny it and therefore why doe they waite or looke for an other Christ c. But wee still stande in doubte whether this bee a sacrifice of praise or of propitiation except that hee can likewise ridde vs of this scruple The church sayeth hee sacrificeth to God in the body of Christ the sacrifice of praise seeing that the God of Gods hauing spoken hath called the earth from the Sunne-rising vnto the setting thereof For this church is the spirituall Israell distinguished from the carnall Israell which serued God in the shadowes of sacrifices in which was signified and set forth this singular sacrifice which Israell now offereth according to the spirite c. Out of the house of this Israell hee hath not taken anie calues for in it are sacrificed and offered vnto God the sacrifice of praise In euerie place sayeth hee afterwarde incense is offered vnto my name And Saint John expoundech it in the Apocalyps the prayers of the Saintes Thus now you may beholde and see what it is that these men alleadge for themselues out of the olde Testament namelie figures allegories and generall speeches as also the Doctors vpon these places by which they woulde make men belieue that wheresoeuer they haue vsed this worde Sacrifice they meante and vnderstoode it of their Masse And yet the Latines themselues foure hundred yeares after our Sauiour Christ had not so much as heard of the name That they haue acknowledged and taught their propitiatorie sacrifice for the quicke and the dead and yet they doe not acknowledge anie sacrifice for sinnes but in the propitiation which wee haue in the bloode of Christ neither yet anie Sacrifice in the holy Supper saue onelie that therein wee doe celebrate the memorie of this great Sacrifice and offer vppe praise and thankesgiuing vnto God for so great a benefite there wee sacrifice and offer vppe our selues to his seruice a liuing sacrifice and consecrate our selues for our brethren the members of Christ and of one and the same bodie with vs in true charitie in the beholding of the Creator and Redeemer and the giftes which wee haue receiued from him And now it followeth that wee make triall if they haue anie better grounde for this their pretended sacrifice in the new
to allude to the place of the prophet Malachie but in a far other sence then that of our aduersaries To bee short hee sayth Christ is called a high Priest sacrificing vnto God and besides him there is not any one to whom we do attribute either the name or the effect of priesthood for hee was made the mediator betwixt God and men hee hath sacrificed for vs and not for himselfe and that euen his owne bodie All which arguments are grounded vpon the qualities requisite in a priest of the new Testament but such as men cannot attaine vnto He calleth the Eucharist verie many times ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã a sacrifice without blood Idem in Ioban l. 5. c. 7. ad Reginas de recta fide but in the same sence that the former by comparing of it with them of the law Vpon S. Iohn S. Paule saith he to the Hebrewes would not take away the second nor the third remission of sinnes but rather the secondoblation because that Christ hath beene offered once and cannot be any more offered c. The Latine fathers did not vnderstand it otherwise Saint Ambrose saith In Christ the oblation or sacrifice hath beene once offered powerfull and mightie vnto life eternall Againe The Lord commanded the Angell to spare the people and to offer the sacrifice of Dauid For at that time there were sacrifices for sinnes the same are now the sacrifices of repentance Ambros in ep ad Heb. c. 10. Idem ad Theod ep 28. Idem in ep ad Rom. c 12. Idem ibid. Againe The Elders did kill the sacrifice to signifie that men because of sinne were subiect to death And now that men by the gift of God are purified and deliuered from the second death they must offer a liuing sacrifice to the end it may bee vnto them a signe of eternall life For the case standeth not now as when bodies were slaine and sacrificed for bodies now there is not any more question of killing of bodies but of the vices of the bodies Again Is there not a celestiall altar our faith whereupon we dayly offer our praiers Let vs draw neere saith he in another place with a true hart a fulnes of faith let vs draw neere in faith in a spiritual seruice from a sincere hart for in all these there is nothing visible neither the priest nor the sacrifice nor the altar c. In our spirits we receiue spirituall things c. Idem in institut virgin c. 2. In another place We sacrifice vnto God the sacrifice of praise whereupon the Apostle saith I pray you before all thinges to make prayers supplications requestes and thankesgiuing c. Now this is one of the places from whence our aduersaries would gather their Masse their propitiatorie sacrifice and see how hee expoundeth it of the sacrifice of praise Idem epist 28. lib. de fuga sent c. 8. Againe A simple prayer is a sacrifice the good sacrifice that is wisedome the good oblation that is faith and euerie other vertue c. And of all this going before we conclude most euidently that he acknowledged no sacrifice for sinne saue the blood of Christ once shed nor any sacrifices amongst Christians but repentance mortification and calling vpon the name of God in faith c. But some will say vnto vs hee speaketh now and then of the holy Supper in the tearmes of a sacrifice But in this case I could wish such to hearken how hee expoundeth himselfe he speaketh to the matter of the onely oblation of Christ and saith What then do not we offer euery day for the Supper was then administred ordinarily We offer saith he but in making a memoriall of his death and there is but one oblation but one sacrifice not many One and not many saith he how because that it hath beene once offered in the most holy place and this sacrifice is the patterne of that other c. That which we do is in remembrance of that which hath beene done For hee saith vnto vs doe this in remembrance of mee c. Wee offer not as the Priest did another sacrifice but euerie daie the same or rather wee sacrifice the memoriall of this sacrifice Thus say wee sayeth hee to daye is the resurrection of the Lorde that is to say to day wee call to minde the resurrection of the Lord c. And Saint Ierome vnderstoode as little as the rest in this point namely that there should remaine a seruice to bee performed of Christians Hieronim in Esa c. 1. which properly was called a sacrifice Shall I eate sayeth the Lorde the flesh of bulles c. Psalme ââ After hauing reiected and cast away sayeth hee the ceremonies of the old law hee passeth to the puritie of the Gospell and sheweth what hee desireth in stead of them Offer vnto mee the sacrifice of praise Idem in psal 26. c. Againe I will offer in his Tabernacle the sacrifice of ioy and gladnesse that is to say of full and perfect ioy that is to say I will ioyfully declare that hee did vnder-go a base and lowe estate for vs that is to say that he did humble himselfe to aduance exalt vs For God taketh pleasure in such sacrifices of reioycing ioyfull declaring of their gladnesse for this is the sacrifice of preaching And in another place Idem in psal 49. 50. The old sacrifices are past he requireth his sacrifice in good works and maners a fat burnt offering That is that God may be praised by man whom he hath created whom he hath redeemed and to whome hee hath promised the kingdome of heauen Againe By this place the Iewes doe knowe and vnderstand that their sacrifices are ceased And what then shall men haue hereafter to offer hearken to that which hee addeth The humbled heart and the contrite heart is a sacrifice vnto the Lord c. Idem ad Damas Yea but hee sayeth in another place Our Sauiour is the calfe of whose flesh wee are dayly fed and with whose blood wee all haue our thirst quenched This banquet is solemnized euerie day euerie day the father receiueth his sonne euerie day Christ is slaine and sacrificed This is a large speech but hee addeth yet one worde more Immolatur credentibus out of question not sacrificed by the Priest but sacrificed sayth hee by the faithfull In so much as this sacrifice is dayly freshe alwaies present and in Gods sight daily applyed apprehended and taken holde vppon with great efficacie of the faithfull as being such Idem in Psal 97. August quest euangel l. 1. as conceiue and finde their life to lie and consist in his death and the appeasing of Gods wrath for their sinnes to rest in his bloode This is it which hee saith in a worde elsewhere Euerie day Christ is crucified vnto vs. S. Augustine yet more distinctly Christ is then properly slaine for any one when hee beleeueth him to be
there betwixt this and purgatorie saue that wheresoeuer there is fire there purgatory also must needes bee found This is the same that S. Ierome saith God will not take pittie Hieronym in Esa l. 4. c. 10. either vppon small or great amongst this people neither of the fatherlesse nor of the widow neither of any other person c. For euery mouth hath spoken follie c. And S. Cyrill saith He vnderstandeth the common people which he calleth iniquitie and not vniust to shew the grieuousnes of their wickednesse It shall burne therefore that is to say it shal be fire vnto it selfe as it fell out saith hee by reason of their factions in the siege of Ierusalem by Vespasian and Titus c. And after this manner doe Haimo and Procopius take it Lyranus saith Haim in Esa c. 9. The impietie of the people of Israel prouoked the wrath of God and pulled it swiftly vppon them like a burning fire to consume them euen vnto the briars and thornes that is to say the smallest and vilest amongst the people And Cardinall Hugo draweth it to an allegorie The wicked saith hee shall bee set on fire with an euerlasting fire for those whome the fire of transgression hath deuoured and swallowed vp those shal be deuoured and swallowed vp of the fire of hell c. vnderstanding it of eternall damnation As colde is that which followeth Esay 54. I haue hidde my fauour and my countenance from thee for a while in the moment of mine indignation But I haue had compassion of thee in euerlasting mercy Here God speaketh vnto the Church as vnto his spouse reiected and forsaken for her sinnes in his iust displeasure but receiued againe into grace in his mercie Which hee saide before in the former verse I haue forsaken thee for a small time but I will gather thee together in great compassion and mercie Nowe they will haue this moment of indignation to bee Purgatorie and the euerlasting mercie to bee paradice In steade whereof it doeth manifestly and plainely appeare that hee speaketh of the scattering and dispearsing of Israel gathered together agayne in the redemption purchased by Iesus Christ yea greatlie augmented and multiplyed by the calling of the Gentiles And this is it that the Glose saith I haue hid my face from thee for thine idolatrie but I haue gathered thee together againe c. in redeeming thee Lyranus otherwise Because saith hee that the tribulations of this present life not of purgatorie are not to bee compared with the glorie that is to come And thus Cardinall Hugo I haue giuen thee ouer into thine enemies handes but my mercie in freeing thee from them againe shall bee greater then mine anger hath beene in reiecting of thee And mystically for a little that is in respect of the temptations of this worlde which are nothing in respect of the glorie to come In euerlasting mercie that is in respect of my purpose to vnite and couple thee vnto my selfe in my glorie c. But the verse following cutteth off all the controuersie This saith he shall be vnto me as the daies of Noe for I haue sworne that the waters of Noe shall not any more ouerspreade the face of the earth as likewise that I will not bee any more wroth with thee Here saith Iustine hee compareth the redemption of mankind to that which was in the daies of Noe c. If this bee not enough Hieronym in Esa c 54. Cyrill l. 5. orat 2. in Esa Haim in Esa c. 54. Saint Ierome interpreteth it of the multiplying of the Church by the calling of the Gentiles Saint Cyrill of the Gentilles forsaken for a little but espoused for euer c. Haimo vppon Esay taketh it in the same sence Which saying S. Ierome layeth in ballance to weigh against the Iewes who would haue this prophesie to belong to themselues alone But of all these there is not one that hath taken the smallest or least sent of Purgatorie from this place Ieremie the first What seest thou Ieremie J see a potte boyling and the forepart thereof is towarde the North. Ierem. 1.13 This potte signifieth Purgatorie The vision is expounded in the verse following The plague shall breake out from the coast of the North ouer all the inhabitantes of this countrey So then this potte is Ierusalem the fire that maketh it hotte is the king of Babilon And thus Saint Ierome and Theodoret doe expound it Hieronym in Ierem. Theodor. ibid. August ad fratres in Eremo serm 12. Gregor l. 33. c. 27 in Iub l. 18. Moral But if a man bee disposed to make an Allegorie of it Saint Augustine saith This potte is pride which the Deuill bloweth vp wherein boile and seeth all the Princes and Pastors of darknesse as those which onely count precious and like of these temporarie goodes honours and riches couet the chiefe seates in sinagogues and cause themselues to bee called Rabbi in the market places c. Saint Gregorie This pot is the heart of man boiling with the firie affections of the flesh c. the North that is the Deuill which bloweth vp the same So that neither can this maister-builder of purgatorie finde any foundation to settle the same vppon in this place No more then Cardinall Hugo could Hugo Card. in Ierem. c 1. Orig. hom 11. in psal 38. Ezech. 11.3 7. who likewise in a mysticall sence taketh the potte for the Church or els for the sinner assailed with the temptations of the Deuill And as for Origen he hath no fellow or partaker with him in his allegorie But Ezechiell doth expound it most clearely This is the caldron and wee are the flesh that is to say Jerusalem set on fire by the Babilonians and the people thereof consumed in the same because of the murthers by all manner of calamities and in the end of all this forced out of the same and led into exile Michea the 7. Mich. 7.8 Reioyce not neither yet comfort thy selfe in me O thou which art mine enemie if I bee fallen I will raise vp my selfe againe if I haue laiue in darknesse the Lord will enlighten me I will beare his wrath because that I haue sinned against him hee shall draw me forth into light and I shall see his iustice Here againe darknesse must needes signifie Purgatorie and light Paradice c. But it is most cleare and euident that these wordes proceede from the Church of God speaking vnto Babilon and other nations of the Heathens that they shoulde not glad and reioyce themselues at her miseries because God will reestablish her againe So said Esay 9. The people that lay in the shadow of death a light is risen vnto them Saint Mathew which hath cited the same said not This people is gone out of Purgatorie into Paradice but rather out of the darknesse of ignorance into the knowledge of saluation from out of the way of sinners into the way of
that the Saintes liuing in the time of the olde Testament were saued by the law of Moses and the Grecians by Philosophie That Christ and his Apostles did preach the Gospell in hell Origen his purgatory Orig. hom 8. in Leuit. Hom 25. in Numer Hom. 6. in Exod in ep ad Rom. c. 11. In psal 36. hom 3. In Hierem. Bellarm l. 2. de purgat c. 8. ¶ 8. septim Synod 5. c. 11. Synod 7. ex prato spiritualt Iohan. Diacon in vir B. Greg. l. 2. c 45. thereby to conuert the damned and that both in this worlde as also in that to come yea euen in hell there may bee vse and place graunted for repentance c. And the other building vppon this his maisters bad foundation a great deale worse As that all men how holy soeuer are to passe this Purgatorie euery one according to his proportion S. Peter S. Paul c. the one to be purged by fire and the other by water more or lesse c. And again that the most wicked the most miscreants yea the Deuilles themselues are purged are amended yea and saued by the same Now I desire to know of them if they will approue this Purgatorie of Origen And if they doe not approue it that then they would not obiect it any more vnto vs neither yet any of those places which haue relation thereunto seeing also that Bellarmine intreating of Purgatory doth acknowledge that the fift generall Synode condemned and cursed Origen no lesse then Arrius and Nestorius furthermore that the seuenth general Councell maketh mention of a reuelation wherein he was seene in hell amongst others the Arch-heretickes And the same is likewise confirmed by Iohan. Diaconus in the life of Gregorie But it is worth the noting how that Origen had not as yet learned that these punishmentes were mittigated and lightned by suffrages for there is not found any maner of print or note of any such thing in all his purgatorie These pollutions and sinnes go for no better then matter for the fire and torments without any hope of release or ransome And still as these fantasies continued and abode with some curious spirites they were condemned in the fift generall Councell by the East Church The Apologie of the Grecians presented by Michael Bishop of Ephesus Vincent Lyrinensis Lactan. de diuino praemio c. 21. and euen in that which concerneth their false foundation namely that Christ hath purchased the remission of sinnes but not of the punishment And this appeareth to bee so by the Apologie giuen by the Greekes in the Councell of Basill These fantasticall dreames of Origen notwithstanding by reason of the reputation of his learning did leaue their impressions in the Latine Church whereupon Vincentius Lirinensis had iust cause to say That Origen his knowledge and zeale was a great temptation to the Christian Church Lactantius saith That men are not iudged presently after their death but that they are kept in a common prison vntill the day of iudgement in which they are to bee tried by fire This place is ill alleadged by our aduersaries for they do not place together the good the bad the faithfull and vnfaithfull at the time of their departing out of this life neither do they hold that purgatorie sleepeth without doing any thing vnto the day of iudgement for they will haue it occupied about the dead from the day of their death Againe it is apparant that in the time of Lactantius the doctrine of the Church was cleane contrarie For Eusebius as we haue said comparing the opinion of the Platonistes therewith maketh but two estates and conditions after this life whereas they made three But let it be for the making of the comparison the more full that hee did not altogether forget the third But they alleadge vnto vs Saint Ambrose Saint Hillarie Saint Ierome c. The purgatorie spoken of by certaine of the old fathers is not the same with that of the Church of Iâome Ambr. in psal 118. in psal 36. 2. ad Timoth 2. Then let vs see if wee shall be able to find such euidence as may make vs acknowledge this their purgatorie in them Verily there is no man that can bee ignorant how greatly Saint Ambrose did esteeme of Origen when as the most part of his expositions are translated word for word from him And thereupon likewise his opinion touching Purgatorie doth nothing differ and therefore also no lesse worthy to be condemned then his All men saith he which are haue beene or shall be the one onely Christ excepted shall be purged by fire The sonnes of Leui Ezechiel Daniel c. if they be not consumed yet at the least they shal be fired if they be not drowned yet they shall bee wette and dipt in the water for so was Iohn the Euangelist himselfe whom the Lord loued so much so was Saint Peter which receiued the keies of heauen There is not any one but Christ onely which doeth not smel of this fire who is the righteousnesse of God not hauing any sinne so that in him there is nothing found for this fire to consume or burne And this hee amplifieth by two seuerall Allegories the one taken from the glittering sword which was set at the entrance into Paradise the other from the people of Israel which went through the red sea c. He addeth hereto that this triall and proofe by fire shall bee made in the day of iudgement by the vniuersall burning of the world which shall vniuersally purge all men but euery one according to his nature euen as the fire doth melt the lead otherwise then it doth the gold c. S. Hillarie no lesse addicted to Origen Hilar. in comment in psal 118. holdeth the same opinion and proceedeth yet further saying If the virgine Marie the virgin of God must also vndergo the sentence of this iudgement of this fire hee spake before through which wee must all passe who is hee that dare desire to bee iudged of God And in another place hee saith Idem Canon in Mat. 3. Hieronym Amos 3. ex Amo 7.14 Ezech. 46. It remaineth that those which are baptised with the holy Ghost bee made perfect that is to say accomplished and fully refined by the fire of the last iudgement c. Saint Ierome likewise is infected with the like opinions by continuall reading of Origen He will call saith hee the fire vnto iudgement and behold it commeth at his summons and first of all deuoureth the depth that is to say all sortes of sinnes wood baye stubble and afterward it eateth at once the parte and portion that is to say it commeth to the Saintes which the Lorde hath made choice of to belong to him c. Againe Hieronym in vlt. cap. Esa Euerie creature is vncleane and must bee purged by the fire of God for the Sabbath day wherein hee shall haue eternall rest Likewise hee meaneth that euen wicked Christians shall
are deliuered out of purgatorie by Masses But they should rather be ashamed seeing that the worde Masse is not found no not so much as once onely in all Saint Ierome Seeing also that this booke cannot be his because it citeth S. Gregorie who liued more then a hundred and fiftie yeares after And in deed this booke is found written by hand vnder the name of Beda and there is neither the time nor the stile that are repugnant to the same And the same is well allowed of by Marianus Victorius Bishop of Amerin who caused them to be imprinted amongst the works of S. Ierome vnder the name of Beda And as for Chrysostome he earst while expounded vnto vs the place of the Epistle to the Corinthians of hell and not of Purgatorie And Marke Bishop of Ephesus in his Apologie which he presented for the Greeke Churches in the Councell of Basill auoucheth that he neuer thought of purgatorie In like manner we haue seene here before that he hath razed the foundations there of partly by establishing the ful remission of sinnes in Christ and partly in acknowledging but two places or waies to be gone after this life But some obiect vnto vs After what sort maner the ancient fathers did vse âo speake of a third place that certaine of the olde fathers haue acknowledged a third place diuers both from that of glorie and the other of eternall condemnation Neither doe I denie it but they must as freely acknowledge in what manner for it hath beene a question in ancient time whether at the time of departing out of this life the faithfull were receiued into their fullest glory and the vnfaithful cast into the extremitie of their miserie or els whether they were reserued in certaine places till after the resurrection that is the faithfull in a place of rest where they began to tast their ioyes and the vnbelieuers in a place of miserie where they also began to feele their miserie But these places were neuer imagined to put any distinction and difference betwixt faithfull and faithfull but betwixt the faithfull and vnfaithfull Againe they neuer meant that the faithfull were there in any torment but in rest not in any heat of burning fire but in a place of refreshment which likewise they called by the name of Refrigerium And this place wherein they abode waiting and expecting the day of iudgement they called Abrahams bosome the sweet rest vnder the Altar the Paradice alluding vnto the place of S. Luke 16.23 and that of S. Iohn in the Apocalips 6. And the place to be possessed by them after iudgement they called The celestiall bosome the Altar from on high the celestiall hauen c. And it is to bee taken in this sence which Ireneus saith Iren. l. 5. aduers haeres That the soules of the disciples of our Lord for which he hath fully accomplished the misteries of redemption do go into an inuisible place appointed for them of God and there shall attend the resurrection And that which Iustinus Martyr demandeth by way of question Iust Mart. l. quaest 76. q. namely what it profited the theefe to enter into Paradice seeing there is no crowning of any til after the resurrection answereth Eeuen thus much saith he in that he was vouchsafed the companie of the blessed Tertul. l. 3. c. 14 l. 4. aduer Marcion c. 34. In Apol. c. 47. de anim c. 7.9 55.56 vlt. de resur carn 17. de iudicio Dom. c. 11. Idem de Anima passim Nouat de Trinit c. 1. Orig. hom 7. in Leuit. l. ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã waiting for the day of reward and recompence c. That which Tertullian teacheth in infinite places That the bosome of Abraham is a place of eternitie to those that are deade in his faith if not heauenly yet at the least higher then hell which giueth rest and refreshment vnto the soules of the righteous vntill the accomplishment and perfecting of all thinges in the resurrection that heauen is not open to any so long as the earth is intire and whole Terra adbuc salua ne dixerim clausa And that together with the consummation of the world the kingdome of heauen should be opened That in these low places all the soules haue betwixt here and there the one sort their punishmentes the other their comfortable refreshmentes c. That Origene saith That Abraham Isaac and Iacob the Prophets and Apostles haue not yet receiued their ioyes that they there wait and attend vs that so they and wee may receiue them all together soiourning in the meane time saith hee as in a place of studie or instruction in a schoole of soules where they are taught in all such thinges as they had not seene here below but as in riddles and figures Ambr. l 2. c. 2. de Cain Abel Idem de bono mortis c. 10. Chrisost hom 39. n. 1. Cor. 24. Idem in hom 28 ad Heo hom 7. Idem hom ad Pop. Antioch 33. in Mat. 53. in Genes 40. Lactan. l. 7. c. 21. instit Victor in Apocal c. 6. Theod. in ep ad Hebr. c. 11. Hom 34. auth oper imperf in Mat. Areth. in Apocal c. 6. Bernar. in loc c 6 Apoc. serm 4 in sestum ommuÌ SanctoruÌ Oecum ad Heb. c. 11. Theoph. ad Heb. Euthym. in Luc. c. 23. August l. 1 c. 14. retract In Psal 36. In Genes l. 12 c. 9. In Enchirid. c. 108. Chrysost hom 69. ad Pop. Antioch Idem ad Rom. hom 33. Idem ad Philip hom 4. Occan in oper 93. dierum Adrian 6. l. 4. sent in fine q. de Sacram. confirm Saint Ambrose who treadeth in his steppes That the day of iudgement is like vnto that of wrastlers in asmuch as that in one day the vanquished are ashamed and the vanquishers receiue the garland and price and that betwixt here and there the soules are in their places of receipt waiting for the fulnes of time Saint Augustine That after this life wee are not in the place where the Saintes shall be when it shall bee said to them Come ye blessed c. But rather there where Lazarus was whom the rich man saw in rest c. Chrysostome That those which suffered for Christ before vs although they went before vs in the combat shall not any whit preuent vs in the wearing of the crowne That the crowne is set vpon all mens heades at once and not at seuerall times and that after the resurrection That betwixt here and there that is betwixt death and the iudgement soules are reserued in a place which is ordinarily called Abrahams bosome and sometimes ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã the porch of the Saintes wherein they are in rest expecting the fulnesse of their glorie And in reading of Lactantius Victorinus Martyr Theodoret the Authour of the imperfect worke vppon Mathew Arethas Theophilact Oecumenius Euthimius and Saint Bernard also who bare a greater stroke therein then any
