of tyrannie That Saint Peter was the first amongst the Apostles eyther it was for his age or for his zeale as Marsilius of Padua sayeth or for his aboundance of grace as sayth Cusan the Cardinall and before him S. Augustine And admitte that he were president in their assemblies what shoulde there followe of this In all companies there is a chieftie of order but that doth not therefore import that there shoulde be a chieftie of power nor any superioritie in respect of the one ouer the other In the empire of Germanie there are seuen Electors The Archbishop of Mentz and the Countie Palatine are the chiefest the one amongst the Ecclesiasticall persons the other of the ciuil Haue they therfore power ouer their fellow Electors to wit ouer the other princes that haue not that degree That is a toye Also there is no wel gouerned assemblie where some one is not president to propound the matters they haue in hande to gather the voyces to pronounce sentence according to them Shall such a one therfore establish and dispose all at his pleasure all the worlde will say contrary Also Peter was president among twelue persons that by the electio of the Apostles and not otherwise Whosoeuer therefore will conclude that it is very good that in all cōpanies there be some one to gouerne their actions and to keepe order the conclusion shal be very good But that therfore the Pope as his successour should gouerne ouer all the worlde this should be no more order but the cōfusion of the whole world Moreouer as it hath bin notably disputed long ago against the Pope If S. Peter according to the decree of Anaclet cited by Isiodore was elected president by the Apostles it followeth not that his successour should bee ouer the successors of the Aposties vnlesse he be chosen by their successors themselues For Saint Iohn myght haue had better successours then Saint Peter all which together myght haue had power to choose one to gouerne And these are those personall dignities which descende not from the father to the sonnes and are not tyed to one chaire but depend vpon the common consent of those which haue instituted them according to that which Cardinall Cusan durst well saye that if by consent of the Christian Church the Bishoppe of Treues were chosen president of the Church he shoulde haue farre more ryght then the Bishoppe of Rome who hath it not but through sufferance and that the Bishoppe of Rome should be bound to acknowledge him for such a one and to yeeld him obedience We see then by the Scriptures that S. Peter was neuer ordeyned head of the Church by Iesus Christ that he was neuer taken for such a one also was neuer acknowledged in this qualitie or office by the Apostles as also we finde not that in any one Councill that euer the Pope hath alledged I meane within 500. yeres after Christ Iesus one onely place of scripture whē the primacie was builded Whereupō we conclude with all antiquitie that the Pope in respect that he is Peters successor cannot be called the Ministeriall heade of the Church that he is equal to all other Bishops that the primacy which he exerciseth is not in any wise founded vpō Gods law and consequently that all the articles which are founded thereupon for which as necessarie to saluation the Popes haue brought to confusion all Christendome haue not any foundation in Iesus Christ That the Pope or Bishop of Rome is not the Ministeriall head of the vniuersall Church by any right of mans lavve hovv he hath vsurped this title and povver CHAP. VIII BVt forasmuch as there is question of the succession of Saint Peter hauing seene in what it consisteth let vs see nowe what titles they bring forth to the ende they may be receiued into possession They alledge euery where that S. Peter was at Rome and hereof they conclude at one iumpe that the Pope is head of the Church We might denie that he was at Rome the which they can not proue by the holy Scripture whereof euery one may see what the foundation is of so wayghtie a buylding But contrariwise we finde great coniectures that he was neuer there of which wee were not the first searchers out but the greatest personages that were in many ages before vs Betwixt the death of our Lorde and the death of Nero there were 37. yeres By the holy Scripture it appeareth that Peter was at Hierusalem twentie yeeres after From thence he came to Antioch where Gregorie sayth that he was seuen yeres and Eusebius sayth 25. He that shall beleeue Eusebius he coulde not be martyred vnder Nero though he himselfe saye it For betwixt the passion of Christ the death of Nero there was but thirtie seuen yeeres and by Eusebius accompt there must be at the least xlvi yeeres And if we shall beleeue Gregorie there remaine but ten yeres during which time Peter could be at Rome But forasmuch as Peter and Paul were seene in Ierusalem S. Paul writing a long Epistle to the Romanes woulde he haue abstayned from him if he had bene there then Likewise he saluteth a great nomber of persons without making any mention of him Besides he writeth many Epistles from Rome in some of which a man shal finde some places that necessarily should haue made mention of him And in one place he complayneth that all had forsaken him beyng a prisoner for the Gospel And the 2. Epistle to Timothie was written the same yeere where a little after S. Paul was