for but approue O Lord and heare witnesse with Voluntariaoris mei the free offerings of my mouth Epiphan cont Aerium l. 3. t. 1 haeres 75. c. This argument was more throughly canuased and hotly dealt in about the yeare 500. in the time of Epiphanius who concealeth not or hideth the same from vs but setteth downe the verie same wordes That this is no commaundement of the father but an instruction and lesson taught by the mother that is to say by the Church Aerius found himselfe offended at these prayers for the dead which passed measure He put foorth this question Wherefore are the names of the deceased repeated and recited after their death And to what end doe praiers serue for those that are taken out of this life If it be to the end that they may not suffer for their sinnes c. Heere verily were a place to answere him that there is a Purgatorie That those that are departed hence without hauing satisfied for their sinnes are relieued by such suffrages c. But on the contrarie what dooth Epiphanius presuppose and set downe for the foundation of the matter in question Verily euen the quite contrarie That such as the liuing pray for are and liue in the presence of the Lord and that by these prayers such as are as yet trauelling this worldly pilgrimage doe witnesse their hope S. Chrysostome hath spoken of these prayers for the dead with greater aduantage then any others For that which Tertullian hath called Custome Epiphanius a Decree or Tradition of the Fathers he hath called an Apostolicall Tradition But he is confuted in one word by S. Ierome and S. Gregorie who saith that the Apostles vsed no other prayer in the celebration of seruice then the Lords prayer But yet for all that shall we thinke that hee praied for soules in Purgatorie when as hee belieued not any such thing Nay verily but rather for them which are with Christ Chrysost hom 3 ad Philip. Idem hom 4. ad Hebr. They are saith he with their king not any more beholding him as in a mirrour no longer loking vp vnto him by the eyes of faith but face to face For else what shuld be the meaning of these flaming Lamps but that we beare these glorious Champions companie home to their houses after their combat finished and accomplished As also what should bee the meaning of these Hymnes but that we glorifie God and giue him thankes for that hee hath crowned the deceased That he hath set him at libertie from all griefe and anguish and that he keepeth him now euen with himselfe These then are all of them nothing else but actions of ioy and reioycing And if thou marke what thou singest at that time it is Conuertere anima mea in requiem tuam Flie O my soule into thy rest for the Lord hath dealt graciously with thee And againe I wil not feare the euil wicked persons because that thou art with me c. Idem hom 70 ad Antioch in Math. hom 32 in Ioh. 61. In an other place The faithfull dying saith he shal take his flight vp into the habitation of the Angels so that he shal not be to be found euen at the time of his funerall And in deed the Liturgies which they obiect so much vnto vs should so much the more confirme them in this point That of Saint Basil Remember those O Lord which sleepe in hope of the resurrection Would he in their conscience call Purgatorie a sleepe And when hee prayeth for the liuing he saith For their saluation for the remission of their sinnes But for the dead For their rest and ease of their soule in a cleare and light place farre and free from weeping and wayling c. And thus Chrysostome The office of Millaine attributed to Saint Ambrose For them saith it which haue gone before vs with the ensigne of faith and which sleepe the sleepe of peace c. And that which they attribute vnto Saint Iames in the same sence For all such as haue embraced the true faith from Abell for the Patriarkes Apostles Prophets Martyrs as also for the Virgine Marie whome he calleth the mother of God most holy and pure c. And which amongst them is hee that would say that shee is in Purgatorie But after all Saint Ierome in the place before alleadged cutteth off all quite and cleane That out of this world we receiue no helpe aide or comfort either by the counsailes or prayers one of another And this is cited to the same end and purpose in the Decree And what shall wee say of the Masse vsed at this day Hierony apud Grat. c 20. in praesenti 13. q 2. which on the contrarie praieth not for the deliuerie of soules out of Purgatorie but out of Hell from the darke lake from the iawes of the Lyon and from eternall paines And that not for the time present but in respect of the iudgement to come as likewise that that which is read of the memorie of those which sleepe the sleepe of peace and which rest in Christ is not to bee read in the old Masse bookes of Rome which are written with hand but added onely after that the Masse hath beene applied to the vse of the dead So hard a thing it is and alwayes hath beene to vpholde and maintaine a lie against the truth They replie And what then was the end of praying for the dead In what sence they praied for the dead Orig. l. 3. in Iob We cannot better sound the reason of this then by the line of the Fathers themselues which did practise it Origen alleadgeth two reasons We celebrate saith hee the memorie of their rest partly to reioyce for that they are placed in Refrigerio at their ease partly for to pray vnto God that he would giue vs euen vs that are still liuing a good ende by faith c. This then is properly for the instruction of the liuing and not for the comfort of the dead Saint Denis Wherefore saith hee doth the Minister pray vnto God that he will pardon the dead Dionys c. 7. Eccles Hierar and place him in the region of the liuing For seeing that euerie man is there handled according to his life and that he hath now ended the same what can such prayers preuaile and helpe him Heere was to bee aunswered according to the doctrine receiued and taught by the Church of Rome That this was to free him out of the paines of Purgatorie But in deed what is his answere That the praiers of good and vertuous men doe neuer faile of their fruit That God rendreth to the faithfull according to their workes but in such sort notwithstanding as that he blotteth out their spots and imperfections for his mercie sake then it is not by the rigour and seueritie of Purgatorie That although the promises of God made vnto the faithfull be alreadie effected and fulfilled that yet the Minister doth
receiued into eternal happines because of the Son of God made a sacrifice for vs whome they haue participated in the Eucharist But as hee was vrged drawne by the strife contention of the time for there was then much to do about this Article whereas al the former haue made but two orders of the deceased August de cura pro mortuis ad Paul Nol. c. 1.4.18 Ad Dulcit q 2. De Ciuit. Dei l. 21. c. 13. 14 Idem de verb Domini Serm. 32. he hath made three The good saith hee who haue nothing to doe but to make prayers and supplications and these are they whome by name they dayly vsed so to praie for The wicked for whome no prayers or supplications could serue if it be not it may be saith he for the damned for the diminishing and lessening of their punishment And Chrysostome said also that they did ease their paines And the middlemost or those betwist the other two who haue need and accordingly ayde and succour there by whether it bee saith hee that God may not deale with them according to their sinnes or that their soules may be purged before the day of iudgement by temporall punishment that so they may not fall into the eternall Finally the prayers which are made for the good are thankesgiuings for the wicked such as whereby the liuing may be comforted and for those which are betwixt both such as are propitiatorie Now this is the first man that hath set open this way and passage contrarie to all auncient writers and more then foure hundred yeares after our Sauiour Christ there hauing not beene any man before time that had so much as read any thing of prayer for the dead or of a third place which they call Purgatorie and this Purgatorie notwithstanding wherof he saith elswhere in other places That there is some apparance that it is That it may be that there is one That no part of the Scripture speaketh of it That there is not any at all Doubtfull therefore are these prayers and oblations euen for the middle order of the deceased as is also his Purgatorie Or rather none at all absolutely as neither his Purgatorie seeing that by his confession there is none in the Scriptures What doe wee gather out of all this discourse Verily first That these prayers haue no foundation or ground either in the olde or new Testament Secondly that they are proceeded partly from humane affections and partly from the imitation of the Pagans Thirdly that the old Fathers vsed them for those whome they belieued alreadie to enioy eternall life as the Apostles Prophets Martyrs the holy Virgine c. Or we may say better according to the manner wherin they prayed in the Councell of Trent for the Soules of the Popes Paul the third and Iulius the third For those which liue and die in a most holy manner can they possibly according to their owne doctrine abide so long in Purgatorie Fourthly that it was then in regard of their soules a holy desire and to be taken in like sence as when we say liue O Christ liue O God c. whome wee know to raigne eternally In regard of their bodies a prayer vnto God that it would please him to glorifie them in the resurrection c. Fiftly that they were made rather in consideration of the liuing then of the dead to ease them of their griefe and confirme them in their faith instructions that may bee taken at a better hand and warrant from the Apostle Torment not your selues about them which are a sleepe c. Sixtly that they made them not vpon any consideration of Purgatorie seeing that amongst so many reasons of so many Doctors liuing in diuers ages and places not any one before Saint Augustine hath alleadged Purgatorie Seuenthly that these obseruations and reasons so diuers and manifold doe witnesse vnto vs that it was at that time held as an indifferent doctrine as also how that the greater sort doe call it a Custome a Decree an Institution c. Eightly that Saint Augustine himselfe who alone after many other better reasons alleadgeth Purgatorie cannot make any good proofe of the same seeing he himselfe doth not couer or conceale what doubt hee was in whether there were a Purgatorie or not Likewise he deliuereth contrarie assertions whereby there is great apparance and likelyhood that he did not reuoke or vnsay any thing but so farre as hee was wonne and ouerswayed by the headstrong conceipt of men seming in the light of nature to know that which they had neuer heard or seene Finally that the prayers for the dead which haue no foundation in the world ought not to haue any more authoritie in the Church then Baptisme for the dead practised say the ancients but not approued from the time of the Apostles or the Eucharist giuen into the mouth of the dead the one and the other proceeding from the same naturall affections and yet both the one and the other abolished and banished out of the Church Now it is not to be forgotten that that which was to be seene very weake and feeble in S. Augustine for to strengthen this new building withall hath beene since that time vnderpropped by counterfait and fained writings by men willing that way to imploy their vttermost indeauour thus labouring by vntruth to establish a lie and mans deuice and inuention by notorious and hainous crimes And to that end some haue attributed vnto him the Bookes August de ver fals paenit c. 71. De vera falsa paenitentia made in deede by Monkes though they be commonly cited in his name where he saith Let him that deferreth to conuert and turne too long passe through the fire of Purgatorie which is more painefull and grieuous then all the punishment that man can indure in this life A Sermon also of the day of the dead or of the remembrance of all the deceased where they haue made him speake in the same tearmes and manner of speach A booke notwithstanding wherein the Author himselfe alleadged S. Augustine as also the feast not being as yet receiued into the Church in his time but instituted by Odilo Abbot of Clugni more then 500. yeares after And yet which is more there are some that haue deuised an Epistle written from S. Cyril Bb. of Ierusalem to S. Augustine for to confirme him in the opinion of Purgatorie Cyril I say whose life S. Ierome did write whiles he liued writing to S. Augustine of the myracles of Saint Ierome after his death In which Epistle there is mention made How that S. Ierome appeared vnto a certaine man named Eusebius and commaunded him to cast his sacke ouer three dead bodies which should presently therupon rise therby confounding the heresie which denied Purgatory That these three men thus raised againe made their abode amongst men for the space of twentie dayes declared how that S. Ierome had beene the meanes of their seeing of
creature The creature whatsoeuer or whosoeuer it be that cannot moue him liuing here below saue onely to wrath otherwise then in that he hath beene vouchsafed grace in Iesus Christ and who likewise when he is exalted and taken vp into heauen acknowledging no glorie due to him saue in that that God is glorified cannot but take it an iniurie doue vnto him when any thing is attributed vnto him and cannot but bee readie to say as the Angell said vnto S. Iohn Apocal. 19. 22. Beware and looke well to thy selfe I am thy fellow seruant pointing also out vnto vs with Iohn Baptist the greatest that euer was borne amongst the sonnes of men and saying Behold the lambe of God that taketh away the sinnes of the world the propitiation for our sinnes is onely in his blood turne and betake your selues to him And moreouer our God will be praied vnto in his onely begotten In that grace and fauour purchased through that sacrifice of the Crosse in the vertue and power of his one onely sacrifice made vpon the Crosse for as much as it is hee onely that may and hath power to be both the sacrifice and the sacrificer together all the sacrifices washings purifying of the law hauing relation to no other but this of his which was without spot or blemish all their blood to his blood and all their deathes to that one death and passion of his who likewise alone could as being God and man suffer and ouercome cast downe himselfe into the center of the earth and raise vp himselfe againe farre aboue the heauens be a curse and a blessing and finally laid prostrate by death and raised vp to life all at once And therefore is it said by the Prophet Esay 53. Esa 53. He hath offered his soule an oblation for sinne The good will and pleasure of the Lord shall prosper preuaile in his hand He was pearced for our misdeedes Esa 63. He hath taken vppon him our iniquities c. Againe He alone hath trod vppon all our enemies in his wrath No one of the people hath helped him he was alone to treade the wine-presse Heb. 10. Hebr. 9. 2. Ioh. 1. c. And he did it saith the Apostle When in the fulnesse of time he abolished sinne by the offering vp of himselfe He was made a propitiation for our sinnes Hee hath sanctified vs by the oblation of his bodie once offered and hath consecrated for euer those whom he hath sanctified Which thing all the blood of all the Saints from righteous Abell vnto the last Martyr could neuer haue accomplished No not though it had beene but for the sinnes of one onely man no not for the least sinne of that man not although this bloode had risen to the hugenesse of a great floode seeing there is no remission but in the blood of the Sonne of God and to seeke it any where else is to shed his blood againe Act 4.12 is to hold the same shed in vaine and this is to be guilty of it For S. Peter saith There is no saluation in any other There is not any other name giuen vnto men by which they may be saued That the fathers of the old Testament neuer sought for helpe or succour by praier but at the hands of the one onely God Eckius in Enchird And therefore we see proportionablie to this doctrine that the fathers of the old Testament did neuer offer vp or direct their prayers vnto any but to one God alone And this our aduersaries subscribe vnto for so also was it held for a point of sound diuinitie amongst them that seeking of helpe at God by prayer was a part of his seruice and worship due vnto himselfe alone They say that this was for feare that the people who otherwise were readie and apt enough of themselues therevnto should turne aside vnto idolatrie but this is to gesse and not to answere But at the least they confesse that this is the way to slippe into idolatrie The rest say That the fathers prayed not vnto the Patriarkes and Prophetes because they were as yet in the Limbes But this is a thing to bee disputed and debated by vs if here were any place But at the least there were Angels and those oftentimes conuersing and keeping companie with men and hauing therewithall the charge of countries and nations Henoch and Elias also had beene rapt and caried aliue vp into heauen and the latter of them in the sight of Elizeus And yet notwithstanding we do not reade that any people or particular man in so many ages did euer pray vnto any Angel or made choise of any to make intercession to God for him No more then euer Noe or his Sonnes did to Enoch or Eliseus to Elias the sonnes to the father or the disciples to their maister albeit as we know Eliseus were zealously affected to Elias My father the chariot and horsemen of Israel In the new Testament God alone is prayed vnto In the new Testament likewise as little notwithstanding that they hold That the fathers by the descending of Christ into hell were deliuered out of the limbes and caried vppe into heauen Fit matter for the children of Abraham the father of the faithfull to flie vnto him to call vpon him for aide and succour and so of the rest Notwithstanding also that many of the Apostles and disciples suffered presently after for our Lord as Iames Steuen c. during the life time of Saint Peter Saint Paul and Saint Iohn Matter sufficient to serue that it should not bee kept close from vs that besides Iesus Christ wee haue them for our aduocates with God and for intercessors by vertue of their sufferinges and merites And the same may bee said of the holy virgine whome Saint Iohn ouerliued many yeares the aduocate at this day if wee will belieue them of the Church of Rome who at the least should haue beene excepted from these generall rules And here againe they say that the Apostles feared that this might be held for arrogancie in them And why on the behalfe of the Saintes of the old Testament and of the holy virgine Againe That they stoode in doubt least the Gentils should returne againe to their idols But that there might not so many duties of deuotion be lost and let slip could they not make some maner of dispatch or dispensation could they not deuise some way to cure and remedie the same And would they that these babish excuses should passe for currant reasons with vs and that against so expresse textes of the scripture What then say they doe you make no more accompt of the saints of those which haue suffered here on earth for the name of Christ and which now are ascended triumphantly with him vp on high c The honour that is due vnto the Saints 1. Cor. 12. Gal. 2. 2 Cor. 3. Act 9. 14. Tim. 4. Yes verily we honour them more then
our aduersaries for we praise and honor the Lord in his saints glorifying his name for the singular graces which he hath bestowed vpon theÌ for the edifying of his Church acknowledging the meruailes that hee hath wrought by his power in the weaknesse of their ministerie hauing chosen them base and vile that they were for instruments of his power of his wisedome of his goodnes to carrie his name amongst the people hauing assisted them in their trauels deliuered them from infinite tribulations and in the end of their course crowned them with glorie And afterward wee praise and magnifie themselues in the gifts which it hath pleased God to distribute vnto them of his grace and fauour and specially that hee hath shewed them this fauour to vse them for the setting forth of his glory Math 25. Heb. 3. for that hauing well imployed their talentes giuen them of the Lord they are entered into his ioy for that they haue beene faithfull in the house so that they haue not loued or spared their owne liues Apocal. 12. euen vnto the death whereby they haue receiued of his liberall mercie the white garment c. And from thence wee are led along to a third honour that is to set them before vs as patternes of our life to pray to God to vouchsafe vs the fauour that wee may follow their vertuous steppes their holinesse their humilitie zeale and constancie following the exhortation of the Apostles Bee ye followers of me Rom. 15. Hebr. 12. as you haue vs for a pats terne and example And in another place Be ye not slothfull but followers of them which by faith patience haue receiued the inheritance of the promises After this fashion say I honor we the Saints praising God in them praising them in God and conforming our selues vnto theÌ by his grace And all this according to the precepts examples which we haue in the scriptures wherein their liues their deathes haue beene set out vnto vs to those endes whereas our aduersaries haue made them ridiculous by their deuised and faigned legendes and still doe make the name of Christ in stead of being glorified to be blasphemed by these their fooleries which they deliuer to the poore people for their principall instructions whereas for fiue hundred yeares after our Lorde they were condemned to be false Gratian. D. 15. ex Gelasio and by the Bishops of Rome themselues reiected as thinges inuented by such men as were either heretickes or infidels suborned thereunto by the malice of the Deuill himselfe to discredite the name and faith of Iesus Christ But rather wee denie with the scriptures that we ought either to flie vnto them for succour or els worship them For these seruices are due vnto God alone and to take them as intercessors betwixt God and vs is not belonging to them it is the office of our onely Mediator Iesus Christ our Lord Neither yet ought we to make any imployment of their merites or workes of supererrogation eyther to appease the wrath of God or to supply our vnworthinesse or else the passion of our Lorde for this were to annihilate and make of no effect his perfect sacrifice And this is that which wee haue to condemne in the Masse in this place wherein the Priest contrarie to that which hath beene tolde vs so oft namely that God is the onely searcher of heartes doth confesse his sinnes to the Angelles to the virgine Marie to the Saintes and Saintesses and prayeth them to bee intercessors for him vnto God wherein hee prayeth God to pardon his sinnes not by the merite of Christ nor by his blood but by the merite of all the Saintes and specially Of those whose relickes are vnder the Altar c. And wherein the sacrifice as they pretend of Christ is offered to God in the honour of the virgine Marie and of the men saintes and women saintes c. And these thinges we affirme to be directly against the word of God against the analogie of faith and against the vnitie of the auncient Church Now let vs consequently heare if our aduersaries haue any thing to say to the contrarie In Genesis 41. Iacob blessing the children of Ioseph vttereth these wordes Gen. 18.15.16 The God that fedde mee euer since I was vnto this day the Angell which hath beene my protection from all euill blesse these children And my name and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac bee called vppon or cryed lowde vppon by them c. Out of this place they gather that the Angels and Saintes ought to bee called vpon and praied vnto But as concerning the Angell whereof hee speaketh it appeareth that it was no created spirit for then Iacob would not haue ranked him and made him equall with God neither had hee praied vnto him or done other like thinges and vsed the verie same tearmes which are belonging to the Lord This Angell then is he of whom the Prophet Malachie speaketh Malach. 3. the Angell of the couenant the Sonne of God himselfe the Mediator of the old and new couenant in the beholding of whom the Patriarkes found grace with the Lord Eoxd 10.19.13 21 14.24 That Angell which is sometimes by Moses in Exodus called an Angell sometimes Iehouah that in like tearmes of speech alluding vnto these that is then when there is any speech of the conduct and guiding of Iacob that is to say of the people of Israel of his Church And thus haue the olde writers spoken Tertul. de Trinit c. 15. Tertullian expounding this place saith As hee hath not doubted or made any scruple in calling Christ an Angell so let no man be afraid or sticke to call him God seeing hee vnderstandeth here that in the blessing of his children hee is God and called vppon and likewise an Angell But and if that any hereticke shoulde obstinately sette himselfe against the truth that here is properly spoken of an Angell in this let him bee conuinced by the force and power of the truth c. Saint Hillarie alleadgeth it in the same sence vpon Psalme 123. Hilar. in psal 123. Chrisost in Genes c. 48. That wee ought to owe and ascribe all our graces prosperitie and deliuerances vnto the one onely God And after the same manner Chrysostome And as for that which is said of the name of Abraham being called vpon by his children it is a common and accustomed speech of the Hebrews vsed when they will speake of those men or women which are ingrafted into a familie Esay 4. as in Esay seuen women desire of one man that his name may bee called vppon by them that is to say that they may bee called by his name or held for his c. And in this place is plainly deliuered the adopting of the two sonnes of Ioseph which Iacob reputeth and holdeth to bee by place and right as capable of inheritance in the parting of the land as his
owne sonnes as in deed they drew lots for two But and if they belieue not vs yet let them at the least belieue their owne writers Cardinall Hugo saith To the end they might haue tribes as the sonnes of Iacob had And in the same sence hee expoundeth this word Esay 4. Lyranus Et inuocetur c. quia vocati sunt because they are called the adopted sonnes of Iacob and are become heades of two tribes after the manner of his owne children The annotation also of their Fonseca vpon Caietan This is a phrase of speech familiarly vsed of the Hebrewes that the name of this man is called vppon by that man when their meaning is that that man is called by this mans name And thereupon he alleadgeth the fourth of Esay and Daniel 9. Let them also remember themselues of their owne doctrine How that the fathers were in the Limbes that in the Limbes they did not see God neither by consequent know the affaires of men whereupon it followeth by their owne sayings that they could not be called vpon And yet notwithstanding Bellarmine in the time of the cleare light of learning is not ashamed to alleadge this place Eliphaz saith to Iob Iob 5. Call now and see if there be any that will answere thee and turne thy selfe vnto some one of the Saintes c. Which place other expositors doe reade with an interrogatiue point And the summe of the text is That no man when he is chastised of God can say that it is any wrong or iniustice seeing hee hath found as hath beene said before matter of reprehension euen in his Angels And how much more saith hee in them which dwell in these houses of clay c. And thereupon hee addeth Cast thine eies round about and see if thou canst find any amongst the most holy who hath beene punished causelesse But and if they will haue it that by Saintes the Angels are vnderstoode besides that it standeth not with the scope and purpose of the text it is as quickly denied as affirmed and such figures doe not proue or conclude any thing But and if they simplie take it to bee vnderstoode of the Sainte then so much the lesse seeing that they in the Limbes could neither heare norse according to their owne doctrine And certainly S. Ierome if he be the author of those commentaries was not aduised of this doctrine notwithstanding that he three handle this verse by name In the Psalmes saith Cocleus it is said Psal 32. Pro hac orab ad te omnis sanctus The Hebrew saith For this shall euerie holy man pray vnto thee c. The Chaldie For this shall euery good man pray vnto thee in time conuenient that is Because thou art readie to forgiue them which confesse their faultes And so S. Paul hir selfe doth expound it Romaines 4. But in euerie place where they find the name Saiât there they will find inuocation or intercession of the Saints August Hieronym Theodor. in Psal 32. But without any longer staying vpon the matter Sant Augustine intreating vpon this place saith Euery holy man shall pray vnto thee because of impietie and for the remission of sinnes because thou fââgiuest them and otherwise no holy man would pray vnto thee And when In due and conenient time when the new Testament shall be come when the grace of Christ shall be manifeted when in the fulnes of time God shal haue sent his Sonne to redeeme them which were vnder the law c. And this is spoken saith he of all Christians of Saint Paule himselfe who being prickt with the sting of the law cryeth vnto God wretched man that I am who shall deliuer mee from the bodie of this death Saint Ierome saith The Saintes doe pray in this life for the remission of their sinnes seeing the most holy are not exempted now is the conuenient time for to obtaine Theodoret in like manner I will not pray vnto thee alone for mine impietie but all those that shall haue the knowledge of thee shall make the same prayers vnto thee Seeing saith he that vnder the new Testament Haimo in Psal 32. Bernard serm 73. in Cant. the faithfull by sea and by land shall praise God by the singing of the Psalmes of Dauid c. Haimo The remission of iniquitie is good and for the obtaining thereof euerie holy man will pray vnto thee in a time conuenient that is to say in this life in which alone prayer can obtaine the same Saint Bernard For this saith he c. Seeing saith he that the Saintes haue need to pray to God for their owne sinnes to bee saued by his mercie they being nothing able to trust and leane to their owne righteousnesse c. And againe Pro hac orabit O misericors c. Idem in ep ad Henric. Senens Archiep. Euerie Saint whosoeuer saith hee shall pray vnto thee O most mercifull father for his iniquitie becomming a humble suter for the sence and feeling of his sinne and miserie and yet notwithstanding a Saint for that he consenteth not vnto it in that be delighteth and taketh pleasure in the law according to the inward man c. And Cardinall Hugo saith For all the Saints and holy men haue need to pray vnto God for the remission of their owne sins c. And in a couenient time that is to say in this present life according to that which is said labour whiles it is day c. Farre enough off then from the exposition of our aduersaries That the saintes deceased doe pray for vs. And Lyranus followeth Saint Ierome Cardinall Caietanus and Arias Montanus translate it Super hac not Pro hac that is saith Caietanus That euerie Saint shall pray vnto God for to obtaine the blessed fauour of his diuine righteousnesse c. Here is no question then of praying for another in an other life And as little proofe is there to bee gathered out of Psalme 121. Psalm 121. I haue lifted saith Dauid mine eies towardes the mountaines from whence succour shall come vnto me c. By the hils they will vnderstand the Saintes This is a figure And by these hils some vnderstood the scriptures as Saint Augustine others the heauens as Euthymius some the Saintes as Caâsiodorus Of such sortes of speaking there followeth no good argument But let vs take them in whatsoeuer sence they will If it bee to the Saintes they were according to their owne doctrine in the Limbes and therefore in vaine for that purpose they had more need to haue cast downe then to haue lifted vp their eyes But they should at the least haue considered what followeth My succour commeth from the Lord who hath made heauen and earth And then not from all or any of these creatures bee they neuer so high and eminent And this is that which Saint Augustine saith No man can vnderstand by these mountaines great personages August in psal 121.
storie is That Iudas to incourage his soldiers being vppon the point of entering into a great fight acquainted them with this vision that had appeared vnto him But either it was a reall action or a likenesse and representation onely If it were reall and in deed where is then their Limbes become For they all agree that in the Limbes they can make no intercession neither be inuocated If representatiue or figuratiue then let them heare the exposition of their owne Doctors Gloss in 2. Machab. c. 15. That in Onias is represented the order of the priesthood and in Ieremias the Propheticall order and in the one and the other Iesus Christ the high priest and Prophet of whom Moyses hath said I will raise vp vnto you a Prophet like vnto mee of whom S. Iohn likewise saith If we haue sinned we haue an aduocate with God Iesus Christ the righteous and he is the propitiation for our sinnes Baruch Baruch 3.14 3. It is said Lord heare now the prayer of the dead of Israel and of their children which haue sinned before thee Now it is to be known whether this word dead be taken for such as were dead in deed or else for a people brought vnto such an extremity as did threaten death vnto them euery moment Now the verse going before seemeth to make for the latter For it saith we perish are destroied for euer But let vs take it according to their own sence Lyranus giueth them the repulse ouerthrow He speaketh saith he of the praiers which the Patriarkes the Prophets had made whiles they liued for the good estate of their posteritie And their opinion also of the Limbes doth debarre them of the benefit of the place in their owne sence But what agreement hath this praier and intercession of the liuing Saints with that of the dead Those being commanded with promise to be heard these not mentioned in the Scripture but subiect vnto that great Woe so oftentimes repeated Woe to them which adde therunto Saint Paul prayeth for them that were in the same Shippe he praieth also the Romaines to pray for him But did he allow them to call vpon or to pray for aide vnto him or did hee himselfe inuocate the Romaines And therefore if we from these mutuall praiers of the faithfull that are liuing rise vp to the inuocation of the Saints that are dead what shall let vs then but that from the inuocation of the dead wee shall descend by consequent to the inuocating and adoring of those that be aliue to make vowes and offer vp our oblations vnto them to erect and build Churches and Altars in honour of them to burne sacrifices and incense vnto them and finally to reuiue the whole Masse of Paganisme for them which are as yet vppon earth as wee haue alreadie done for them which are in heauen And thus much for that which they can say as well for the inuocation as for the intercession of the olde Testament CHAP. XII That the inuocation of Saints hath not any foundation in the holy Scriptures of the new Testament IN the new Testament they alleadge that S. Paul ordained 1. Tim. 2. Rom. 15. Collos 4. that intercession shuld be made in the Church for all men that he praieth the Romaines and Colossians to pray for him that he hoped to be offered in the praiers of the Saints that S. Iames saith Pray yee one for an other to the ende that yee may bee saued c. What are all these places but the praiers of the Saints liuing and not of the Saints deceased whereupon there is not any thing further to bee inferred then what concerneth the dutie of charitie amongst the liuing and from which there wil not any old writer be found to gather the inuocating of Saints which are in heauen But we see that the rich man in the other life Luk. 16. praieth Abraham that his punishment may be mitigated and why not as wel here below What maner of argument is this concluding that what is done in Hel may be done here on earth And that what the damned doe the same also may the faithfull doe And what Diuinitie is this borrowed from the damned from the damned feeling in themselues the vnappeasible wrath and anger of God as not being able to comprehend him otherwise then as an angrie iudge for vs which haue accesse vnto his throne by Christ which is both the Porter and the gate which are led vnto the throne of his grace by the hand of his Sonne And what wilfull blindnesse is it to oppose vnto the cleare light of the Scriptures outward darknesse to the intercession of our Lord full of power and efficacie a parabolicall praier of a wicked rich man repelled and cast off by Abraham for the impertinencie thereof And no lesse impertinent and farre from the purpose are those places elsewhere Math. 27.47 as that of the crie of our Lord vpon the Crosse Eli Eli my God my God c. The souldiers had thought that he had called for Elias Let vs see say they if he will come This was then say they a familiar thing to call vpon the Saints But I should bee ashamed to confute it if they had any shame to alleadge it For what is this To learne the faith of the Church of Pilats souldiers the faith of Israel at the hands of the Gentils which are in garrison in Ierusalem which haue heard speech amongst the Iewes of one Elias that should come at that time which were trained vp in Paganisme to praie vnto as many Gods as they could dreame of or deuise to hold for Gods all those from whom they expected any good or feared any euill Which by reason of the ignorance of the tongue did suppose that our Lord called for Elias S. Ierome vpon this place I thinke that they were the Romane Souldiers who vnderstood not the propertie of the Hebrew tongue and thereupon did thinke that he had inuocated or called Elias But if we vnderstand and take them to haue beene Iewes then it was nothing but their ordinarie practise to speake reprochfully of the Lord accusing him of weaknesse and infirmitie and therby driuen to pray vnto Elias And the Glose and Caietanus haue vnderstoode it of the Romaines and of the Gentiles In S. Iohn 5. Thanke not saith our Lord vnto the Pharisies that I am to accuse you vnto my father Iohn 5.45 Moyses in whom you haue your hope he it is that will accuse you Thereupon they conclude that it was a doctrine amongst the Iewes that Moyses tooke the matter vppon him before God whether it were to accuse or defend them And still they forget that this dutie could not be exercised in the Limbes Wheras the text is plaine enough to those that haue any eyes Moyses that is to say the lawe and doctrine of Moses doth accuse vs is the sentence of condemnation against vs when we infringe and breake it when
we reiect and cast of that which it offereth vs and particularly it condemneth the Pharisies for that they denie Christ promised in the law Moyses on the contrarie that is to say this same doctrine dooth iustifie vs worketh with vs vnto saluation when we embrace Christ at whome it altogether aimeth according to that which is said afterward If you belieue Moyses you will also belieue me for it is written of me Iohn 5.39 And the Pharisies hoped in him that is to say in this doctrine according to that which hee said in former times Search the Scriptures for you thinke to haue eternall life by them c. And in the same sence Abraham aunswered the rich man They haue Moyses and the Prophets Not Moyses in the flesh not Moyses in the soule but Moyses as likewise the Prophets in the doctrine What should then the question of the intercession of Moses doe here Origen To belieue Moyses that is to say the writings and workes of Moses Orig in Ep. ad Fom l. 4 c. 4. Basill de Spir Sanct c. 14. Cirill in Ioh. l 3. c. 8. And by consequent to be accused by Moses that is to say by the law giuen by the Ministers of Moses S. Basill It is the custome of the Scripture to vnderstand vnder the name of Moyses the Law as when it is said they haue Moses and the Prophets Cyril more clearely intreating vpon this place When as saith he all others did hold their peace the Lord said that Moyses law alone did suffice to condemne the incredulitie of the Iewes Cardinal Hugo Moyses that is to say the Scripture or Law giuen by Moses Caietanus goeth yet further Caiet in Ioh. c. 5. The Iewes are accused by Moyses for that his writings declare them worthie of punishment in not belieuing in Iesus the Iewes also are said to hope in Moses because they generally hoped in the promises contained in the said writings but they acknowledged not the fulfilling of the same Iesus In the 2. Peter 1.15 I am saith he shortly to goe out of this my Tabernacle as our Lord himselfe hath declared vnto me 2. Pet. 1.15 but I will doe my indeuour that after my departure also you may continually call to mind these things that is pietie charitie brotherly loue c. Here they affirme that this shall be by his intercession in heauen But we that this shall bee by his diligence in instructing them well before that he goe out of this world that is as he hath said in the former verses By continually bringing it to their remembrance And the text is verie cleare and plaine for the same for he doth not say Dabo operam post obitum meum vt possitis but Vt possitis post obitum meum ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã and not ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã that is to say I wil haue care that after my death you may remember your selues and not I will haue care after ây death c. That which followeth teacheth it For we haue not taught you the power and comming of our Lord in the deceitfulnesse of fables c. The Glose saith Jnterim dum venio dabo operam c. As long as I liue I will giue order or I will doe my endeuour c. And as for the alleadging of Oecumenius saying that certaine would collect heereof by the figure called Hyperbaton that is to say a long draught of words the intercession of Saints it had beene their dutie in like maner for the discharge of a good conscience to haue added that which followeth That others which handle the same more simply do vnderstand it thus That wheras he so carefully laboureth to imprint this doctrine in them it is not for that he doubteth them to be egnorant but to the end that they might abide the more firme after his death Caiet 2. Pet. 1. At the least they should haue held themselues to Caietanus I wil giue order that is in my life time that you may haue after my death books which may put you in remebrance of this doctrin In the Apocalips 5. Apocal. 1.8 the foure beasts and the foure and twentie Elders haue harps in their hands and Viols of gold full of perfumes Which are saith S. Iohn the prayers of the Saints therefore they must be imployed as intercessors for vs. Now it is not called in question whether they pray or praise God or no but if they make intercession to God for the things which wee particularly and by name pray vnto them for and againe if we may and ought to imploy them for intercessors with God for vs. And this cannot be gathered out of this place but rather that they praise God and pray vnto him And this praier without any further gessing of it doth follow in the next verse Thou art worthie to take the booke and to open the Seales thereof c. for thou hast bought and purchased vs to God by thy bloud out of euerie tribe and language c. And then not to imploy their merits with God for vs in stead of that of the Lambe but rather to acknowledge the bloud of the Lambe imployed for themselues And that maketh yet lesse for them Apocal. 8.3 which they further alleadge out of the fore part of the eight Chapter where the Angell standeth before the Altar with a Censor of gold wherein there were many perfumes giuen vnto him either to offer vp with the praiers of all the Saints or rather according to the Greeke to adde it to the praiers of the Saints vpon the Altar of gold which is before the throne For this Angell saith their Glose is Christ himselfe offering vnto God his father the petitions of the faithfull which are acceptable and well pleasing to him for his sake S. Ambros Aug. Primas Andraeas Caes in Apocal. Ambrose expoundeth this whole place of the teachers of the Church euerie man in his age That Christ openeth then the booke when by his holy spirit hee manifesteth vnto them the sence of the Scriptures that they fall downe before the Lambe when they are raised to the meditation of his mysteries and by consequent are humbled in themselues that these odors are their praiers whereof the Psalmist speaketh Let my praier ascend vp vnto thee as the perfume of incense c. And vpon the eight Chapter he taketh Christ for the Angell Ambros in Apocal c 8. the Church for the Altar c. and maketh many sorts of incensings praiers of the Saints For saith he the faithfull pray when they aske forgiuenesse of their sinnes when they giue almes when they forgiue their neighbours when they obserue and keepe the commaundements of God c. August Primas Andr. Caesar Thom. Aquin. in Apoc. c. 5. l. 8 And not a word of the praiers of the Saints that are dead for vs or of vs praying to them And as little in S. Augustine Primasius Andreas Bb. of Caesarea Thomas
Let vs approch with boldnes vnto the throne of grace c. And no cause is there why his being lifted vp in Maiestie should either make thee ashamed or cause thee to be cast off and to take the repulse For in that he is exalted it is to draw thee vnto him and after him that he is at the right hand of the Father saith the Apostle Rom. 8. it is to make intercession for thee that he sitteth vpon the throne of Maiestie it is for to make thee to raigne The obiection that new honours vse to make men to bee hardly drawne to easinesse or familiaritie what grosse and friuolous toyes cannot bee alleadged against this partie for to speake properly hee hath not receiued any increase nothing more then his owne is growne due or come vnto him from before all eternitie hee is glorious yea and by that same glorie which he inioyed eternally with the father Father saith he glorifie me with thine owne selfe with the glorie which I haue had with thee before the world was made And that such a glorie as did not hinder him Ioh. 17.5 Philip. 2. from making him selfe of no reputation nor from taking the shape of a seruant nor from humbling him selfe for our saluation euen to the death of the Crosse a glorie likewise for certaine that cannot hinder him from graunting the things necessarie for our infirmities neither yet from inclining his eares in most bountifull manner vnto our requests that so he may carrie and faithfully report them to the Father For for that cause hath hee humbled himselfe euen to be like vnto vs To the end saith the Apostle that hee might be mercifull and faithfull in that which is to be done with God for vs. CHAP. XIII That the inuocation of Saints was not taught in the Primitiue Church and of the growth and proceeding thereof HOw then did this doctrine enter into the Church of Christ and how came it to be made a law Verily euen as all other humane inuentions by many steps and by tract of time after many ages Day by day errour was increased whiles men pleased themselues in their inuentions whereas knowledge should haue abounded if they had kept themselues to the word of Christ Many ages passed and were expired without any inuocation of Saints seeing it slipt in amongst the multitude of Gentiles in such maner as that no man regarded the same to marke and obserue it in the beginning and it hath caused some to wonder exceedingly how it should already be come to haue a party so throghly wonne vnto it amongst the people by the blunt blind aide of the ouertaken with forestalled embracing of Paganisme seing the most sincere vncorrupted Doctors did their whole indeuor to driue it out But this shal be made to appeare more clearely in the handling of the maner of the growth proceeding thereof howbeit for the better vnderstanding of the same we must here set before our eyes how they practise this article at this day in the Church of Rome in Inuocation Adoration Pilgrimages Temples Altars Sacrifices and in all the rest of the duties seruices honours that belong vnto God and are not to be giuen vnto any other and how they would gladly couer and colour the same vnder the shadow of some Apostrophe or Prosopopie framed and applied vnto some Saint or of some Panegyricke deuised in the honour of some Martyr or from some priuate opinion left free and indifferent not of the Church onely but of euerie Christian As for the holy Scriptures wee haue seene that it hath no foundation in them on the contrarie that part or portion therin which speaketh so honourably of the Saints whether liuing or dead of Angels likewise of their ministerie which they performe for our saluation commeth short Rom. 1. when once we goe beyond our bounds and limits They haue saith S. Paul speaking of the Gentiles honoured and serued the creature ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã more then the Creator and therefore God hath giuen them ouer to their brutish affections c. And when as men doe goe beyond their compasse bee it neuer so little in that the honour due vnto man for Similitie sake may not proceed by little and little vnto that which is due to God onely the Saints and Angels doe vse to restraine them and plucke them backe yea euen before they be come so farre as they lawfully might S. Act. 10.26 Act. 14.15 Apocal. 19.22 Peter saith to Cornelius who fell downe at his feete Rise vp for I am a man and the Angell vnto S. Iohn too well instructed and taught of the Sonne of God to worship any creature Refraine thy selfe doe not so for I am thy fellow seruant and one of thy brethren which haue the testimonie of Iesus And the Disciples of the Apostles and their first successors had not forgot these admonitions It would be too long and tedious a thing here to recite all those places of the first Fathers prouing the inuocation of one onely God by one onely Iesus Christ besides that in the praiers of the Christian Church Clement strom l. 7. Iust Martyr Apol. 2. Tertull. in Apol. whereof we haue the patterns in Clemens Alexandrinus Iustinus Martyr Tertullian c. God is onely called vppon through his Sonne without any mention at al made therein either of Angels or of Saints Againe the ordinarie disputations that these of the first age had with the Gentiles were vpon this point for that they called vpon the Gods and others who for their excellencie in vertue were held for halfe Gods tearming it by the name of Idolatrie Whereas the subiect or matter it selfe did carie theÌ on rather to say vnto them that it was much better for them to giue this honour vnto Saints and Angels as our patrons and aduocates vnto God in heauen and yet not a word thereof On the contrarie Polycarpus the Disciple of S. Euseb l 4 c. 15 Iohn in his last praier which he made vnto God being now fastned to the stake to be burned aliue calleth vpon God feruently and calleth him The God of Angels the God of all the righteous that liue before his face This was enough and the rather being in that his perplexitie distresse to haue put him in mind of these patrons if he had so reputed them but he remembreth not neither yet maketh mention of any but one Bishop and mediator Iesus Christ Irene l. 2. c. 58. And Ireneus the Disciple of this Polycarpus saith Those which are the true Disciples of Christ receiuing grace from him accomplish and fulfill in his name the benefits which they doe vnto others according as euerie man hath receiued the gift from him From him they haue power ouer diuels from him the knowledge of foretelling things to come as also their visions and prophesies as well as the gifts of healing c. In all this there is not a word of
Virgine Marie was for his comfort and consolation yea and that amongst the rest vnto Eue her selfe which had sinned in as much as God had chosen this vessell to beare and bring forth the comfort of mankind from the first man euen to the last They abuse in a higher degree of vnfaithfull dealing a place in Iustinus Martyr Iustin Martyr Apol 2. The Gentiles reproach the Christians saying that they were Atheists that is to say without God The Christians answere Yea without Gods whom you take to be Gods but not without the true God For as concerning him we worship him that is the father and the Son which is of him who is come and hath taught vs these things and all the host of good Angels that follow him and the propheticall spirit that is to say we worship the father the sonne and the holy Ghost Now these words which yet are not found in many copies must vpon euident and apparant necessitie be read with a Parenthesis for there he alludeth to that Ephes 3.10 which S. Paul saith to the Ephesians That the mysterie of our Redemption which was hid from all time in God was manifested vnto principalities and powers in heauenly places c. Otherwise what should this meane We worship the father the Sonne the Angels and the holy Ghost And the holy Ghost himselfe after the Angels And by this meanes to saue the Saints they make no conscience to blaspheme the holy Ghost But in the meane time this is the Monke Perion his translation and from thence this errour hath beene dispersed into many bookes in these daies Origen commeth About the yeare 260. Hieronym ad Pammach Ocean Epiphan t. 2. l. 1. haeres 63. hauing a bold spirit Whome I loue saith S. Ierome as hee is a translator but not as he is an author of straunge opinions for his spirit and ingeniousnesse but not for his faith because his writings are venemous without any warrant of Scriptures and offering violence vnto the same c. And of this iudgement is the whole Church After this then to whome may he not iustly be suspected For as heretofore he laid the foundations of Purgatorie vpon the opinions of the Platonists so from the same he gathereth the first stone wherupon afterward was laid the inuocation of Saints The Platonists said that the vpper and higher things must bee ioyned with the inferiour and lower by a middle comming betwixt both God with men by Angels that is by their mediation and comming betwixt But Christians must not lend their eares to this as those that haue a far deeper secret and mysterie reuealed vnto them hauing giuen them his Son God and man and ioyned together in one person for the saluation of mankind that which was farre remooued and set asunder by our sinnes so that the Platonists could not comprehend or conceiue the same Notwithstanding wee see that mans inuentions do commonly please vs better then the reuelations of God and flesh and bloud doth more freely and willingly imbrace them because it smelleth and findeth something of it owne therein Euseb âe preparat Euang. l. 12. 13. August de Ciuit. Dei l 8. c. 14.18.20 22 23.25.26 Now the summe thereof was that betwixt the greatnesse of God and the infirmitie of man there were two orders of Mediators the blessed spirits or the separated intelligences and the soules of the blessed wee call them in our Christian language Angels and Saints That these Angels offer vp mens suites and petitions to God in reporting them vnto him and obtaining a graunt thereof by their intercession c. That for this cause we must praie vnto and honour them partly as Aduocates partly as more excellent in their merits then men And that such also do the same who for their merits being men whiles they were here vpon earth haue beene exalted and extolled as Gods in heauen such a one was Aesculapius who wrought the same effects in heauen by his Diuinitie which he wrought here below by his Art such a one also was Hermes which succoured and conserued generally all those who directed their praiers vnto him c. Who is hee that cannot behold and clearely perceiue the opinions of the Church of Rome in these points of Paganisme Now they did not all enter with a full sea into the Christian Church but for certaine it is that the Gentils which were receiued into the same being seasoned with this doctrine could not be so little cherished and vpheld either by being winckt at or otherwise by the sufferance of the Pastors but that they by and by tooke great footing and that in a small time What is it then that Origen saith Origen hom 3 in Cant. The Saintes saith he which are departed out of this life bearing stil their wonted loue and charitable affections to such as remaine behind in the world if any man say that they are carefull for their saluation and that they helpe them with their praiers and intercessions towards God he doth not runne into any inconuenience for it is written in the booke of the Machabees This same is Ieremie the prophet of God that prayeth daily for the people c. Marke There is no inconuenience in it And further some are of opinion those also of the learned that these Homelies vpon the Canticles were made by some latin writer and not by Origen Vpon Iosue Ego sic arbitror I am mightilie drawne to be perswaded that all the fathers which haue fallen asleepe before vs doe still in part beare some portion of the combat with vs and doe helpe vs with their praiers thus much I haue heard said of some of our old maisters Vpon the booke of Numbers he groweth more hot for saith he Quis enim dubitat who doubteth but that they helpe vs with their praiers and confirme vs by their examples c. Where it is to bee considered how that he speaketh doubtfully of this opinion that he which had the scriptures at his fingers ends if hee had had in store euer a place to haue confirmed and setled it vpon he would neuer haue had recourse to an Apocrypha place of the second booke of Machabees neither to the report of his old maisters But yet moreouer it appeareth by Origen himselfe that this was but a discourse of his and not the faith of his time If saith he the Saintes that haue left this bodie and are with Christ do any thing for vs after the manner of Angels that take charge of our safetie let it be accompted amongst the secrets that are hidden and kept close by God and are not to be intermedled withall by any writer that is to say in a word inter Apocrypha for ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã or ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã in Greeke doeth not signifie any other thing But of this priuate discourse of this pretended secret misterie that the Saints pray for the faithfull gathereth he this consequent it
is meete and conuenient therefore that Christians doe pray vnto them And did the Church of his time the same Nay but cleane contrarie Celsus a Pagan obiecteth vnto him That it cannot be displeasing to the high God that men should make vowes and supplications vnto the Gods as vnto his louing friendes which helpe men forward in the thinges which they pray vnto him for c. He answereth him that he acknowledgeth no such Gods but rather the holy Angels the seruants of God and the blessed ones whom hee vouchsafeth to call his friendes And the drift of the disputation required that if he had belieued any such thing that he should haue added To whome God is well pleased that men should make their vowes and praiers and not to your Gods But what saith he We offer saith hee and speaketh no more there as hee was Origen but as a Syndicke of the Church of his time in all humilitie our vowes vnto God who sitteth as chiefe Iudge and gouernour ouer all by his one onely Sonne Iesus Christ in whom we put vp our supplications in as much as he is the propitiation for our sinnes and that as a high priest hee offereth our praiers vnto God c. For God saith he afterward must alone be worshipped and the word his one onely Sonne and first borne of euerie creature must be alone praied vnto as the head and chiefe to the end that he may commend vnto God our praiers which shal be come vnto him c. But if wee desire saith he furthermore that the companie of Angels should helpe vs in procuring his further fauour and readie inclination to doe vs good and here should he take his oportunitie to counsell vs to pray vnto them let vs know that the Angels will loue and affect those whom they shall know to loue God to serue him and hartily to call vpon him euen as they themselues doe pray vnto and worship him c. For is it not better addeth hee to commit ones selfe and to trust to God which ruleth ouer all thinges which bringeth this doctrine vnto vs by Iesus Christ and to aske of him such assistance and protection as may bee ministred vnto vs both from Saintes and Angels c. But if Celsus or rather our aduersaries taught by Celsus should replie vpon him But doth it not well to haue friendes in the Court And why then also should it not doe as well to haue friendes with God in paradise c. Verily saith he although this life bee full of examples how to winne the great and mightie afterward by them the kings themselues yet notwithstanding we haue but one God to pacifie and appease and he is pacified with godlinesse and vertue And as the shadow doth follow the mouing of the bodie so in like manner doe all the inferiors attend and waite vppon him which is the superior For who so hath God his friend hath also by consequent all those friendly to him that are Gods friendes whether they bee Saintes or Angels which without being praied vnto do pray with him and for him and assist him euery manner of way that they are able c. And herewithall as when the Canonical scriptures do faile them they are accustomed to haue recourse vnto the Apocrypha so likewise the true books of Origen not contenting or satisfying them they betake themselues to such as are falsely attributed vnto him Origen say they praied vnto the Saints You Saints of God saith he I pray you that you would prostrate your selues before the seat of Gods mercie for me a miserable wretch But herewithall I could haue wisht them not to haue concealed how that this booke called the lamentations Gelas Decret 15. or penitential worke of Origen are declared by pope Gelasius to be counterfeit fained Vpon Iob likewise they say that he saith O Saint Iob pray for vs miserable sinners to the end that the mercy of God may deliuer vs c. But it were to be wished that they had the shame to blush for fathering this shamefull thing vpon Origen for attributing to him this whole booke which is not his in the least tittle thereof being stained with Arrianisme and that in such deep horrible manner as that it calleth the holy Trinitie a sect an heresie infidelitie the three persons the three hornes of the Deuill And in deed it was attributed to the Bishop of the Arrians called Maximinus against whom S. Augustine hath written And let them remember also that he speaketh therein of the Manichies of Lucian the Martyr of the heretikes Homousioi all which rose sprung vp a long time after him which is also confessed by themselues as likewise the Homilies of the said author in diuersos Let them also learne of S. Origen that he would haue his works read as the works of a man and not of an Angell Consider and take good aduise saith he that so thou maist be able to iudge if that which we say may be made to agree with the scripture I suspect it it is my coniecture but trie and see if it may be so c. But so it is that he hath onely said this nothing further namely that it is credible that the saints retaining as yet their charitable and louing affections do hartily desire all maner of good vnto men And now let vs see how far he was off from looking to enter into Paradice by the merites of the Saintes Origen hom 17. in Luc. What thinke we then saith he that all the Apostles were offended in our Lord and that not so much as his mother was exempted Yea saith he if she had not beene offended at the death of our Lord Iesus had not beene dead for her sinnes But if all haue sinned and stand in need of the grace of God and are iustified and set at libertie by his grace verily Mary her selfe for a time was offended And it is the same which Simeon prophesieth when he saith Behold a sword shall pearce through thy soule euen thine who knowest thy selfe to haue brought forth a childe without the companie of man yea euen thee who hast hearde of Gabriel The holy Ghost shall come vppon thee and the power of the highest shall ouershadow thee shall the sword of in fidelitie wound with doubtfulnesse and vncertaintie as with a pricke for that diuers thoughtes shall distract and teare thee in peeces when thou shalt see him crucified and put to death whom thou hast heard called the Sonne of God Saint Cyprian passeth on a little further Cypr. l. 1. ep 1. aâ Cornel. and yet not to a flat inuocation or calling vpon Saintes deceased but rather to the stirring of vs vppe to pray vnto them whiles they bee aliue that they would remember vs when they be in heauen And it is in this sence that he saith Let vs bee mindfull one of another let vs pray one for another euerie where And those of which
and not for themselues onely but for those also that call vpon them Not so for they are farre off from that On the contrarie saith he God alone is without sinne Idem hom 40. in Genes 49. Idem in hom 45. in Mat. Idem hom 20 in Iohan. and to the end that he might bee without sinne he permitted Abraham to sinne by infidelitie Moises by ingratitude the virgine likewise the mother of Christ in his passion by doubting Animum matris gladius dubitationis pertransijt c. The sword said hee of doubting or diffidencie pearced her soule Likewise saith hee Sometimes by ambition by vanitie and by the forgetting of the diuinitie of the Son c. As if of purpose he would preuent or represse the abuse which sprung vp then and grew stronger afterward by the inuention and industrie of the Monkes about the infinite merites of the holy Virgine What haue they to oppose and set against this The Liturgie of Chrysostome but we haue heretofore auouched for a certaine truth that it was compiled made more then 500. yeares after him An homelie of the natiuity of S. Peter and S. Paule wherein they make him say Peter and Paule pray for vs without ceasing for you haue promised so to do And where You Paule when you said Venite mecum bonis ne deficiamur and you Peter Studebo post meum obitum c. But the best learned haue beene ashamed to giue it place amongst his workes Idem in hom post reditum ab exilio But doe they make no conscience to make him to alleadge the scripture so falslie In that which he made returning from exile I haue inuited and bid you to supper saith he with the Apostles let vs come to Timothie to Andrew c. Therefore hee teacheth them say they to haue recourse vnto saints Whereas he rather discourseth in that place to what persecutions the saintes are subiect and sendeth them to consider the examples of those aboue named to the end that they might not be strange or vnacquainted with any thing that they should find Idem hom 5. in Mat. Neither is that worthie better to be trusted which they alleadge out of the fift homelie vpon S. Mathew That which we say is not to be denied that we ought not to pray vnto the Saintes For his wordes are And we say well not that we denie that the Saintes ought to pray for sinners that is as we haue before shewed the saints aliue And likewise all this homelie maketh for the contrarie And in deed Bellarmine hath beene ashamed to alleadge the places aboue named holding himselfe to one onely in the threescore and sixt homelie vnto the people of Antioch The Emperour for so they make him to say is there himselfe with his purple to beseech the Saintes to make intercession vnto God for him He praieth vnto a maker of tabernacles and a fisher as his protectors But it is to be noted that the same words are read in a sermon attributed vnto S. Augustine De Sancto Paulo and the Canon Garet doth alleadge them of one Theodoret Daphnoipatus of farre latter time So little certaintie is there whether it be S. Augustines or S. Chrysostomes being also directly contrarie to the whole bodie and scope of their doctrine And thus we see how Epiphanius and Chrysostome do agree together in this truth notwithstanding the sharpe contentions which were in other places betwixt them Cyrill Patriarke of Alexandria followeth them neere by both for the time and doctrine His Maxims are None commeth to the father but by Christ The Sonne was made the dore and the way to reconcile men vnto the father and he himselfe doth distribute and giue grace together with him c. He is the Mediator the high Priest the Comforter that is to say the Aduocate Iohn 2. Hee giueth entrance and accesse for our praiers vnto the father He giueth vs free libertie and boldnes with him c. Yea saith he in as much as God granteth the praiers of such as doe worship him that is to say of such as call vpon him for with whom doth it agree better to graunt vnto holy men their earnest requestes then with him who alone is naturallie and truely God But as concerning the Saints as much honour as you will but without all manner of adoration and worship without any inuocating of them which are the chiefe and principall part although that in his time the priuate superstitions of men had preuailed euen so farre Iulianus the Emperour reprocheth him you Christians ye worship a man Yea Cyril ad Reg. de rect fid saith he but such a man as we acknowledge and confesse to bee both man and God together But at the least the Martyrs Nay not so saith he as that we hold them for Gods we doe not adore or worship them wee praise their constancie in hauing hated their lines for the truth c. And he telleth vs wherein this honor consisteth In a remembrance saith he which withereth not euen of their excellent and exceeding fortitude He forgetteth not in the meane time to describe how many waies the Greekes honoured their Gods euen betaking themselues vnto them as protectors and gardiantes of such as were aliue And this was the place here the oportunitie for him to haue said And what you do vnseasonablie and without any proofe of dutie vnto them the same doe wee duely and of required dutie vnto our Saintes Cultores but hee is flatte to the contrarie But we saith he doe not any thing at all Not therefore as the Grecians the proper worshippers of men who without consideration haue attributed the glorie of God to whom they please c. For the scripture saith hee doeth not preach vnto or teach vs any moe Gods then one neither haue we any custome to worship any other besides him And the Saintes saith hee in another place haue also obtained the gift of God by his grace Idem in Thesaur l. 4. c. 2. and the mutuall praiers of others but they cannot imparte it vnto others at their pleasures whereas the Sonne as the fountaine of holinesse doth sanctifie his disciples by his owne power Receiue saith he the holie Ghost c. The Conclusion of Cyrill in the end after all this disputation is Therefore we must praie in the name of the Sauiour if we will be heard of the father And notwithstanding some are growne to that impudencie contrarie to the opinion of all ancient writers as to impute and ascribe vnto him a little booke imprinted in times past in Paris The liturgie and houres of the virgine Marie As for Theodoret we haue seene heretofore what he said vnto vs of the Councell of Laodicea and yet further we must not forget what he saith vnto vs of the wordes of Saint Paule to Timothie One Mediator of God and men c. Theod. 1. Tim. c. 2. If saith he as saith Arrius and
Eunomius the Sonne be not partaker of the substance of the Father how shall he be an intercessor c. And therefore the Saintes by the same accompt no Gods no intercessors CHAP. XIIII Of the continuance of the purenesse of doctrine concerning Inuocation and of the growth and proceeding of the corruption of the same in the Latine Church LEt vs here againe returne to the rest of this doctrine in the West Church proceeding where we left to speake of the same S. Hillarie tooke vp his standing at this point That notwithstanding that the Angels and the Saintes do continue their charitie towardes vs that yet we must call vpon one onely God by Christ it being expected that hee should be alone and onely one which knoweth and can doe all things And now let vs a little looke ouer S. Ambrose S. Augustine and Saint Ierome in the Latine Church and examine their opinions the first of them answering within a little the time of Basil Nazianzene the other two the time of Epiphanius and Chrysostome in the Greeke Church S. Ambros in sunere fratris Satyr Ambrose verily in like manner as S. Basill wanteth no store of Rhetorike such as the time afforded In the funeralles of his brother Satyrus he is vehement Well saith he go thou first into this common house that which now is more desired and wished for of me then any other thing make readie there for vs our bed chamber leaue mee not to languish and mourne any long time after thee Call vpon me if I be too slow and helpe me to make more hast Ambr. in Luc. l. 10. c. And in another place From whence shall I cause thee to come Peter that thou maiest tell me what thou didst thinke when as thine eies distilled teares shal it be from heauen where thou art in the companie of Angels or els from the graue c. Who will not acknowledge in these words the Rhetorical Apostrophes so familiarly vsed of Orators In his booke of widowes he is carried away a great deale further in a Declamation When saith hee Peter his mother in law had a feauer Andrew and Peter praied vnto the Lord for her And thou O widow hast so many neighbours that pray for thee the Apostles the Martyrs and the Angels therefore thou must pray vnto them for they can pray for our sinnes seeing that they are washed from theirs by their owne bloud seeing also that they are beholders of our actions Againe Is she lesse fit to pray because of her sinne or lesse fit for to aske and obtaine let her vse the benefite and helpe of others which doe pray c. Who is hee that may not iustly be offended with these loftie and hyperbolicall speeches with this exceeding ryot lauish laying out of such high mounted speeches directly contrarie to the doctrine of Christ his Apostles Of Christ who calleth the repentant vnto himselfe they being so much the more fit to come vnto him by how much the heauier they feele themselues laden with the burthen of their sinnes Come vnto mee saith he all you that labour are heauie laden c. Of the Apostles who teach vs that the sins of the Apostles themselues were washed away in the blood of Christ As also against the doctrine of his dearely beloued Origen That the virgin Marie hath need to be washed to be sanctified and to haue a part in the redemption purchased by this blood But now let vs heare him like some still brooke or little riuer gliding smoothly along some plaine channell all his heate of Rhetoricke laid aside and expounding the scriptures according to their bare meaning and sence that verily in a far other sence The Gentiles said to him as we haue seene before It is needfull to haue accesse vnto kings by the mediation of great personages so we must looke to approch vnto the high God by inferior and pettie Gods so say our aduersaries by the saints And what answer doth he make them vpon the Romaines Ambr. in epist ad Rom. c. 1. But saith he and that in many words With God thou needest not any other intercessor then a deuout spirit It is high treason against him to make way to come to him by his creatures whereas in deed it is good for kinges who know not whom to trust in their common wealth but not in respect of God who knoweth all things Idââ de Iscac Antma who vnderstandeth the value and worth of euerie man c. But wouldest thou haue a Mediator looke vpon him whom he giueth vnto thee Iesus Christ himselfe saith he is our mouth by which we speake vnto God our eye by which we see the father our right hand by the which we offer vnto the father and if that hee make not intercession for vs neither we nor any of the saintes haue anie part or portion in God And elsewhere Idem l. 3. de Spir. Sanct. c. 12 Wee must not worship saith he any thing but God as the scripture saith Thou shalt worship one onely God The holy Ghost likewise must be worshipped seeing that wee worship him who after the flesh is borne of the holy Ghost But no man must draw or applie this to the virgine Marie she was the temple of God but not the God of the temple c. And if any man reply and say that he speaketh of adoration and not of praier he ouerthroweth the question for in vaine is it to pray where wee put not our affiance But saith hee the Almightie power of Christ was declared and manifested in that we know that it is hee alone in whom wee must haue our affiance c. Coloss 1. In so much that if any man thinke that he ought to frame his deuotion either to some one of the Angels or els to some one of the superiour powers bee it knowne vnto him that he is in an errour for he that humbleth and casteth downe himselfe before the subiectes is altogether out of the way he cleaueth not fast vnto the head he is without a head Truncus est c. And this is according to the scope of the place in the Colossians expounded heretofore by Theodoret of the Canon of the Councell of Laodicea In the time of S. Ierome this inuocation did insinuate it selfe more and more amongst the people in so much as that it was come to an open offence and controuersie And this is proued by the disputation betwixt Saint Ierome and Vigilantius Hieronym contr Vigilant whether it were that on the one side Vigilantius did not speake honorably enough of the Martyrs or that Saint Ierome doth wrongfully so charge him proceeding here as in other places from wholesome admonition and reproofe to hot and distempered choller a man for that cause certainely vnworthy to bee admitted into any disputation concerning religion But of all Vigilantius his Theses because his bookes are not to bee come by
spoken of in the song of the three children in the furnace Daniel 3. ex Graeco Ye spirits and soules of the righteous blesse ye the Lord c. All these false couers and colourings notwithstanding being euident testimonies not so much of an vnwillingnesse to come to reformation as of a shamefastnesse to be ouertaken and detected of this spirituall whoredome Cassander therfore and Hofmeisterus more freely if so be they had but practised it in the Church as they belieued held it in their harts Cassander verily who after hee had excused the Church of Rome to Maximilian the Emperour as much as he could euen vpon this article that Orate was as much as Vtinam oretis Pray ye that is I wish and desire that you would pray saith notwithstanding That he maketh not in his owne behalfe any praier but vnto God by Iesus Christ and that he accompteth that the most infallible way Hofmeister who after he had gathered whatsoeuer hee could out of the old writers August de visâtât infirmotu si eius est l. 1. c. 2. concludeth with these words of Saint Augustine I shall speake more boldly and ioyfully to my Iesus then vnto anie one of the holy spirits of God c. But what do our fathers of Trent say here after the long looking wherewith they haue made vs to looke for reformation Do they allow at the least these expositions these mitigations or do they bring some better of their owne Neither but on the contrarie they institute and ordaine that we should call vpon the Saintes by praier to help vs Suppliciter humblie beseeching them vpon our knees and that we should betake our selues not to their praiers onely but to their helpe and succour declaring all such as haue any other opinion to be wicked impious And the Catechisme made by the authoritie of the said Councell saith plainly Christians worship Angels but not as God is worshipped we must pray vnto the Saints in as much as by the grace and merit purchased by them God doth deale wel with vs c. And Cardinal Hosius a man approued of them Rom. 8. to such as alleadge S. Paul That we cannot call vpon any but him in whom we belieue answereth lustily That we must also credere in Sanctos belieue in Saints What reformation can there be from theÌ who after such enormous faults laid open discouered by the light of Christendome doe wilfully make themselues blind and yet will not haue themselues accompted of as hauing failed in any point And yet furthermore they ioyne thereunto another notorious pranke of maliciousnesse which is their causing to bee raced out in good bookes Index pag. 8.10.24 25.30.31.36.38.47.49.50 whatsoeuer might checke or controll their proceedings for so they haue resolued and set it downe as appeareth by their Index Expurgatorius As for examples The place where S. Augustine distinguisheth betwixt the honour due vnto God and that of Saints the interpreter hath giuen this note This that is to say that which is to be reserued to God alone is now giuen to all the Saintes Deleatur let it be raced and put out In the Tables of S. Augustine S. Chrysostome and S. Ierome their works there were many places noted which directed vs vnto such sayings in their works all speaking against the inuocation of Saints vpon the heads whereof were set Deleantur In Erasmus and Faber Stapulensis famous worthy men in their profession when they say Deum solum omnis oratio adoratio decet Vnto God alone belongeth all praier and worship is it not written Torcular calcaui solus Index pag. 49.50.55.59.61.255 I haue troden the wine presse alone All the Saints are nothing if the question bee once of true worship all our owne workes and those of our fathers from the beginning of the world are no better c. Deleantur And Cassander likewise where he sheweth how the old father did vse the words Merite and to merite That When they said Orate this was as if they had said Vtinam oretis c. Deleatur But what reasons will there satisfie these men if they need not any other answer to them but the racing and vtter blotting of them out or what witnesses if there be nothing but away with them to burning CHAP. XVI That man cannot merite eternall life for himselfe much lesse for another where the consideration is first of mans state before regeneration OVr aduersaries as they say do pray vnto Saints because they make intercession for them vnto God but we haue alreadie destroied this foundation And they make intercession for them say they by the power of their merites and that not onely for the procuring of them gifts and graces in this life but also eternall happines in that to come For which cause wee haue next to shew vnto them that so we may not leaue any thing doubtfull That no man can merite with God not eternal life or rather not the least grace of this fraile transitorie life not for any other man no not for himselfe And this we will deale in according to the three estates of man Man in his first estate could not merite Genes 1. Ephes 4. Colos 3. Psalme 19. his integritie or innocencie his fall or transgression and his regeneration Of his integritie it is said That God had created him according to his own image and S. Paul expoundeth it to consist in righteousnesse holinesse and the knoweldge of God c. That he had placed him in Paradise in a place abounding with all felicitie which Dauid calleth placed in honor In so much that he held had both his being his graces and his glorie at the good pleasure of his Creator of his meere free and vndescrued goodnes The abilitie to merite might haue beene great the good deeds only considered but then what abilitie or power can there be to merite of him of whom he holdeth all of him for whom a man can do nothing Let vs admit then that our first father had vsed all these graces perfectly well that he had possessed them in such feare ãâã awe as he should yea and that he had fulfilled the law as naturally he might yet had he beene able to say after all this but with the same pride which cast him down from his high glorious estate it selfe alone I haue deserued that God should yet further giue me this yea that he should continue vnto me what he hath alreadie giuen mee If we do not wrongfully name and call our merit that pleasure which it pleaseth God to take in adding and bestowing graces vpon his euen grace for grace and glory for glorie to deserue well of vs if I may so say and that so exceeding bountifully and liberallie as that we are not able to merite any thing of him So then here is place for that Iob. 41.1 which God saith in Iob Who is it that gaue me first I wil
Aquitanus moueth a question to this purpose wherefore the iust are called sinners for if they bee iust how are they sinners And if sinners how are they iust Not one of them saith he that liue in this mortall bodie can say that hee is without the contagion of sinne no not those excellent leaders of the flockes of Christes sheepe seèing that he hath enioyned euen them to say Idem in Epigra 46. in Psalme 129. Forgiue vs our trespasses c. Not any one of the Saints how well and commendably so euer hee liue in this world But saith hee in an other place those are called iust because that sinne is dayly taken away and diminished in them that is by the growth and proceeding of regeneration but these are called sinners because that it increaseth in them dayly that is by the increase of the proceeding of their corruption c. As also we alleadged heretofore out of Saint Chrysostome That God to shew that he is only iust and all the rest of the iust and righteous sinners suffered euen the best and most approued to fall c. as Dauid Abraham Peter c. In so much as that the exception would not extend vnto the Virgine Marie Orig. hom in Luc. 17. whome sometimes hee taxeth for her ambition and sometimes for weakenesse of faith c. And Origen goeth further If saith hee shee had not taken offence at the passion of the Lord the Lord hath not died for her sinnes And if all haue sinned and stand in need of the grace of God being iustified and redeemed by his grace then Marie also as who for a time was also offended c. We cease here to repeate many other for that they are before alleadged Wherefore without exception wee are all sinners but from these sinners hauing sinne proceeding and springing from them to the meriting of condemnation can there also proceed workes meriting life and saluation Let vs heare them yet further Origen expounding these words of Saint Paul To him that worketh the reward is not accompted for grace but for a debt c. But I saith he cannot be perswaded that there is any worke that can craue recompence or reward of God as a dew debt c. And hee rendreth a reason Idem in Ep. ad Rom. 4.4 August de verb. Apost Serm. 31. Idem Ep. 54. ad Maced Idem in psalm 142. For the wages of sinne is death but grace is eternall life Saint Augustine Wee are not in this world without sinne but wee shall goe foorth of it without sinne Againe Who so saith that he is without sinne is not in the truth and who so saith that in any worke that is verie well done he is without sinne he deceiueth himselfe For saith hee Neuer did man any good worke with that charitie that he might and ought and therefore euerie man remaineth vniust now the vniust and vnrighteous cannot but sinne in a iust and righteous worke And to be short saith he Charitie is a vertue whereby we loue that which ought to be beloued In some greater in some lesse and in some not at all and in no man growne to such perfection but that it may increase and grow in him as long as he liueth And that lesse measure that any man hath then he should euen that is a vice and such a vice as that it causeth that there is not a iust or righteous man on the earth not one that doth good nay which sinneth not Such a vice as that man whiles he liueth cannot be iustified before God A vice whereof it is said if we say that we haue no sin c. by reason whereof we are to say how well so euer we haue profited Forgiue vs our sins c. Where we see that S. Augustine maintaineth that the want of charity continueth alwaies here being of it selfe sufficient to make insufficient that which we take to be the most sufficient of all our workes Idem Ep. 30. ad Hieronym In a word he cleane cutteth off all Who are they that are blessed Not those in whome God findeth no sinne for hee findeth sinne in all c. Not those that doe good workes for all thy workes saith he are viewed and found to bee wicked And if there should bee giuen and rendred to thee according to that which is due to thy workes without doubt hee should condemne thee for the reward of sinne is death And what is due vnto wicked workes but condemnation But they are blessed whose sinnes are remitted God heapeth not vpon thee the punishment that is due but bestoweth grace fauor vpon thee which is not due or deserued Saint Ambrose saith I hold it for good and sound Ambros de Iacob that we are not iustified by the workes of the Lawe then it must follow that J haue nothing wherefore I should boast my selfe in my workes but rather in Christ. J will not glorifie or boast my selfe as though I were iust but because J am redeemed because I am disburdened and deliuered from sinne but because that my sinnes are forgiuen me not because that I haue helped my selfe therein or yet any other for me Quia profui Idem de vocatione Gent. l. 5. c. 5. but because I haue an aduocate with the Father c. Againe As there is no action so wicked as that it can hinder the gift of grace so there are no workes so excellent as that they may challenge as their due recompence that which is freely giuen For otherwise the redemption of Christ should grow base and contemptible and the prerogatiue of the workes of man should not yeelde and humble it selfe vnder the mercie of God if the iustification which is wrought by his grace were due vnto precedent merites For so it should not be any more the gift of one that giueth but the wages of one which laboureth c. To bee briefe mans merites whether past or to come are not to make vp any part of the price in this purchase Saint Ierome saith What vprightnesse Hieronym in Prou. 20. in Eccle. c. 7. Gregor Nyss l. de orat Bernard Serm. 50. what cleannesse can there be in the liues of the righteous The workes that wee discharge by the ministerie of our bodies are alwayes mingled with some errour Againe We are saith Gregorius Nyssenus taught by the Scripture that there is not any one amongst men to bee found which can passe ouer one day without spot or staine But Saint Barnard though hee liued in an age full of all humane presumptions did notwithstanding hold fast this puritie of doctrine If there be saith hee any righteousnesse in vs it may bee vpright and honest but it can neuer be pure If so be that we will not thinke better of our selues then wee doe of our forefathers all which haue confessed no lesse truely then humbly That all our righteousnesse is as the menstruous clothes of a woman c. For where shall
c. Which the second Councell of Orange resolued vpon in these speeches If any man say that the verie beginnings of faith Et ipse credulitatis affectus by which we belieue in him which iustifieth the wicked and not the growth and increase onely are not the gift of grace by the inspiration of the holy Ghost calling and reclaiming vs from infidelitie to faith from impietie and vngodlinesse to pietie and godlinesse c. Let him bee accompted of as an enemie of the doctrine of the Apostles c. Thus Prosper handled the matter reasoning and arguing the same amongst our Frenchmen and this same controuersie or the like was stirred againe by one Abailardus a long time after against our Countrie man S. Barnard Barnar Dom. Serm. 1. for the vnreclaimable pride of man when all other things yeeld will still stand out and bee last in the field who though he be of the last and newest yet is hee not the least worth or comming behinde the rest for the well handling of this matter God saith he hath washed with the water of an other those who had beene defiled by the sin of an other And yet not in such sort altogether an other mans but that it was our owne withall for otherwise it had not polluted and defiled vs but thus an other mans for that wee haue all sinned in Adam ours because that we our selues also haue sinned And howbeit that wee haue sinned in an other yet it was imputed vnto vs by the iudgement of God a iust iudgement and sentence though secret and hidden And yet notwithstanding O man thou hast no cause to complaine thy selfe for in stead of Adam his disobedience thou hast the obedience of Christ freely giuen vnto thee c. Idem Serm. 4. in fer hebdo Of Christ saith he who is come freely to iustifie sinners to make seruants his brethren and slaues fellow-heires with him and banished men kings He hath said Consummatum est All is fulfilled and finished there is nothing left vndone that ought to bee done c. And how was this done Jn this saith hee that he was made sinne all manner of sinne as well originall as personall hath beene defaced yea euerie single and particular sinne hath beene banished and cast out shall mans miseries then ouercome Gods mercies or rather the mercies the miseries And he hath not onely taken vpon him the forme of a seruant to be made subiect but of an euill seruant to bee beaten and of a seruant of sinne to pay the punishment he himselfe notwithstanding being the partie in whome there was no fault c. Let not therefore the name of holinesse astonish thee Idem Serm. 3. ad fratres Propositum Idem in fest Sanctor For God calleth not Saints according to merite but according to his owne ordinance and decree that is to say according to his purpose not according to their affections but according to his owne intention And he rendreth a reason in an other place For saith he What can our righteousnesse bee before God but a menstruous cloth as the Prophet saith All our righteousnesse to be short but vnrighteousnesse And then by a stronger reason what shall our sinnes be And therefore let vs haue recourse with the Prophet vnto mercie alone for it is that alone that is able to saue our soules and only that mercie extended and exhibited in Iesus Christ alone Idem de sepulchro ad milites In Christ alone saith he who taking vpon him the burden of the punishment but being nothing possessed of the fault hath merited life and righteousnesse for vs with God In Christ alone who dying for sinners hath remitted the sinne whereby it commeth to passe that there saith hee remaineth no more place for merite and yet notwithstanding our debt is paid In Christ alone in whose death death is hunted and chased away and his righteousnesse imputed vnto vs. But VVhat a peece of Iustice is it wilt thou say that the innocent and guiltlesse should die for the transgressor and guiltie person Yes And not iustice onely but a worke of mercie also c. But againe How may the gutltie be iustified by this death Nay why may or should hee not One shall haue sinned and all shall be guiltie Now then should the innocencie of one extend and bee imputed but to one The sinne of one hath brought death vpon all And the righteousnesse of one should it restore life but to one The sinne of Adam shall bee imputed vnto me and shall not the righteousnesse of Christ appertaine vnto me The disobedience of one hath spoyled me and shall not the obedience of the other doe me any seruice Multo germanius Idem in Psal 91. Serm. 14. Idem in Cant. Serm. 13.14.22.23 Illibata c Nay rather saith hee we are borne of God according to the spirite both more naturally and lawfully then of Adam according to the fleshe c. And therefore saith hee Iesus Christ hath power to forgiue sinnes as God and to die as man and in dying to acquit the debt of death in that hee was iust and himselfe to bee sufficient for vs all both vnto righteousnesse and vnto life c. Jn this righteousnesse saith hee thou art saued gratis and for nothing in respect of thy selfe but in respect of him not altogedound without any touch or stroke of man therein as hauing alone triumphed ouer the enemie alone deliuered the sillic captiues alone encountred and alone ouercome c. For such as will establish their owne righteousnesse which iustifieth not but accuseth there can no better fall out vnto them then that they should be giuen ouer to their owne righteousnesse which will ouerset and ouerwhelme them in stead of iustifying of them c. But on the contrarie O Lord the sweete smell of thy righteousnesse is so large and farre and wide spread euerie where throughout as that thou art knowne not onely to bee iust and righteous but iustice and righteousnesse it selfe euen that righteousnesse which iustifieth the sinner c. And it is saith hee in this righteousnesse that I am iustified and made righteous For inlighten thou mine eyes and I become prudent and of good vnderstanding remember not the sinnes of my youth and then I become iust guide me in the way and then I become holy but if thy bloud doe not sue for me I doe not attaine saluation But blessed and not iust alone is hee to whome sinne is not imputed c. It is sufficient therefore for me and in stead of all righteousnesse Indulgen Dei Idem Serm. 61 to haue him fauourable and mercifull vnto me against whome alone I haue sinned All that whatsoeuer he hath appointed not to bee imputed vnto me is as if it neuer had beene The righteousnesse of God is not to sinne the righteousnesse of man is Gods pardon Hitherto we see how this holy person cannot satisfie himselfe or thinke that he hath
committing new sinnes Let vs put off the old man c. But saith he The ransome of the bloud of Christ should bee too much abased Idem de vocat Gent. l. 1. c. 5. if the iustification which is by grace should bee due vnto precedent merits But neither precedent neither yet subsequent ones can come in for any paiment in this accompt But rather saith hee in an other place seeing that we being quickned in Christ are dead vnto the world Idem de suga Secul c. 7. wee are not any longer to serue the world wee are not any longer to liue according to our former liues but according to the life of Christ euen the life of innocencie of chastitie and of all other vertues We are risen againe with Christ let vs liue with him let vs ascend to him let vs ascend and goe vp on high in him And let vs prouide that the Serpent may not henceforth find euer a heele about vs to trip vs vpon or to bruse by not finding vs any more ouertaken and carried away with these earthly things Now what is all this but the same which Saint Paul said That faith causeth loue that hauing receiued life by the faith of Christ we would liue hencefoorth in Christ And this is the same that wee said that hee which hath iustified vs by his spirite hath sanctified vs also by the same spirite vnto the renuing of the inwarde man c. Saint Augustine in like manner We say that workes iustifie the faith August de spir lit c. 18. De fid operib c. 1.4 Ep. 105. ad Sixt. and the faith the Christian that is to say that the truth of his faith is proued by them Saint Augustine his words follow No man doth a good worke but he that is alreadie iustified but iustification is obtained by faith And these Maxims are ordinarie with him Opera sequuntur iustificatum non praecedunt iustificandum Workes follow him that is iustified they doe not goe before him that is to be iustified The merits of the righteous doe serue for vse Idem ad Simplic l. 1. q. 9 11 Idem de spir liâ c. 10. Idem de patient c 21. Lib. 1. ad simp q. 11. Idem de fid operib c. 4. Idem Serm. 181. de temp de fid oper Idem quest 23 because that they are righteous but not to make them righteous Workes doe not beget grace but grace workes Grace is freely giuen vnto vs not because we haue done good workes but to the end wee may be able to to doe them Workes doe not preuent the mercie of God but follow it Againe They cannot bee if grace haue not preuented them by faith And good workes are by him sometimes called The workes of righteousnesse because saith he they follow righteousnesse that is to say iustification And thus you see that workes are the touchstone of faith yea the inseperable effectes necessarily following where faith is For saith he to belieue in him that is to loue him but this can neither the wicked nor yet the Diuels doe but Christians onely because that faith without loue is nothing worth And it is saith he of that health fall faith of the Gospell that the Apostle speaketh of from which workes proceede by this loue For that which bringeth forth none Saint Peter calleth a dried fountaine Saint Iude a cloud without water Saint James a dead faith c. And Saint Paul saith hee is expounded by Saint Iames namely that he vnderstandeth not that hee that belieueth Non finitur is not bound to doe well but rather that he knoweth that he is not come to the gift of iustification by the merits of his precedent workes neither yet by those that follow because it is not permitted in this life For be that is iustified by faith how can he but afterward walke righteously c. One man therefore saith he praiseth the faith of Abraham and an other his workes Idem in Psal 31. Ex side Idem in Psal 30. Confesss l. 12. and yet they bee not contrarie Great is the worke of Abraham but as it commeth of faith J see the foundation to bee faith and I praise the fruite of the good tree but in faith I knowe the roote to bee neither barren nor withered c. Whereupon hee concludeth Let not a man boast of his workes before faith neither let any man neglect them after hee hath once receiued grace to beleeue c. And as our Sauiour Christ doth liue in thine hart so let him also remaine and dwel in thy mouth Concil Arans c. 12. so also in thy deedes and actions c. This is that which the Councell of Orange doth hold vpon this question To loue God is a gift of God Hee hath vouchsafed maââ to be beloued himselfe hauing loued without being loued He loued vs when we displeased him to the end that he louing vs we might please him for he hath shed loue into our hearts c. To be briefe these good fathers say Wee begin not in any good worke but afterward God helpeth vs to make an end Nay hee without any precedent merits inspireth into vs his faith and his loue c. But it may be at the least you will say that man may merit afterward Nay saith hee Prosp de vocat Gent. l. 1. c. 23. l. 2. c. 8. What hast thou that thou hast not receiued c. And Prosper Aquitanus who was of the same time Vnto euerie man saith hee is giuen Sine merito vnde tendat adâmeritum without merit where by he may take the way to merite and it is giuen before any paâines or labour taken to euerie man for which he is to receiue a reward according to his labour c. And then you wil say yet loe here both merit and reward but then againe behold âand marke how hee expoundeth it If God find in vs what we haue committed in our selues we cannot but be condemned Idem sentent 126. but if be find in vs what he himselfe hath wrought we shall bee crowned Because saith he in an other place all our merit from the beginning vnto the end is the gift of God all our workes otherwise tending to nothing but condemnation Which thing âee setteth downe in these verses against the vnthankfull Nam meritum ad mortem subeundam sufficit vnum Ad vitam Idem contr collat contr ingrat nisi quod donarit gratia nullum And therefore concerning the iustice imputed vnto vs he saith Our righteousnesse consisteth more in the remission of our sinnes then in the perfection of our vertues And that same remission consisting also in the righteousnesse of Christ for from that commeth our righteousnesse in as much as wee are renued Ipsa inquit virtutum gaudiaââoulnus habent Idem in sent The greatest ioyes that their vertues can moue in them haue their pearcing wounds and scorching Corasiues Wee
haue not any reward but that which is bestowed vppon vs in our free pardon Saint Barnard saith in one word Bernard in Psal 91. Serm. 9. 15. De Sepulch Idem in Cant. Serm. 22. By faith Christ dwelleth in our harts and as for works they giue testimonie vnto our faith how that it liueth Againe The fruit of the knowledge of God is the strong crie of prayer c. Death being dead life is restored into his place in like manner sinne being taken away righteousnesse succeedeth it c. And how Because saith heâe in an other place they that are iustified from their sinnes desire and resolue themselues âo embrace and follow holinesse without the which no man shall see God For they heare the Lord who cryeth Be holy c. But All these workes saith he all these pretended merits Sunt viââ regni non causa regnandi They are the way to raigne but not the cause thereof But as we said before these two righteousnesses are verie much differing namely that which approueth and iustifieth our faith from that which iustifieth our selues that burning and beeing consumed at the onely appearance of the shining brightânesse of the face of God this beeing of proofe against the Cannon shot of Gods wrath and Hell it selfe that being the worke of the newe man which is renued but slowly in vs this of the eternall God himselfe who hath giuen himselfe wholly and intirely vnto vs. And therefore all that righteousnesse before this is held for nothingâ by the Apostle himselfe for worse then nothing that is for corruption and filthinesse so farre off is it from meriting any thing And this also euen with the littleâ goodnesse that it hath in it is the gift of God and the worke of God working in our hearts by his spirit which saith vnto our pride What hast thou that thou hast not receiued That which is most rife in thee is the worke of Adam more weightie ordinarily then the rest and which concludeth against him Who can draw that which is cleane out of that which is foule and filthie c. For how should a perfect worke spring from an imperfect faith A sound fruie from a diseased tree But the case so standeth as that wee dayly crie here on earth Increase our faith strengthen it purge it from all diffidencie and distrust And notwithstanding wee admire heere the goodnesse of the mercifull God in respect of that which hee hath giuen to him whome hee hath iustified by the gift of faith and by the gift of righteousnesse hee will haue it called a reward but verily such a one as groweth due vpon free promise and not by purchase And thereupon our pride hath set in foote to build the matter of merit a word not heard of throughout the whole Scripture a word condemned throughout the whole Analogie of faith which setteth before it no other thing then the merit of Christ according to the free promise of the eternall father In the meane time where so euer there is Merces The abuse of this worde Merit Ierem. 31.16 Thom. l. 2. q. 114. art 2. a hire or reward promised of God the pride of man hath caused them to find out the merit of men Ieremie saith to the Church of the Iewes assuring them of their reestablishing They shall returne from the Countrie of the enemie Thy worke shall haue his reward From thence Thomas maketh an argument to proue their merit notwithstanding that there is properly handled the estate and condition which was to befall them in this world and not in the kingdome of heauen but hee concludeth notwithstanding that reward and merite cannot be but improperly spoken betwixt God and men betwixt whome there is no maner of equal proportion that is saith he That man obtaineth of God as in the nature of a reward it is because that he hath giuen him power and vertue to labour Quasi mercedem Hieronym in Esa l 15. c. 95. Mat. 5.22 Luke 6.23 Ambr. in Luc. l. 5. c. 6. But Saint Ierome hath spoken better alleadging this place That this reward is their inheritance which serue God In the Euangelists oftentimes Reioyce yee for great is your reward in heauen c. Ambrose verily wheresoeuer there is this word Merces interpreteth it praemium he causeth it to be attributed to the mercie of God and to be receiued by a Christian faith and in like manner all the rest as we shall see And as for that which Thomas argueth That that which is giuen according to iustice may seeme to be a condigne and worthy reward But the Apostle saith 2. Timoth. 4. Ambros in 2. Tim. c 4. Amplissima praemia The crowne of righteousnesse is reserued and laid vp in store forme which the Lord the iust Iudge will render vnto me in that day c. Verily he should haue called to mind that Saint Ambrose expounding this place saith Because that God giueth exceeding great gifts to them that loue him that is worthie of his greatnesse and not of our merits And the ordinarie Glose Seeing that faith is grace and eternall life grace it cannot be but that he hath giuen grace But Saint Augustine August in hom 50. Idem hom 14. as we shall see more largely and fully hereafter Nay saith hee Paul if he had giuen thee that which was due vnto thee he should haue bestowed punishment vpon thee c. Pardon me Apostle I doe not see any thing that is properly thine except euill and this is thine owne doctrine that thou hast taught vs That when God crowneth thy merites he crowneth nothing but his owne gifts c. And Thomas himselfe likewise may seeme to come neere to the same Thom. l. 2. q. 114. art 3. when hee saith That our workes considered as proceeding from our free will cannot merite but rather as proceeding from the grace of the holy Ghost giuen vnto vs. And in deed what man shall bee so proud as to dare to say That Abraham merited God by his workes vnder colour of those words which God saith vnto him I am thy reward Abraham saith the Apostle To whome faith was imputed for righteousnesse Now it were to be desired that the old writers had vsed this word more sparingly although their intention and drift be sufficiently cleare and manifest And whence it sprang But the truth is that that which the Greekes call ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã dignitie or worthinesse the Latines haue translated Merit and consequently that which they call ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã to be made or reputed worthie they haue expounded mereri for want of an other verbe to expresse it in one word And in deed the old Glosarie saith ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã mereri to bee made worthie is expounded by this word to merit And it may be verified by many places In the disputation that fell betwixt the Orthodoxes and the Donatists in the time of Saint Augustine this word was ordinarily
vsed in this signification Proponant Collat. Carthag 1. 3. qui ista elicere meruerunt saith Petilian the Donatist that is to say obtinuerunt for there he speaketh of his Aduersaries Emeritus the Donatist in the same sence Quis supplicauit quis legem meruit quis iudicium postulauit Inferring that seeing the Orthodoxes had obtained and procured the Decree of the conference that it also belonged vnto them to begin the first More plainely in the Oration and speech made by one Habet-deus a Bishop To say nothing saith hee of the Christian bloud shed by Leontius Vrsatius Macarius Paulus c. and other executioners Quos in Sanctorum necem a Principibus seculi meruerunt Whome the common people obtained and procured from the Emperours or secular Princes to murther the Saints And further euen in their own praiers it cannot be otherwise interpreted or maintained Excita Domine potentiam tuam subueniat misericordia tua vt ab imminentibus peccatoruÌ nostrorum periculis te mereamur veniente eripi aut saluari A wake O Lord and stirre vp thy power let thy mercie succour vs to the end that by thy comming we may merite to be deliuered from the daunger at hand procured by our sinnes c. To merite to be deliuered or saued by the mercie or by the power of God can it bee otherwise meant then that they might be made worthie in that powerfull mercie In some others Graunt vnto vs to come before Christ with righteous workes to the end that wee being set as fellow companions on his right hand we may merite to possesse the kingdome Te largiente c. Graunt vnto vs to be his fellow companions in the kingdome of grace as we haue merited to haue him to participate our nature in the wombe of the Virgine Is there any man that can make any other sence of this praier An other somewhat further fetcht Graunt vnto vs that wee may sensibly perceiue the holy Virgine to make intercession for vs Me uimus by whose meanes we haue merited to receiue the author of life How can wee merite by our workes the incarnation of the Sonne of God whether it were before hee came or since his comming if we doe not take the meaning according to ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã to bee reputed worthie Saint Ambrose likewise speaking of the water of Baptisme O aqua quae Sacramentum Christi esse meruisti O water which hast desirued to be the Sacrament of Christ c. And how can this bee vnderstood any otherwise being spoken of a creature without life Infinite such other places may easily bee cited of vs out of the fathers And in deed in certaine Collects Cassand in Hymn Eccles f. 4â Index Expurg f. 36. 38. in stead of Meruimus there is put Valeamus that is to say We may And Cassander confesseth that it must bee so vnderstoode but our Fathers of Trent haue therefore caused it to haue a dashe too many with the Penne in all his bookes But in nothing is their mind and meaning better manifested then in the interpretation which they giue both to the word Merite to proue no meriting as also to the word Reward Hillar Can. 20 in Math. super illud Idem in Psal 51. Donauit Idem in Psal 142. Basil in Psal 7. August in Psal 109.118.102 to proue that it is not but of grace Saint Hillarie The verie workes of righteousnesse would not suffer a man to merite perfect blisse if the mercie of God should not furnish and fit him for the same Againe Wages cannot come in the nature of a gift they are due for worke wrought but God hath giuen vnto vs all of meere gift and free grace by iustification which is of faith And againe Remission of sinnes is not a merite of honestie but a pardon and fauour flowing from a free will c. But in the meane time the wages of the good are called a retribution Yea saith Saint Basill but according to the custome of the Scripture which saith ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã for ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã retribution or recompence for a gift and he retributeth or recompenseth that is to say giueth Saint Augustine In the way of faith such are held for no sinners to whome their sinnes are not imputed God is made our debter not in receiuing any thing from vs but in promising so great things vnto vs. Idem de verb. Apost Ser. 22. Let vs be glad and reioyce for wee haue ouercome because that we are ouercome in our selues because that we haue ouercome in him Him saith hee which crowneth thee because he crowneth his gifts and not thy merites yea hee crowneth them saith the Psalme In miseratione misericordia In compassion and mercie And not in thee only O man wosoeuer thou art But in thy selfe also O thou Apostle how great so euer thou maist be Idem hom 50. hom 14. I haue fought a good fight saiest thou c. The Lord which is a iust and righteous iudge shall render me a crowne he is indebted the same What shall he render or repaie vnto thee He shall render me it for he is a iust iudge He cannot refuse to paie any man his wages and hyre hauing perused and taken a view of the worke I haue fought a good fight that is one worke I haue finished my course that 's one worke and kept the faith that is a worke Jt remaineth that I should receiue the crowne of righteousnesse that is the wages Nay saith he for the wages thou hast no power to commaund the same at all and in the worke thine owne power goeth not alone The crowne belongeth onely vnto him to giue where it pleaseth the worke is of thee but not without his aide and helpe When as therefore thou saiest he recompenceth good deedes this is as if that he hauing preuented himselfe in giuing of good things should retribute and make recompence for the same with other fresh and new good things He retributeth them but vnto such good things as he hath alreadie giuen to the good fight to be finished course and to the faith kept For if he haue not giuen them 1. Tim 4. wherefore then saiest thou I haue trauelled more then they al And yet not J but the grace of God in me And if he haue not giuen thee to finish the race wherefore is it againe that thou shouldest say it is not in him that willeth nor in him that runneth but of God that sheweth mercie And if he gaue thee not the grace to keepe the faith is it not in vaine for vs to keepe and indeuour to watch and keepe ward if God doe not gard and keepe c. Beare with me O Apostle I see not any thing of thine owne but that which is euill and naught Pardon me Apostle thus we affirme and speake because thou hast so taught I beare thee confessing and acknowledging Gods goodnesse I doe not heare thee
their course they are crossed by the Epistles of Paul written to the Romaines and Galathians for in them he opposeth and setteth against their righteousnesse of workes that which is of faith and grace giuing them to consider the enormitie of sinne and the soundnesse and sinceritie of the righteousnesse of God In summe he bringeth them backe to the seeking out of their saluation in the Crosse of Christ their blessednesse and righteousnesse in that that he is made a curse and sinne for them And yet notwithstanding this doctrine being of the nature of that old Serpent cannot be so cut in peeces by the sword of Gods word but that it taketh hold againe and knitteth together And so much the rather Merit maintained by the Philosophers brought into the Church by how much the flocking of the Gentiles into the Church was the greater to whome it was plausible as agreeing with the Philosophie of the world and their free will the fountaine of all mans presumption and ouerweening beeing admitted into the bodie of Diuinitie by the Greeke Doctors who sprung out of the same Schoole more easily then was either meete or needfull Now the chiefe brocher of the same was one Pelagius a Briton borne about the yeare 400. in the Latine Church who had beene a Monke in Syria and had many other Monkes his followers Merit of workes confuted But God raised vp vnto vs also in those times to withstand this doctrine Saint Ierome Prosper Aquitanus Fulgentius Primasius and other great persons who sharply confuted and gainesaid the same and aboue all one Saint Augustine Resistance and head made against the same who ouerthrew all the foundations of the same who also tooke occasion by this stumbling stone to plucke vp by the rootes all manner of presumption and preiudicate opinions which in the former times had crept into the Church by the meanes of Circumcision Paganisme the Law or Philosophie What followed hereupon He should haue rooted out men and all so deepely had this sprout taken roote in man For no sooner was Saint Augustine departed this world but this heresie sprung vp a new in a Monke called Cassianus meanely learned taking his beginning to the end hee might find a more easie and plausible entrance at a third Assertion consisting of a meane or middle nature betwixt the doctrine of Saint Augustine and Pelagius and by this meanes preuailed and was approued of verie greatly in our Countrie of France who yet found presently there to withstand and refell him the foresaid Prosper Aquitanus and certaine others This man at that time taught that many attained grace without grace by the only power of free will That man crauing the same of himselfe it was giuen him and afterward grew and increased according to the proportion of his merits That as fully there might be certaine men found who how vnwilling so euer they might be were notwithstanding made partakers of this grace through pure and meere grace Thus making two sortes of Christians one saued by free will and the other freely by grace That it was in the power of man after his fall of himselfe to doe good workes yea to merit eternall life But what saith Prosper thereupon vnto him Who if any others was mightie in the Scriptures And here it stood him vpon to haue alleadged him wholly Verily that it behoued him to haue firmely held the doctrine of Saint Paule being most excellently expounded by Saint Augustine and accordingly hee draweth our Countrie men thereunto most learnedly That no man obtaineth grace but of pure and meere grace That they that flie thereunto through the feare of death and those which runne thereto with a ioyfull hope are helped and assisted thereunto by one and the same grace That man in Adam hath lost all the meanes of comming vnto eternall life all the seedes of pietie and vertue That who so attributeth our merits vnto any other then God or vnto man any other thing but his deserts doth greatly erre and speake against the scriptures were he a Iob a Prophete or an Apostle the law hauing beene giuen to no other end but to condemne vs and consequently to make vs to be altred and chaunged by grace And yet notwithstanding all this this said heresie and naturall claime of nature against grace doth not cease continually to returne and swimme aloft being relieued by the Monkes the Pharisies of these latter times blowen vp and kindled by the common people who willingly hold and suffer themselues to be perswaded that their saluation is of themselues neglected by the succeeding Bishops the most part of theÌ being ignorant maintained by the grosse palpable darknesse which for a long time vnder the ouerflowing of barbarisme did couer all the world God notwithstanding not suffering this truth of saluation in the saith of one only Christ to be chooked extinguished as is easie to be verified by the writings of the most famous renowned that haue liued heretofore For Greg. saith We are redeemed by grace Anno 600. Gregor in c. 28 Iob. l. 18. c 22. Non nostri Conaminis sed diuinae dignation is who so should giue but their right vnto all our good workes in stead of giuing vnto them Christ should giue vnto them sharpe and seuere punishment For it is one thing that man meriteth by righteousnes an other thing which he receiueth by grace Again It resteth not in our power to attaine and come by the inwarde light but herein euen for that God hath vouchsafed to bestow it vpon vs For how oft doe we begge and craue it with inward sighes and gronings Et in eius amaenitates recipi non meremur neither doe wee deserue that is to say and affirme with a witnesse Wee are not reputed or thought worthy to receiue it at his pleasure and at another time all at a blow the grace of God will assist and help vs c. Againe Without him there should some become Saints and holy men if a man without the gift of the onely begotten Sonne Idem in 3. cap. Iob. l. 5. c. 8. could possiblie attaine the gift of sanctification But who is he that dare build himselfe as on a certaintie vpon men when hee cannot possiblie doe it vppon Angels Againe Our righteousnes being examined with the righteousnes of God is vnrighteousnes In destructione iudicis Looke what is glortous in the eye of the workman is nothing but dirt and dung being tried by the Iudge And therefore Saint Paule hath said I find not my selfe greatly guiltie in any thing but by and by he addeth and yet am I not therefore iustified c. And againe I am restored to life Idem in cap. 9. Iob. l. 2. c. 11. in c. 28. l. 18 c. 22. Idem in cantic canticor not by hauing merited but by being pardoned And as for them which boast themselues of being saued by their merits they are contrarie vnto themselues for whiles they desire
say in the Sacrament but in the reading of the scriptures for the true meat the true drinke which is receiued of the worde of God is the knowledge of the Scriptures And therefore sayth S. Augustine That Iesus Christ is preached by tongues by Epistles and by the Sacraments of his bodie and blood c. That is to say that the Sacrament is a dumme worde or as hee himselfe calleth it a visible worde the worde a speaking Sacrament a Sacrament receyued by hearing that is to say Christ and life by Christ in them both The third that euerie Sacrament consisteth in three things in the signe A sacrament consisteth of the signe of the thing and of the word in the thing signified and in the worde and institution of God The signe giuen by the Pastor and receiued by the hand of the faithfull which goeth into the stomacke the thing giuen of God and receiued by the faith of the faithful which goeth vnto the soule and that by the mediation of the worde and working of the holy Ghost which accompanieth it which goeth together with the thing signified in the signe and yet not changing it in his nature but rather making it of a bare Element a Sacrament of a common creature a sacred and of an earthly an heauenly one to be short the instrument of our regeneration coniunction and vnion with Christ wherein lieth our life The signe which is visible the thing that is to say grace which is inuisible the operation of the worde and of the spirit incomprehensible And againe the signe which hath properly his analogie and proportionall relation to the outward man Grace that is to say the thing signified to the inward man inasmuch as he is renued nourished and fostered by the spirit in his spirit vnto which the Sacrament is properly offered vnto the soule I meane not vnto the bodie vnto the inward spirit August in serm ad Infant ad alt de sacram Idem de cruit ãâã 10. c. 5. Idem in Quaest super Leuit. q 84. Idem de Corp. Christ Chrysost hom 83. in Mat. Anno 900. Raban l. de Sacr. Euchar. c 9. Pach. de Corp. Sang. Christ Lombard l. 4. d. 1. Bernard in Serm. de Caen. Dom. The signe called of the Fathers by the name of the Sacrament Tertul. cont Marc. l. 4. Hilar de consecr d. 2. Chrysost in Mat. hom 83. August in Ioh tract 26. Idem apud Grat. exsenten Prosper Rom. 2. and not to the outward senses And this thing also we shall be throughly instructed in by the fathers S. Augustine saith A Sacrament is a visible signe of an inuisible grace a signe of a sacred thing wherein is seene one thing with the outward sense and an other thing is vnderstood of the spirit Againe The Lord sanctifieth by an inuisible grace by the holie Ghost and there lieth the whole fruit of the visible Sacraments without this what are men able to profit c. Againe A Sacrament is a ceremonie wherein vnder the couert of visible things the diuine power worketh more secretly and priuily our saluation Chrysostome Christ hath giuen vs insensible things insensible ones Rabanus A sacrament is called all that which by the ordinance of God is giuen vnto vs for a pledge of our saluation when the thing visibly done doth inuisibly worke within vs all maner of other things c. And Paschasius Lombard in the verie same tearmes And Saint Bernard intreating vpon this matter giueth vs an example A Sacrament saith he is a sacred signe A Iewell may be giuen onely for a Iewell but it may bee giuen also to inuest and set a man in possession of an inheritance And then we say the Iewell is of small value and that it is the inheritance that we looke and seeke for And thus saith he our Lord drawing neere his death had care to inuest his elect and put them in possession of his grace for which cause this inuisible grace was giuen vnto them by some visible signe c. Where we are to obserue that the worde pledge and the similitude of the Iewell or ring are of antiquitie And this for our definition That which we call the signe the fathers do sometimes call the Sacrament how soeuer ordinarily this whole holy action is so called As wheÌ they say That the Sacrament is diuerse and differing from the thing of the Sacrament that is to say that the thing is one and the Sacrament of the same another that is to say again that the signe is one thing and the grace which is the thing signified is an other The figure is one thing saith Tertullian but the thing of the figure another The figure is one thing saith Saint Hillarie and the truth another The figure that which is seene without the truth is that which is belieued within The sensible thing saith Saint Chrysostome is one thing and the intelligible another The Sacrament saith saint Augustine is one thing and the power of the Sacrament another The Sacrament of the thing saith he is that which some take receiue to life others to destruction The thing that is to say grace whereof the Sacrament becommeth a Sacrament that is to say a signe that no man doth communicate to his ruine and destruction but euerie man to life and saluation And hereof we haue examples In Circumcision vnder which many had the signe and not the thing wherupon we see that the Prophets call the Israelites Of vncircumcised hearts And saint Paule saith That Circumcision became to them vncircumcision And in the Manna wherein some saith saint Augustine did eat nothing but Manna alone but others did tast and feed vpon the bodie of Christ In Baptisme which he saith that Simon the Magitian receiued without thâ iâuisible grace the signe without the thing The signe and the thing notwithstanding The neare coÌiunction betwixt the sign and the thing for asmuch as they cannot be considered the one without the other being correlatiues and so the one presupposing the other are so conioyned and coupled togither that the one is oftentimes named for the other wherein the fathers do solemnly forewarne vs to take good heed that wee take not the signe for the thing nor the thing for the signe For the signe is the signe of the thing signified for but in regard thereof it cannot be a signe and on the contrarie it cannot be both the signe the thing togither neither in whole nor in part no more then a sonne is not a sonne but in respect of a father and cannot notwithstanding be a sonne and a father at once in one and the same respect so Circumcision the signe of the couenant is called the Couenant and the Passage or Pascal Lambe the Passeouer or Passage the rocke Christ and the water of Baptisme Regeneration c. All of them being but signes or remembrances of the couenant Circumcision of the heart communion with Christ Regeneration of man
bread shall liue for euer And in S. Augustines time there were that taught hereupon that if a man had communicated at the Lords supper how be it he should afterward renounce the Christian profession yet hee could not possibly perish and fall away for euer Wherefore as oft as euer wee shall reade such places we ought alwayes to remember and call to mind these rules The good and prudent Reader saith Saint Hillarius doth looke for the vnderstanding of that which is said Hilat. de Trin. l. 1. Hieronym in Mat. not by fetching it from any preiudicate opinion of his owne but from the cause of that which is said And S. Ierome The discreete Reader is verie carefull to keepe himselfe euermore from all manner of superstitious vnderstanding he frameth and squareth his sence and vnderstanding according to the Scriptures August cont aduers leg Prophet l. 2. c. 9. and not the Scriptures according to it And Saint Augustine handling this same matter One peece of Scripture must be expounded by an other and all the holy Scriptures according to the soundnesse of faith if we expound any thing done or spoken figuratiuely it standeth vs vpon to see that such expositions be drawne wisely and not negligently from other things and words which are contained in the holy writings But aboue all wee haue to consider in the matter of the Sacramentes what a Sacrament is and in the matter of the holy supper that therein is handled the most excellent of all the rest that is to say a great mysterie a profound and high secret and that so soone as wee heare the word Sacrament wee must lift vp our spirits from the beholding of these outward things to the apprehending of inward things from the skin to the marrow and from of the earth vp vnto heauen obseruing the nature of the misterie the signification of the word and what the thing doth permit suffer what the letter saith and what the meaning of the spirit is Thus These words This is my body cannot bee interpreted without a figure This is my bodie according to their sence and construction what shall it signifie Hoc this If it be meant of the bread then it must be thus taken This bread is my bodie But this is not their meaning for they confesse that it cannot bee two substances at one and the same instant And when two chiefe and primarie substances that is to say two Iudiuidua as the Logicians call them are called the one by the name of the other there must of necessitie be included a figure but this they wil not yeeld vnto Furthermore they doe not pretend that it is the body vntill the last word be vttered and wee are as yet but in the verie first And in the meane time then shall it not be the same which our Lord tooke blessed brake and gaue to his Disciples that is to say bread What shall then this hoc make The accidents of bread without the subiect namely whitenesse roundnesse c And what manner of speech were it to say The accidents of bread are my body which is giuen for you or else their Indiuiduum vagum and vage determinatum This I cannot tell what in the ayre which they can neither name nor point out so as that it may be comprehended How it may bee bread in the beginning of the vttering of the words and his body in the end What a number of obscure and straunge figures to how many contradictorie designments and deuises are they driuen and all to auoide one cleare and manifest figure and that such a one as is verie often and familiarly vsed in the Sacraments Afterward This is my bloud What shal be the meaning of this Hoc in this place It is said that taking the cup he blessed it and said Drinke ye all Bibite ex hoc omnes This Hoc then is the cup whereof he saith This is my bloud But can it possibly be that the cup should be called blood without a figure seeing that according to their owne assertions it is the wine and not the cup It followeth Est This is say they a verbe substantiue Let it bee granted but is it therefore a verbe transubstantiue This is my bodie that is to say This is made my bodie It is substantially turned it is transubstantiated into my bodie and bloud This is their meaning and they call this word in their affected tearmes and gibberidge an operatiue and practicke Est But if it be vnderstood of the bread then what figure is it And how will their fond deuised fantasie stand sith they hold that the bread is not changed or turned but becommeth nothing to the end it may giue place to the bodie And what shew of any figure will there then be here Hoc est that is to say this Vagum Indiuiduum which hath no name is transubstantiated into his bodie And if it bee wandring and vnstable it is not ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã it hath not any substance Or els This bread is become nothing to giue place to the bodie c. But this word Est may it bee expounded by the word Fit factum est conuertitur transubstantiatur it is made turned transubstantiated Yea and also by Fiat conuertatur transubstantiatur that it may be made turned transubstantiated without a figure yea and which is more without any contradiction And of the cup particularly without acknowledging that it is transubstantiated But this they do not admit Let vs proceed Take eate but what Accidents but they are no proper obiects for the teeth to be occupied about The bodie of Christ then But as they say themselues it is not as yet there And then it is not chewed there it is not there broken What shall then the meaning bee of this word eate But to endeuour to eate to make semblance of eating c. But how much better had it been to haue expounded this place by the nature of other Sacraments whereof it is said This is my couenant as here This cup is the new Testament in my blood This is the blood of the new Testament c. all comming to the same sence Againe The rocke was Christ I am the bread of life as here The bread is my bodie the cup is my blood To expound it I say by Iesus Christ in S. Iohn My flesh is meate in deede and my bloud is drinke in deede Where in plaine tearmes he referreth vs vnto his death when hee saith Which I will giue for the life of the world As also here Which is giuen which is shed for you But saith he to the Capernaites The words that J say vnto you are spirite and life And therefore some are of iudgement that this whole speech of his was nothing else but a resolued and purposed Commentarie and a preparatiue to the right vnderstanding of the holy supper And finally to haue expounded it by Saint Paule Who giueth vnto vs that which he
heauenly word c. What is there saith Bellarmine more cleare then this But and if it bee so cleare a case let him answere vs why Thomas of Aquin Thom. part 3. Summ. q. 75. art 8. and all those after him condemne this Proposition of Saint Ambrose That the flesh or body of Christ is made of the bread It being obserued saith hee That it cannot be properly said that of a not essence an essence may bee made c. And if it cannot be said properly must it not then needes be improperly And who can or ought to make this impropernesse propernesse better then himselfe Therefore he addeth But seest thou the efficacie of the word of Christ And if then it haue such vertue in it selfe that the things that were not doe thereby beginne to be as namely in the creation Vt sint quae erant in aliud commutentur How much more effectually shall it worke and bring to passe that things be againe that which they were before and that they may bee changed into an other thing Now then what meaneth this To be that which they were but to continue in their nature And by consequent To be changed into an other thing but to change their condition vse Bellarmine taketh himself to haue plaid the tall fellow when he aunswereth that Saint Ambrose vnderstandeth that they are the same that they were without but not within And is it enough to say so But Saint Ambrose himselfe easeth vs of all these cauils in an other place Ambros de iis qui myster initiant The true flesh of Christ saith hee is that which was crueified and buried Of this true flesh the Sacrament is a Sacrament and our Lord doth proclaime it This is my bodie before the blessing of the heauenly words an other kind is named after the consecration the bodie of Christ is signified and before the consecration another thing is said after the consecration it is named bloud What is that then in Saint Ambrose by Saint Ambrose himselfe The bread by the consecration to bee made the bodie of Christ the Cup his bloud Euen to be made Sacraments to signifie to point out the bodie and bloud of Christ But he must not plaie the wrangler here and say That by the word Kinds he vnderstandeth the apparant accidents of bread and wine as the transubstantiators haue afterward said For when he saith Before the blessing of words another kind is named by kinds he cannot but vnderstand the substances of bread wine for are they not as yet according to their owne speeches bread and wine And againe this age of the world had not yet learned that Accidents are called Kinds But he doth yet further explaine himselfe Ambros de Sacram. l. 4. c 4 by the comparison of Baptisme Peraduenture thou sayest I see not the kind of bloud But saith he it hath the resemblance of it And what manner of resemblance For euen as thou hast receiued the resemblance of death Viz. in the dipping that is in Baptisme so hast thou drunke the resemblance of his precious bloud to the ende that there may not remaine any horrour of bloud and notwithstanding that it worketh the price of redemption Againe Thou thy selfe wast but thou wast an olde creature after thou wast consecrated thou didst beginne to become a new creature c. Now wee are of this iudgement with our aduersaries that there is not any Transubstantiation in Baptisme neither in the water which washeth Idem de sacr l. 6. c. 1. nor in the creature that is washed And this is the same that is said in an other place Thou tookest the Sacrament for a similitude or resemblance but thou inioyest in truth the grace and vertue of the nature I am saith he the bread of life that came downe from heauen but the flesh is not come downe from heauen Hee tooke flesh in earth of the Virgine Idem in 1. Cor. 11. c. Againe The Testament is ordained by bloud bloud is the restimonie of the gracious worke of God for a figure of the same we receiue the misticall Cup of bloud c. Saint Basill What doe these words profit vs Take eate This is my bodie To the end that eating and drinking Basil de Baptis in Moral we should remember our selues of him who is dead and risen againe for vs And he that recalleth not to his memorie thus much is said to eate vnworthily And he maketh mention againe of the same in his Morals In the Lithurgie attributed vnto him likewise after the consecration We draw neere saith he with assured confidence vnto thy holy Altar and setting thereupon ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã the resemblances of the holy body and bloud of thy Christ we praie thee that it would please thee of thy mercifulnesse and great bountie to cause thy holy spirit to come downe vpon vs and vppon the gifts there vnfolded and laid open and the same to blesse and sanctifie c. Now they could not before the consecration bee called resemblances or figures for they were but common bread and wine wee are of the same mind and further that they are so also after the consecration And neuerthelesse they are so called by Saint Basill Wherefore they are not really the body and bloud Bellarmine of three aunsweres made heereunto reiecteth two and cleaueth to the third That the body and bloud in the Eucharist are signes of the body bloud vpon the Crosse May we iudge that Saint Basill had euer any such intent that hee euer called the accidents Gifts vncouered and laid open that hee praied to GOD in the same tearmes to haue him to send downe his holy spirit vpon the assistants and vpon the bodie and bloud of his Sonne and that hee would blesse and sanctifie them by him c. Is it possible without blasphemie And after all was it not more readie for him to say simply Wee set before thee the holy body and bloud of thy Sonne c. They obiect these words vnto vs Basil de Spir. S. ad Amphiloc Who is he amongst the holy Fathers that hath left vnto vs in writing the words of inuocation at such time as the bread of the Eucharist and Cup of blessing are shewed Men praied vnto them saith Bellarmine and then they are not figures But hee saith not that they were praied vnto but rather that God was praied vnto at such time as men prepared themselues to be receiuers of the Sacraments Namely to this end that he wold giue vnto them to present theÌselues to the same with reuerence humilitie repentance an approued faith c. And froÌ this place they should rather haue learned that after the consecration it is euermore bread it is euermore a cup. But say they wherfore should it be accompted rashnesse to touch theÌ there For S. Basil saith If such as present themselues rashly to the participating of things sanctified by men
of God is the true bread which giueth life to euerie thing As the earthly bread sustaineth the weaknesse of our flesh so he quickneth our spirits by the holy Ghost and deliuereth the body from corruption that is to say according to that which hath beene said so oft to make vs partakers of the resurrection of life Againe This flesh Idem l. 4. c. 14. 16.17 or this body is made aliue because it is by a certaine vnspeakable maner ioyned to the Sonne of God by whom al things are quickned made aliue And hereupon when we eate this flesh we haue life in vs in as much as we be ioyned vnto him in that we are the body and members of Christ in that by the blessing of the misterie we receiue the Sonne of God himselfe And it is necessarie if any man receiue the flesh and bloud of Christ that he bee so coupled to him as that Christ be found in him and hee in Christ c. To eate then the flesh of Christ with S. Cyril is to belieue in Christ it is to haue him dwelling in him liuing in him by his spirit to bee a member of Christ and one with Christ c. And he that hath not Christ in him doth not eate his flesh neither yet drink his bloud c. How can this agree with the pretended eating of the mouth They obiect vnto vs that he saith vpon S. Iohn Idem in Ioh. l. 11. Wee are vnited and made one with God the Father by the mediation of our Sautour for wee receiue corporally and substantially the Sonne of God naturally vnited to the Father and thus we are glorified beeing made partakers of the supreme nature c. which is properly spoken of the incarnation which he calleth a misterie as S. Hillarie a Sacrament And withall let them not dissemble and passe ouer S. Cyril his Exposition vpon this sentence I am the Vine and you are the braunches which is in such sort as S. Hillarie hath expounded it before and to the same sence That the drift that Cyril shoteth at is very cleare and euident to them that will reade the place And that as to be vnited to Christ according to the spirit is to haue the spirit of Christ regenerating his so to be corporally vnited vnto him or according to the body is to bee ioyned to his body and to become members of his body made conformable to him in this life by the beginning of sanctification and spirituall life waiting and attending till we bee perfected in him that is to say glorified in the celestiall life Now saith hee this vnion is made by faith and cherished and strengthned by the eating of his flesh and drinking of his bloud and that he that eateth and drinketh them is in Christ and Christ in him c. Hee vnderstandeth then that this corporall and substantiall vnion is wrought by a spirituall eating by that pure and exquisite faith which he requireth and not by the corporall which is common to vs with many drie rotten members euen the vngodly infidels of whom it cannot be said that Christ is in theÌ or they in Christ And in deed he hath ther to deale against heretiks which pretended Christ was not called a Vine according to his humanitie but according to his deitie He holding on the contrarie that the faithfull are made partakers of the nature of Christ as the braunches doe communicate with the Vine by the participation of his spirit Affiâi c. And this is that which he saith That they are fastned to Christ as the braunches to the Vine firmely and substantially ioyned and glued to him by his spirit That they are made braunches in as much as they are regenerate and in as much as the roote doth impart vnto them his qualities They bring foorth fruit in as much as they hang vppon the Vine ioyned to the same by faith and holinesse Idem in Ioh. l. 10. c. 13. and nourished and fed vp to eueâie vertue by his holy spirit c. In a word altogether as he saith That Christ is corporally in vs in like manner saith he as wee are corporally in Christ Now our bodies are not corporally in Christ but wee are grafted thereinto by faith neither then is the body of Christ corporally in vs but spiritually receiued by faith Now of conscience can this be vnderstood of an eating which is made by the mouth or that can be done but by those that are truely faithfull So that in Cyrill to be corporally ioyned is not after the manner as they are wont vsually to take it in the Schooles Ratione modi sed ratione obiecti that is to say to bee conioyned by the meanes of the body but to be ioyned to the body And in deed he declareth this coniunction by a place in the Corinthians where the faithfull are called the members of Christ that is to say inseparably ioyned to the body of Christ and not verily by the body but saith he by the mediation of his spirit As also by that place of Saint Iohn where wee agree and are of iudgement that it is spoken of the spirituall eating and not of the corporall But I would intreate the Reader to reade the whole place that hee may the better iudge of counterfeited and cloaked dealing They obiect in the meane time the Synod of Ephesus wherein Cyrill was president We come saith hee vnto the misticall blessings and are sanctified being made partakers of the holy body and precious bloud of Christ c. not receiuing it as a common flesh which God forbid neither yet as the flesh of a sanctified man c. but as that which is become the verie flesh of the word or eternall Sonne of God And who would haue them to doubt of this But the question is not of the obiect of our Communion but of the manner And behold thus he expoundeth it When saith hee they had heard If you eate not my flesh c. they were troubled c. Because saith he they had not as yet bene made acquainted with the forme and most goodly administration of this misterie Idem in Ioh. l. 12. c 58. That is as he saith to Euoptius That we must not handle or deale with that which is not gotten but by pure and onely faith according to the conceipts of mans braine That the bodie of our Lord is not common although the nature of the diuine word bee not eaten That the participation of this misterie is a true confession and remembrance that the Lord is dead for the loue of vs and that he is risen againe for vs and that by occasion thereof he filleth vs with his diuine blessings Finally that the operation of the Sacrament is not wrought in the bread Idem in Leuit. 15. or wine but in vs but in our soules For saith hee in an other place the Lord saith Take eate and not keepe it reserue it till
them as they had sensiblie felt the breath which went out of his mouth CHAP. VII That the old Church did not belieue or teach Transubstantiation seeing it neither did nor obserued in respect of the kinds or Sacraments that which is practised at this day BVt doe we desire to bee yet more fully satisfied in this point If the olde Church had belieued or taught transubstantiation it wanted not either knowledge to discerne that which is meete and conuenient for the seruice of God nor yet conscience to practise it nor zeale or deuotion to procure it and then would it haue put in practise that which the Church of Rome did afterward and which it ceaseth not as yet to doe Now it did not forbid the touching of the sacraments it did not heaue them it did not worship them it did not make any store or resecruation of them that the people might worship them it called them not My Lord and my God as they doe at this day And therefore it did not belieue then as they doe at this day and therefore also it did not acknowledge them for any other thing then instruments of the grace of God c. And all this hath beene alreadie sufficiently proued before or els may very easilie bee proued by the testimonie of all antiquitie The sacrameÌts were handled in the old time Tertul. ad vxorem Gregor Nazianz de Gorgon Euagrius Concil Altisiod c 35.37 All the faithfull did touch the Sacraments yea the women The truth thereof is manifest for we haue seene it giuen into their hands That it hath beene said vnto them accipite take That the women in Tertullian and Nazianznee are said to locke it vp to carie it away with them That the remainder was wont to be giuen to children that went to schoole That the forbidding of women to touch them with their bare hands was not till about the yeare 700. and that but by a prouinciall Councell holden at Auxerre And the custome of giuing it them into their mouthes was but two hundred yeares after that Likewise the wine was caried about in glasses the bread in ordinarie chestes as it is read of Exuperius Bishop of Tholosa The feare of shedding them was not entred before that time because they were reputed and taken but for Sacraments that is to say signes and which more is they were not any longer so reputed and taken then the verie time of their vsing They were not heaued or eleuated to make the people admire wonder at them That they were not heâued They were not shauen at all ouer the head but on the contrarie men lifted vp their eyes and harts on high being taught thereunto by this notable preface Sursum corda Men were pluckt from off the earth by the Canon of the Councell of Nice Fixe not your eyes on the things here below c. Where as if there had beene any Deitie betwixt the handes of the Minister men would haue addressed themselues thereunto Dionys Hierar c. 3. men would haue learned to content and rest themselues there They bring forth a place out of Saint Denis ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã he bringeth into open view the giftes which bad beene couered and wrapped together till then And this is that which Pachymeres expoundeth in these words ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã he setteth in sight Let them not then forget that this is after that they haue sundry times called them ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã that is to say signes representing say I the body and bloud of Christ ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã made conformable to our nature Againe That where he saith ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã hee setteth in open sight hee addeth without any interruption or breache ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã the thinges signified by the signes that is to say but carefully expounding them vnto those that are present But the custome was That the giftes and offeringes were brought and offered by the people And that of those offerings there was bread and wine taken for the Sacramentes That they stoode couered with a white linnen cloth till such time as they came to the communion and then they were vncouered And this he calleth ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã c. This is that which the expositors of Saint Denys doe say Pachymeres After prayers the holy giftes are vncouered and vnwrapped hauing stoode couered vnto the time of the communion Maximus addeth That the cuppe was also couered but he saith that it was not obserued in his time It is further to be noted that it was a great loafe that was cut into many peeces whereupon Saint Denys saith And opening the loafe that is couered and vndiuided and diuiding it into many peeces and distributing vnto all the vnitie of the cuppe that is to say one onely cuppe He accomplisheth symbolicallie or figuratiuely the vnitie that is to say hee teacheth them that they are all one in Christ one amongst themselues nourished with the verie same bread quickned with the verie same spirite This was not then any bread eleuated and held to bee seene ouer the head that it might bee worshipped but to aduertise the people to the ende they might prepare themselues to the communion in these wordes which were then vttered ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã holy things to them that are holy by which they were put in mind not to worship the Sacraments but rather to refraine to come thereto except they came with faith and repentance resolued to liue according to Christian vnitie and charitie c. This is that which S. Chrysostome saith The Minister speaketh these words to the end Chrysost in cp ad Hebr. hom 17. that if any man be not holy hee may not approach or come neere the same And in the liturgie attributed to him Approach saith hee in the feare of God faith and loue Cabasilas Draw neere that ye may communicate behold here is the bread of life but not except ye be holy And yet saith he not that it is required that wee should bee perfect but tending and striuing to perfection c. And as the Christian Church beganne to multiply they had a vaile in their Churches which made a partition betweene the holy table and the bodie of the Church and this was drawne at what time the people came vp to the communion whereof wee haue spoken heretofore And whereof we reade in Chrysostome Cum vela diducuntur Chrys in ep ad Ephes hom 3 when the vailes are drawne together c. Apuleius also maketh mention thereof in the mysteries of the Gentiles But they stand vppon this worde ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã Hee lifteth it vp on high which Maximus a late Greeke writer doeth vse and they will not see that in the same Liturgies the Minister ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã lifteth vp the Gospell that is to say sheweth it vnto the people Was this then to the ende that they should wrrship it Was this as though there had beene a God really in
because of his blessing of it but not to be adored or worshipped as his essence or proper person In like manner none of all the East churches did euer admit adoration neither those that are vnder the gouernment and iurisdiction of the Patriarke of Constantinople Aluares nor those vnder the iurisdiction of Antioch And the Abyssines also at this day do receiue the communion standing though that with great reuerence and besides though they bee of the same iudgement with vs in the adoration and worship due to our Lord whom S. Iohn say the fathers worshipped and adored being as yet in the virgines wombe whom saith a certaine writer if the doctrine of transubstantiation had place the Church should haue in like manner worshipped in the stomackes of the Ministers and faithfull people and euery man in his neighbour But this thing neuer came into the mind of any man once to thinke or imagine What shall we say The old writers did not call the Sacrament their Lord. Cypr serm de laps when furthermore they labour to bring credite vnto the same from antiquitie as though the old writers had called the Sacrament Their Lord and their God But let vs see with what pretence or shadow of truth S. Cyprian reporteth that it came to passe in his time that a certaine man who had renounced God for feare of persecution taking the holy communion in the companie of Christians opening his hand found the sacrament turned into ashes This miracle saith he may be a lesson vnto vs that the Lord withdraweth himselfe when men denie him that is to say that he forsaketh them which renounce him They gather notwithstanding that the Lord of whome he speaketh is the Sacrament The Lord verily forsaketh such a one as denyeth him Is it then the Sacrament which hath denied him or man Verily man and not the Sacrament And God then doth not here forsake the Sacrament but man But God for an euident signe that he hath forsaken man doth also leaue him destitute of the Sacrament Paul Diacon l. 15. So as Deuterius an Arrian Bishop would haue baptised a man after his manner the water dried vp sodainly in the font Saint Cyprian might here haue said as before That God did teach vs thereby that he did withdraw himselfe that is to say that he would take away his grace when we abused it but he had not therefore gathered thereof that the water was God because he had shewed his wrathfull indignation in drying it vp Cypr. in orat Domin Again We beg and craue saith S. Cyprian that our bread that is to say Christ may be giuen vs euerie day And who doubteth that Christ is our bread the bread come downe from heauen which giueth life to the world that he may be our life our way c. But S. Cyprian saith not that the Sacrament is Christ but the wordes that follow doe make him plaine To the end saith hee that wee may dwell and liue in Christ and that we may not at any time seperate and put our selues farre away from his sanctification and bodie But this abode and dwelling as he told vs is made by faith This coniunction is not a mixture of substances Idem serm de caena Domin Se infundit Tertul. de baptism but an agreement of wils c. But they yet set his words further on the racke causing him to call it God For say they hee saith That by an vnspeakeable manner the diuine essence is infused into the Sacrament Therefore it is God And then also we will call the water in baptisme God For Tertullian saith That the holy Ghost descendeth from the father and resteth himselfe vpon the waters of baptisme Saint Ambrose That the whole Trinitie sanctifieth them Paulinus in his verses That this water doth euen conceiue God Augu. de baptism cont Donat l. 3. c. 10. l 1. c. 19. Câpr de vnct chrysmat or by God Saint Augustine That God is present with his word and Sacraments And there is not one amongst vs that doubteth thereof yet what one amongst them all is there that wil say that the water is God What is meant then by that which S. Cyprian saith The diuine power is shed vpon the visible Sacrament Verily the same which he saith in an other place In the Sacramentes the diuine power doth worke most mightily and powerfully the truth is present with the signe Adest signo and the spirit with the Sacrament c. Chrysostome Let vs draw neere vnto the body of our Lord with honor and cleannesse And when thou shalt see it proposed or set vpon the Table say ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã saith he and not ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã in thy selfe and not to the Sacrament not to that which thou seest set before thee for the Grammaticall construction will not suffer it because of this body I am not any more earth and ashes c. Of this body towards whom he exhorted vs in the sentences going before to flie vp on high after the manner of Eagles Of that body then which is at the right hand of the father not in the hands of the Minister Of that body in a word which is not inclosed in the bread but signified by the bread whereof hee hath said vnto thee before What signifieth the bread The body of Christ. And indeed he speaketh vnto thee to come vnto the Sacrament with reuerence but to GOD with feruencie of loue and firmenesseof faith And that thou shouldest set before thy selfe in the same at that instant thine owne miserie and his mercie that so thou maist bee a worthie partaker of this misterie Thy myserie in that thou art nothing but earth and ashes his mercie in that hee vouchsafeth to raise these ashes vnto glorie Thy miserie in that thou art nothing but sinne and corruption his mercie in that hee hath made his owne Sonne sinne for thee in that hee hath giuen his body to bee broken and his bloud to bee shed for thy transgressions And therefore comming vnto this Sacrament of the remembrance of his death August aduer Iudae c. 1. thou oughtest of good right say vnto him Because of this body I am no more earth and ashes But to approach or drawe neere thereunto saith Saint Augustine is to belieue The true and proper approaching is performed by the heart and not by the flesh by the power of faith Idem de peccat merit l. 1. c. 18. and not by the presence of the body c. As likewise to vs of Baptisme We are carried to Christ our Physition that wee may receiue the Sacrament of eternall saluation that is carried to Christ in Baptisme after the same manner that wee approach and draw neere vnto God in the Sacrament of the Eucharist who also saith the same vnto vs in the hearing of the word Chrysost hom 12. de mulier Cananaea Draw neere vnto him which is preached vnto
you And concerning this drawing neere Chrysostome saith vnto vs in an other place There is no need why thou shouldest passe from one place to an other to draw neere vnto him hee is daily at hand vnto thee And the Apostle in the same sence Let vs draw neere vnto the throne of grace c. The sound notwithstanding which ringeth lowd in Sermons and the water which is sprinkled in Baptisme August de Vnico Baptif contr Petil. c. 5 Ambros de iis qui initiant myst c. 9. was neuer called God Saint Augustine on the contrarie saith One God is more then one Baptisme for Baptisme is not God but a Sacrament of God Of the same consequence are these that follow Saint Ambrose saith of this Sacrament Taste and see that the Lord is good Verily as he that distributeth his graces vnto vs in this Sacrament as hee that therein offereth vs his flesh and his bloud c. And there also he saith The body of Christ is signified It is become not a corporall but a spirituall meate Hee speaketh therefore of our Lord and not of the Sacrament of him of whome hee addeth Blessed are they that put their trust in him Saint Augustine vpon Beda Who shall dare to bee so bold as to eate his Lord Deverb Dom. secund Luc. Serm. 19. Hieronym ad Pammach August ad Infantes citatuâ a Beda in 1. Cor. Idem in Ioh. tract 7. But much more say we so for he saith It is bread and it is bread and it is bread God the father God the Sonne and God the holy Ghost God who whatsoeuer he giueth thee giueth thee nothing better then himselfe But verily it is that heauenly bread of whome S. Ierome saith The Saints and holy men are fed with this bread they are filled full with euerie word of God they haue one and the same both for their Lord and for their meate Of whome Cyrill saith This flesh hath the diuine word who naturally is life And of whome Saint Augustine saith in like manner Euerie belieuer is made partaker of the body and bloud of our Lord when he is made a member of Christ in baptisme c. He is our meat but so as that we haue our mouth and taste in our hearts c. Wherefore they should rather haue pitcht and grounded themselues vpon these generall propositions so expresse and plainly set downe in the fathers Chrysostome Chrysost in oper imperf hom 11. The word of God is nothing lesse then the bodie of Christ Saint Ierome I hold that the Gospel is the bodie of Christ And although saith he that these words He that eateth my flesh c. may be vnderstood of the mystery yet it is more truly meant of the word of the Scriptures namely Seeing that the word and the Sacraments are instruncents Orig. in Exed hom 13. Ambr. de Bened Patriarch wherein it pleaseth God to lay open his graces Origen Doe you make accompt that there is lesse daunger in neglecting the word of God then in neglecting of his body Who doubteth but if that the Sacrament had beene verie God but that they would haue spoken otherwise Saint Ambrose saith Hee gineth vs this day the bread which the Minister daily consecrateth by his word that is meant of Christ We may also take the Lord himselfe who saith I am the bread of life Epiphanius This bread is of a round fashion insensible c. Our Lord all sense wholly sensible whole God wholly mouing c. Origen This bread sanctified by the word of God and praier in regarde of the materiall parts that it hath passeth into the belly and so goeth into the draught c. Is not this plainely to distinguish the heauenly bread that is to say Christ from the sanctified bread that is to say the Sacrament The creature from the Creator and that which goeth into the stomacke from that which pearceth into the soule Who is hee then that can any longer indure that such blasphemies should be fathered vpon antiquitie Stella clericor Serm. Discipuli Serm. 3. Creatur a vobis mediantib vobis That nothing was reserued Clem. Ep. 2. Idem in Lithurg Apul. Metamorph l. 11. Ruf Eccles hyst l. 2. c. 23. Gloss antiqua apud Turneb Orig. in Leuit. hom 5. Hieronym in 1. Cor. 11. Hesych in Leuit l. 2. c. 8. Euag. l 4. c. 30. Niceph. l. 17. c. 25. Concil Matisc 2. c. 25. Concil Turonens making the same to call the creature God yea or rather which is a great deale worse that it should haue called God a creature For they are not ashamed to vtter it in their words and writings That their Priest is the Creator of his Creator He that created you hath giuen you power to create him He that hath created you without your selues is created by you by the meanes of you And surely let vs further adde this one thing That if the Fathers had had any such opinion they would not haue vsed that which remained of the Sacrament in such sort as wee reade they did Their pretended Clement I. saith After that euerte man hath taken it the Deacons set vp the rest and carrie it in pastophoria that is to say into the Ministers their lodgings or Chambers And thus also it is called by Apuleius and Ruffinus in the description of the Temple of Serapie c. Thinke with your selues whether the poore Christian Martyrs in the time of Nero had had any leasure as then once to dreame of this goodly frame and workmanship Origen The Lord said vnto his Disciples of the bread that he gaue them Take eate he did not post them ouer to eate of the same afterward neither did he commaund them that it should bee kept vnto the next morning Saint ierome After the Communion they that did eate the supper together in the Church did make an end of all that which was remaining of the sacrifices So that out of that sacred vse they did eate it as common bread Hesychius We see how they vse to burne in the Church all that which is not consumed According to Euagrius and Nicephorus They were giuen to the little children that were in the Schooles to cate them the same hower And the Councell of Mascon II. haue ordained and decreed that it should be so That of Tours about the yeare 813. held vnder Charlemaine addeth thereto That it be done with discretion Likewise Cardinall Humbert a Burgundian writing against Nicetus Blameth the Greekes for that they did not burne it But it is for certaine that it was not kept eleuated or shut vp close in a boxe to be worshipped of the people We reade rather that it was sent to the sicke and such as were absent that Bishops in token of their Christian vnitie and that they were all one bread did mutually send this sanctified bread Concil Laodic c. 14. one to an other c. The Parishes likewise at Easter one to an other Which thing
in the law when he vnderstandeth not by reason of his time either some exquisite Latin or some Greeke word alledged by the lawier And yet the Councell of Trent who set it downe for their position to make errours authentike will haue this translation to be authentike and that in lectures disputations Sermons and Expositions it be vsed ordinarily yea and that before that of Pagnines or Arias Montanus who haue kept themselues nearer vnto the Hebrew And why Not for any other cause then that ignorance may continue so as that errour vnder the darknesse thereof may hide it selfe seeing it cannot stand before the truth true vnderstanding or the light The third is Scripture is expounded by Scripture That we expound Scripture by Scripture one place by another one by manie obscure and darke ones by cleare and plaine ones or one darke one by many plaine ones In which attempt we haue a farre greater facilitie then they who should assay the like in prophane authours because that we are assured that there is no contrarietie therein because also that there is a perpetuall correspondencie betwixt the new Testament and the old and both in the one and the other in it selfe betwixt the new Sacraments and the old and in the olde and new in themselues c. And finally because that in obscure places wee are not to search for or gesse out any thing that is new yea on the contrarie not any thing said Saint Augustine which is not clearely apparant in such places as are most cleare This is the order Nehem. 8.8 which we reade to haue beene practised by Esdras who saith Nehemiah read in the booke of the law of God and therewith gaue the meaning causing it to be vnderstood by the Scripture it selfe The question at that time was about the purging and casting out of certaine abuses Actes 17.11 which were crept into the Church during the time of the captiuitie by being mingled amongst the Gentiles And hence are they of Berea commended as conferring the Scriptures most diligently one with another to see if it were so as Saint Paule preached vnto them The question was of the resoluing of themselues by them against the opinion of the Pharisies and Doctors of the Law by the Scriptures Whether Iesus crucified were that Christ or not And this also is the precept which the Fathers teach vs. Irenâus The demonstrations which are in the Scriptures Iren. cont Haeres 1.2 c. 46. 67. Basil in asceticis 267 Chrysost hom 13. in Gen. in Psalm 147. Aug. de verb. dom serm 2. 11. Tho. 1. p. sum q. 1. art 9. Aegid l. 2. Dist 37. cannot bee shewed but by the Scriptures Againe The exposition which is according to the Scriptures is that legitimate and safe c. Saint Basil That which seemeth darke and ambiguous in one place of Scripture is cleare and plaine in another Chrysostome The Scripture is expounded by it selfe this is ourarmorie against the Diuell c. Saint Augustine The wordes of the Gospel doe carrie their interpretation with them Againe VVe vnderstand the darke places by the cleare what is darkly deliuered in one place is clearly set downe in another c. S. Thomas That which is spoken metaphorically in one place is spoken simplie in another Aegidius Romanus Of manie expositions we must take that which agreeth with the other scriptures and not that which hurteth any part of them Following also that which is said by the Canon Relatum Can Relat. That we must not seeke out a sense at our pleasure from the purpose to confirme it any maner of way by the authoritie of the Scriptures but take the meaning of the truth from the Scriptures themselues if the place may be drawne into diuerse senses The fourth is In all expositions the analogie of faith must be kept That we see that the exposition which we giue or take do alwaies retaine and keepe the analogie of faith that it be proportionable and correspondent to the bodie of Christian doctrine which some of the olde fathers haue called the rule of faith I say not to establish any new principles or articles of Christianitie but to conforme and referre themselues to those which haue beene receiued therein from all times For the holy Scripture is the vniuersall principle of our faith and it is well said That there are as many articles of faith as sillables in it because it is said of the least iota that it shall not passe and by consequent that we must most firmely beleeue it all But notwithstanding as this said Aegidius saith All the Scripture is resolued into certaine articles of faith to which all the doctrine therein is to be referred and those as principles abide firme in themselues and are not resolued into others And from these principles we deduct our Theoremes and answere our Problemes no lesse then the Mathematicians doe their Maxims ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã Axiomes and demaunds but so much the more firmely by howe much wee are the faster founded vpon the Creator then vpon the creature vpon the Law-giuer to the whole world then vpon the law which he hath giuen it which is Nature Thom. in Sum. q. 1. art 5.6 8. And this is it which Thomas saith That the holy doctrine taketh not his principles from any humane science but from the wisdome of God from which as from the most soueraigne wisedome all our knowledge must take his direction and ordering and that this skill commeth not vnto vs from naturall reason but by reuelation that is from the Scripture diuinely inspired and therefore that it iudgeth of all Verie farre differing from them who dispute of diuinitie according to the principles of Philosophie or other sciences against the law of Logicke which saith ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã c. That we must not leape out of one science into another but rather from a true vse of Logicke discourse of reason from principles of one science to draw the propositions and consequences that belong to the same Our principles then are articles of faith against which we must beware that our expositions doe not strike and dash themselues but one the contrarie it is necessarie that they become conformable thereto To strike thereupon that is amongest the Mathematicians Deduci ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã to be brought to an impossibilitie that is to say froÌ out of the bounds of reason of Nature of true diuinitie this is according to the lawes of combate to rub against the bands or ropes that pale in their ground that is to bee ouercame to be conuinced of falshood Now the primitiue Church hath gathered them for vs into a briefe collection al those which the Councels put forth afterward are nothing but Commentaries thereupon and it is the same which Tertul. calleth RegulaÌ fidei Vnder which Tertul. de vela viâg de praes aduers Praxeam August de Symbol Beda in S. Ioh. l 1.
c. 4. l. 3 c 5. saith Saint Augustine hath beene gathered togither whatsoeuer was dispersed throughout the diuine Scriptures to the end that the memorie of the most dull and slow of conceipt might not be ouerlaboured And whereof Beda after him leaueth vs this lesson That we must beware that Secundum fidem fit Sacramenti diuini expositio That the exposition of the diuine mysteries be according to faith In such sort as that we haue two Canons but the one neuerthelesse an abridgement of the other the Canonicall Scripture and the Canon of faith that is the Creede that to stay our spirits so that they may not search for in substance any thing in faith Tertul. de praescript saith Tertullian anie where else then in the doctrines of faith This to direct them in the expounding of that that is of the Scriptures and doctrines of faith to the ende that they may not admit of any sense how plausible soeuer it might be which is gone be it neuer so little from the articles of faith For example ãâã wee haue to deale with an Arrian we shall say vnto him after the maner of Saint Augustine let vs pitch our selues without any shifting vpon the Canonicall Scriptures we haue no other titles whereby we may learne the right but them But if from these Scriptures he alledge vnto vs The father is greater then I c. we shall call to mind that it is also written I and the father are one and the Scripture cannot be contrarie To the ende then that the one and the other may proue true we shall distinguish referring the first vnto the humane nature and the other vnto his diuine that so we may not conclude against that which is said I beleeue in Iesus Christ for Cursed be hee that putteth his coÌfidence in any thing but God c. And let vs further obserue here that as hath bin said there is no societie since that of the Apostles that can make that Canonicall Scripture which is not as in like maner there is not any that can make an article of the faith of that which of it selfe is not one This power saith the Cardinall Caietan himselfe did ende there and there is not any either succession or discent which can attribute it vnto it selfe or which can pretend the same What then How we are to receiue and intertaine the Fathers And shall the Fathers that haue so highly deserued of the Church that haue so much and so well trauelled in the Scriptures serue vs for no vse Yes but marke the place due vnto them and the which no other can bee attributed vnto them they could not be called any sooner It is for God in his word to giue vs his law he is our onely Lawgiuer to whom alone it appertaineth saith the Apostle to saue and to destroy Iames. 4.12 Expounders not lawgiuers The greatest honour that man can haue giuen him in the Church is to be an expounder To take vpon him to make any lawes therein of himselfe this is to coine money this is to incroch vpon the Prince he cannot doe it without committing of treason yea without the incurring of blasphemie Here therefore we admit of the Fathers as expounders of the law word and diuine Scriptures we receiue their interpretations with reuerence admiring their pietie doctrine and zeale but alwayes with this exception most reasonable That they be but expounders not law-giuers dispensers of the mysteries of godlinesse and not authours In whom we must consider what they haue said not in that they haue said it but in that they haue said it by the way of expounding of the Scripture not speaking of their owne heades but according to their capacitie of the sense and meaning thereof As for example we reason of purgatorie The question here is not to know if it be to be found in Origen Augustine or S. Gregorie this rule abideth alwayes firme That if there be one it must needes bee that God hath made it for there is not any Doctor that hath power abilitie to make it If it belong to vs to know it let God haue reuealed and disclosed it vnto vs for it is not to be learned at the gesse of any of the Fathers let vs then haue found it in the Church her treasurie the Scripture Now there will be some to shew vs some places out of it from which they would collect and gather it and accordingly they will that they should be vnderstood on this sort and we on the contrarie In this controuersie we shall reade ouer the Text verie carefully as also that which goeth before and that which followeth we shall examine it to see if it be faithfully translated we shall make comparison of the like places All this hitherto is nothing else but to call vpon the Spirit of God to be our aide so much the more to inlarge and open our spirits according to that which the Apostle saith vnto vs. 1. Cor. 14â Let the spirits of the Prophets that is of such as haue the gift of interpretation be subiect to the Prophets We shall here consult with the olde Fathers we shall compare their expositions both with the Text and amongst themselues we shall marke if they haue vsed a good translation whether they handle the place by the way or of set purpose affirmatiuelie or doubtfully and where they differ as ordinarily it falleth out we shall weigh them both according to the age wherein they shal haue liued for it importeth infinitely and according to the testimonie that the Church shall haue giuen of their doctrine for they are not all of one weight And in the ende caeteris paribus We shall not despise the consent and agreement of many against a few But God forbid that we should receiue them for Law-giuers or yet for Authours of opinions in the Church either contrarie vnto or without the scriptures And as farre off must it be that we should make them correctors or iudges ouer that ballance which iudgeth them and wherin themselues will be weighed For this should be blasphemie against God treason against the Church and an iniurie to themselues We wholie yeeld vnto them in thus doing the honour which they haue giuen to their predecessours as whereby they haue set a law and giuen an example for their successors practised by them against those by these against themselues If they had done otherwise where had we beene long agoe Seeing there is not so much as one of them that hath not erred in some thing many of them in the points of faith and certaine of them so farre as that they haue fallen into heresie Verily wee had beene Chiliasts with Irenaeus Montanists with Tertullian Anabaptists with Saint Cyprian Arrians with Theophilus Pelagians with Faustus the originals of all errours yea euen of Arrianisme with Origen we should wound the bodie of Christ not being subiect to paine Zonar de Ori. in Constant S. Hie
of saints that the doctrine of the Church was contrarie thereunto holding them as monuments rather then temples and differences of names rather then of any such intentions But the great abuse sprung vp vnder Iustinian the Emperour and in the time of Gregorie about the sixt age after that the great personages which did vnderprop the Church and beare it vp against the assaults of idolatry were dead when barbarousnes had ouerflowed all nations and consequently ignorance had besotted the Church For then it was that after the imitation of Paganisme saints crept vp into the places of Gods and challenged or was thought worthy of euerie one his temple that all the edifying and building vp of the Church seemed to consist in buildinges and not any longer to assemble and couple together according to the doctrine of S. Peter S. Paule liuely stones that successiuely and by degrees sinnes beganne to be ransomed thereby And that so greatly as that Chroniclers ordinarily after that they had set downe and deliuered all the wickednes mischiefe that they could of any king or Emperour yet they would conclude in these words and notwithstanding Erat pius deuotus he was full of pietie and deuoutly giuen towards God For say they he builded such a monasterie such a church c. Together with excesse in buildings The dedication of Temples there entred into the Church the ceremonie of dedications taken from the Iewish rites for the simplicitie of Christianitie knew no such thing and that which wee reade in the Epistle of Clement vnto Saint Iames is very friuolous for seeing there was no Temples in their time it could not possibly come to passe that there should bee any dedicating of them But as Salomon had dedicated the Temple by a solemne prayer which hee vttered and deliuered with his owne mouth in the presence of all the people Constantine consecrated the Citty of Constantinople vnto God in the presence of the Fathers of the Councell of Nice the Temple of the holy Sepulcher at Ierusalem Euseb l. 4. de vit Constant Athanas Apo. 2. before them that were assembled at the Councell of Tyre And this manner of consecration was performed by solemne prayer and in homilies and exhortations taken out of the word of God as also in the celebrating of the holie Supper then with a publike and generall ioye and reioycing in large and bountifull giftes from the Prince and such like things But as for holy water and all such odde trumperies as are vsed at this day there was not a worde but as the authoritie of Bishoppes grew so they drew vnto themselues this power and facultie of dedicating Temples And thereupon it is that Gelasius his Decree came forth a little before the yeare 500. 26. q. 5. De Conse 1. C. Nemo Socrat. l. 2. c 8. That the Basilickes or new Temples should not bee dedicated without the commaundement of the Bishoppe of Rome and that of Felix the third a little before the yeare 600. That the Bbs. should dedicate them and not the Ministers And Socrates addeth thereunto this word with the consent of the Bb. of Rome Whereupon Durand giueth an excellent reason saying Because hee carrieth the image of Christ of whome it is saide without me yee can do nothing Againe If the Lord build not the house the builders labour but in vaine For the forme who would belieue Clement in his Epistle vnto S. Iames Clem. in Epist 2. ad IacobuÌ Euarist in Decret Epist Diuinis precibus sacrabantur they were consecrated by prayers For it is too cleare and manifest that as then there were no Christian Temples Or who in like manner would follow Euaristus his assertion that sayeth it was with saying of a Masse when as wee haue proued that this word was not knowne of more then 300. yeares after him and yet it is from this place and assertion that Gratianus woulde haue it that the Masse is of the substance of the dedicatioÌ But the truth is that the first was made by Constantine Anno 350. with prayers sermons Psalmes of praise vnto God c. And Siluester the first consecrating the Temple of Lateran added vnction thereunto after the custome of the Iewes as sayeth the Bull of Clement the sixt Clemens 6. in Bulla An. 6 oc But this was with a purpose to doe some manner of extraordinarie honour thereunto the like whereof was not practised againe till the time of Gregorie the first who ordained furthermore that there should be vsed perfumes and the reliques of Saintes but this was yet no further grounded then in a simple admonition but thereupon commeth the idolatrous Councell of Nice namelie the second and maketh it a law Anno 788. Concil Nic. 2. c. 7. Synod Bracar 2. c. 5. That there should bee no more consecrating of Temples without the reliques of the Saints It was an vsual custome in the time of their ioye and reioycing willinglie and freelie to giue somewhat to the maintenance of the Church and this also was drawne into a Decree That they were not further to consecrate then when and where as they did see meanes for the maintaining of the Priestes Cleargie Lampes and all the rest of the seruice and this they tearme to bee assured of a dowrie And thereupon the historie deliuereth great and plentifull store of the deceitfull and craftie sleightes which the couetousnes of the Priestes did thereupon practise and deuise Then they made a Sacrament consecrated them to the name of the holie Trinitie and in vttering the wordes gaue the name vnto the Temple and they accounted it as a great error to consecrate the thing twise as though forsooth it had beene so deepelie imprinted as that it could neuer bee worne or blotted out and thereby they proceeded to strengthen it with the same lawes that were due to Baptisme as wee finde in the Epistle of Zacharie vnto Boniface Anno 800. about the yeare â00 wherein hee sayeth If in the time of his Priesthood he haue consecrated Churches in the name of the Trinitie or baptized infantes let such consecration and baptisme abide firme and immoueable And in this goodlie Decree deuised by Gratianus saying The churches once consecrated must not be consecrated againe no more then a child once baptized in the name of the Father of the Sonne and of the holy Ghost Finally towardes the yeare 1000. it was grown into a full and absolute forme Anno 1000. D. 68. c. ecles stmel as namely that the Bb. after a short prayer should besprinckle the outside of the wals with holy water with a bunch of hysop and afterward strike the dore with his pastorall staffe saying Lift vp your gates O ye princes c. and that thrice which being opened then hee painteth it with some manner of letters on the inside of the wals he coniureth the salt the wine the water the ashes maketh a composition thereof wherin he dippeth his thomb
that booke of the Gospell or as though that booke were God But here is to bee noted that out of all the Latine Church which is made the mother of all these goodly ceremonies they cannot bring forth any thing for their purpose and therefore are constrained to runne to the Greeke Church They doe likewise agree and consent that in the Churches of Ethiopia in which there is neuer any seruice done without a communion Aluares in the historie of Ethiopia there is not vsed any eleuation at all But the truth is that this bread did not begin to bee thus eleuated amongst themselues before such time that two foule abuses transubstantiation the alone eating of the minister did iumpe fal out together For then as we shal see hereafter they began to bend themselues to feed the eies of the people in stead of their spirites and soules Durand l. 4. in 6. parte Can. Ioh. 12. Leuit. 7. In the meane time Durand ceaseth not to bee so shamelesse as to apply those words of our Lord in S. Iohn to that end When I shall be exalted or lifted vp I will draw all men vnto me this being spoken of the lifting vp of our Lord vppon the crosse In another place with some more probabilitie he saith That this custome was taken from the eleuation and shaking of the offeringes that was made in the Iewish law as we haue touched in his place Now it is also certaine that the Sacraments were ordinarily taken of the offerings of the people That it must not be worshipped Of adoration wee say likewise That the commandement of God is most plaine and expresse Thou shalt worshippe one onely God The difference also from elsewhere is found so great being from a bread dedicated to the seruice of God to God himselfe as that there is no apparance but that if it had beene our duties to haue worshipped it the holy scriptures woulde not haue concealed the same from vs And the daunger also so great either to do it without subiect for that were idolatrie or to omit it the subiect being there seeing this might grow to a contempt of God Seeing then the Euangelistes seeing Saint Paule who is so carefull in exhorting vs to proue our selues and who reproueth the Corinthians so sharpely for that they did not tarrie one for another saith not one worde thereof vnto vs seeing further that no old writers rightly vnderstood doe speake of any worship to be giuen to the Sacraments as no more vnto the bread or wine of the holy Supper then to the water in baptisme what followeth to bee concluded vpon but that it was because transubstantiation was not knowne For who can in any Christian sort doubt that Iesus Christ is to be worshipped where he is both with that honour that is due to God and also to the vttermost of mans power by deed word and thought Who seeth not also what a strong and mightie argument this had beene for the Orthodoxes against the Arrians and Arrius himselfe when to proue the eternall diuinitie of the Sonne of God they gathered all the places where it is said that hee was worshipped if they had beene able to haue alleadged vnto them and that from the vse or tradition of the Church That this is true we proue because we worship him yea both you and we in the Sacrament vnder the Accidentes of bread and wine c. To the Arrians I meane with whom we reade not that there was any disagreement for the Sacrament And on the contrarie what a prize had it beene for Eutyches against the Orthodoxes seeing he vndertooke to maintaine that the humane nature of Christ is confusedly mixt with his diuine if he had beene able to say And that it is true wee worship the bodie and bloud c. in the Sacrament which thing ought not so to be if they bee not really there and there they cannot be if they be not in all places and to bee in all places is an incommunicable propertie of the diuine nature c. I leaue to speake how that the holy Supper was wont of old to be celebrated after the manner of a banquet wherein they vsed to sit where we see againe a barre crossing the Mandatum of the Monkes of the order of Saint Bennet According to that which Saint Augustine telleth vs That many euen in his time vpon the day that the Lord made his Supper did celebrate the same wherein they did one feast another to shew forth the death of the Lorde and to testifie their vnion Not in a temple not vppon an Altar but in a priuate house vpon a table nothing the lesse holy notwithstanding seeing this gift that is to say this action sanctified the Altar Now herein wee agree That Christ God and man must bee worshipped euerie where That at the name of Iesus euerie knee must bow That euerie tongue must confesse that hee is vnto the glorie of the father wee honour his holy worde his holy Sacraments wee heare him with all attention and wee draw neere vnto him with reuerence let our aduersaries call it honour worshipping yea and adoration if they will prouided that we be agreed vpon the thing But we say That we must put a difference betwixt the Sacrament and our God himselfe That the same honour is not due to the one that is due to the other That that same which we giue to the Sacraments is for that they bee instrumentes and vessels of his grace and not because of themselues not vpon any consideration of their being reallie and substantiallie himselfe not saith Bonauenture As though they did containe grace but for that they signifie and set it out They alleadge vnto vs againe their pretended Areopagite Answere to the places obiected out of the fathers No inuocatioÌ Claud. ââspens de ador Euchat l. 1. c. 2. ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã Donys Hier. c. 3. vbi Pachym ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã He say they doth inuocate and pray vnto this sacrament for he saith O holy and diuine ceremonie shew vnto vs openly that which is concealed and kept close from vs in these obscure and enigmaticall signes c. Replenish the eyes of our spirites with a singular light c. But let them listen a little to his expositor Pachymeres thereupon Hee speaketh vnto this ceremonie saith hee as if it had a soule and that not without apparance as Gregorie the diuine saith O holy and great Passeouer For our Passeouer and this holy ceremonie is our Lord Iesus vnto whom he directeth his speech Our Lord verily which is the substance of the holy Supper as hee was of the Passeouer as hee is of Baptisme and as hee is of all the Sacramentes And if thou wouldest further knowe where hee seketh him Verily in heauen not vpon the table for he called them signes and said vnto vs a little before Let vs passe from the effectes to the causes c. And then when
Saint Ambrose saide to the water of baptisme O water which washest the worlde by the bloude of Christ which hast merited that is to say hast beene made worthie to bee a Sacrament of Christ c. shall hee be thought to haue adored shall he be iudged to haue transubstantiated it into Christ And when their pretended Amphilochius crieth O worshipfull and reuerende conception meaning of the virgine make vs inheritors of eternall life preserue thy people and thine heritage c. shall hee haue crowned this conception with the Godhead And when themselues say to the oyle Aue sanctum oleum sanctam Chrisma I salute thee O holy oyle or holy vnction To the Crosse Aue Rex noster due spes vnica I salute and pray God blesse thee O our King our onelie hope shall they bee thought to haue really transubstantiated him Nay rather let them acknowledge that this place concludeth nothing Epiphan in Anchor let them remember that Epiphanius did heretofore name this mysterie vnto vs An insensible thing that Pachymeres compareth it to Nazianzene his Passeouer And therefore that this manner of speech is an Apostrophe a Rhetoricall figure that in other points they do not agree amongst themselues as whether the body of Christ be there dead or aliue hauing a soule or not hauing a soule sensible or insensible c. And therefore that they are first to agree themselues before they go about to fortifie themselues from this place Origen When saith hee thou eatest and drinkest the bodie and bloud of our Lorde Orig. in diuers euang loc hom 5. the Lorde entereth in and commeth vnder thy roofe and therefore humble thy selfe with the Centurion c. Hee meaneth then that the Sacrament is adored and then he meaneth also that wee adore the Saintes that is to say vertuous people when they come to see vs. For hee teacheth in the same place two waies by which Christ entreth into the faithfull the one when the Minister of the Church visiteth them the other when they receiue the incorruptible meat of the Sacrament And this is that which he saith elsewhere That God is in vs by the preaching of the Apostles and by the Sacrament of his bloud Idem Lom â And that this visitation is wrought in vs by the word and spirit he declareth and maketh plaine there also Speake onely the word saith he come onely with thy word Thy word is a looking glasse it is a perfect worke shew forth in this thy bodily absence the power of thy spirit c. If then according to Origen wee ought to adore the Sacraments and ministers then with as good right such men as are godly and vertuous but if these then it must be onely with a ciuill worship and adoration and so must that wherewith wee worship the other And if the adoration due to God alone being giuen to good men maketh idolatrie then also if it be giuen to Sacraments or ministeres or els this place concludeth nothing Chrysostome The wise men worshipped this bodie in the manger Chrysost in 1. Cor. 10. they worshipped it with feare and trembling Let vs at the least follow these barbarous and rude men wee which are citizens of heauen He speaketh of the bodie of Christ represented in the Sacrament and exhorteth the people to come thereunto with reuerence But the wise men verily did not worship him as God but as a king And therefore this is but to returne to that which Saint Clement sayeth Clem. l. 2. constit Draw neere vnto this Sacrament with the same reuerence that you would doe vnto a King that is to say vnto some honorable person He addeth Thou seest him not in the armes of a woman but thou seest the Minister present the spirite aboundantly shedde vppon this sacrifice The Priest verily with the eyes of the bodie but the spirite with the eyes of the spirite For was it not more readie otherwise if hee had had any such purpose to say as following the opposition Not in the armes of a woman but in the handes of a Priest Not the spirite shedde vppon the thinges set before them that is to say vppon the Sacraments But Christ sacrificed himselfe But the coherence and scope of the matter doth carrie vs to conceiue That Chrysostome laboured to raise the heartes of those that were present from base and lowe thinges vnto high and heauenly thinges when hee saith vnto them That there are not anie but Eagles that approach and come neere vnto this bodie Those saith hee that haue nothing to doe with the earth that haue the eyes of the vnderstanding sharpe clearely seeing and bent vpon the Sunne of righteousnesse Hee transporteth and conueigheth them as much as in him lyeth aboue the heauens when hee sayeth vnto them also Wee must with the wise men worship this bodie This bodie verilie which is no more on earth but on high at the right hand of God And then verilie after all these Hyperboles in spirite and not in bodie that is saith hee In as much as this mysterie causeth that the earth is a heauen vnto thee that the gates of heauen are open vnto thee that thou hast accesse and entrance thereinto c. And afterward how Verily In purging thy soule in preparing thy spirite to receiue these mysteries to see touch and eate this bodie After the same manner verilie that Saint Ierome saide of Paula Thou hast offered by faith the same offeringes that the wise men did offer thou hast worshipped with them God in the cribbe Chrysost in Lithurg c. But say they hee prayeth vnto him in his Liturgie I meane that which is attributed vnto him as Christ truely and not the Sacrament Heare saith hee O Lorde from the seate of the glorie of thy kingdome which art set with the father who aidest succourest and relieuest vs here below inuisiblie c. O Lord haue pittie vppon mee poore sinner c. Here I appeale to their owne consciences whether hee frame this his prayer vnto God or the Sacrament Is this to draw vs to gaze and looke vpon the Altar or to raise vs vp vnto the heauens of heauens Saint Ambrose Ambr. de spirit sanct l. 3. c. 12. Psal 95. 98. Worship his footstoole that is the flesh of Christ saith he which we worship in the mysteries which the Apostles worshipped in Iesus c. And Saint Augustine in like manner No man eateth this flesh except hee haue first worshipped it Who doubteth that wee ought to worshippe the flesh of Christ Christ inseparablie God and man Who doubteth likewise that no man can eate this flesh if hee haue not first worshipped it worshipped it by a true faith worshipped it with heart and affection c. But wee worshippe it after the same manner that wee eate it Wee eate it as wee take it and wee take it as wee touch it In truth but in spirite in spirite but in truth And God forbid that