beheaded by the commandemēt of Nero. To be short whether S. Peter were at Rome before S. Paul or after If before as their legend sayeth that Saint Paul arriued there after that they two together had such combats agaynst Simō Magus whence commeth it that Saint Paul did not salute him in his Epistle to the Romanes Whence also commeth it that he maketh no mention of him in the other Epistles and which is more whence commeth it and howe can that accorde to that which S. Luke sayeth in the Actes That the Iewes sayd vnto Paul that they had vnderstoode nothing of him and they desire him to declare vnto them his opinion of that sect agaynst which euery man spake Is this credible vnto any that S. Peter who came thither before and was the Minister of Circumcision that he had taught them nothing of him Also whence commeth it that S. Paul who is wont diligently else where to rehearse their meetings as when they mette at Antioch maketh no mention of this meeting being in one of the most famous Cities in the worlde Nowe if Saint Peter came thither after Saint Paul besides that it is a great maruell that no mention is made thereof yet then the legende is false whereupon the primacie is founded and as it is false in one poynt so it may be in another Moreouer the Legende
Princes and people haue bene such noddies so ignorant that they haue suffered them selues to be troden vnder their feete And this were to doe the auncient doctors great wrong to apply thē to the refuting of this place whereupon some by the two swords vnderstand the olde and newe Testament others sounde doctrine and good example of life as also their owne glose doth But I report me to euery man if this be not opēly to deride Christ his word to say vnto him Haile king of the Iewes as the Pharises did whether these goodly swords deserue any otherwise to be refuted then by the lawfull sword of all Princes which beare the title of Christians And euē as wel grosided is that God hath made two lights the Pope is the Sunne the Emperour the Moone Ergo the Pope I know not howe many thousande times is greater then the Emperor Against which I will oppose none but their owne I sidore alledged by a Sorbonist who by the Sunne vnderstandeth a kingdome by the Moone the priesthood Also Iesus Christ comaunded the deuils to enter into the swine ergo the Pope is lord of the Temporaltie This passeth al kinde of blasphemy Our Lord saith Al power is giuē to me from the father aswel in heauen as in earth The Pope hath therefore an absolute cōmaundement ouer heauē earth And yet are these the ordinarie allegations of their decretals But they are now better aduised in their last disputations touching certeine other places but as ill to the purpose as blasphemous as the other It is writtē say the Iesuits of our time I will iudge saith the Lord betvvixt the sheepe and the sheepe betvvixt the Rāmes the Goates Therefore S. Peter his successors are iudges of al the earth S. August hath made an whole booke vpon this Chap. of Eze. yet neuer thought of this article of faith which was hidden in this verse But let vs reason of their words quite contrary Ezechiel saith that God vvil iudge betvvene the sheepe the sheepe c. the Pope saith that he will be he therefore he setteth himselfe in Gods seate It followeth therefore that the Pope is he of whō S. Paul hath foretold vs that would lift vp himselfe aboue all that is called god Also S Peter saith that baptizme was represēted by the Arke whereof this conclusiō foloweth that as by the Arke mankind was saued as it were begottē againe euen so Christiās are regenerated by baptizme c. They reason thereupō quite cōtrary Baptizme was figured by the Arke Noah was head of his sonnes in the Arke ergo Saint Peter his sonnes in the Arke ergo Saint Peter his successors are heads of the church I aske thē in what Lorgicke schoole this maner of reasoning may be allowed But with their leaue we will conclude otherwise Iustine Martyr one of that aunciētst doctors of the Church expounding this place He saith that Noah vvas a figure of Christ because he vvas the beginning of another generation regenerated by vvater And the Pope sayth that he was a figure of him It followeth then either that the Pope is Christ or else that he cannot be any other but he who woulde aduaunce himselfe to that place in the Church to wit Antichrist I woulde haue bene ashamed to haue alledged these places for them were it not that they which haue no shame to defende the Pope in this time are so impudent to alledge them and to make great bookes thereof And by this a man may see howe destitute they are of playne places when they are driuen to haue recourse to such But forasmuch as it appeareth not by the holy Scripture that our Lord hath ordeyned Peter head of the Church but altogether the contrary It followeth then that we see if S. Peter before his death hath euer exercised this charge and also if the other Apostles haue yeelded so much vnto him He was sent with Iohn into Samaria by the Apostles Now amongst men he that sendeth is aboue him that is sent he was accused amongst the brethren for hauing cōuersation amongst the Gentiles This vvent fore and yet notwithstanding he excuseth himselfe towardes them He did not then what seemed good to himselfe without beyng answereable for it to the brethren In the Councill at Ierusalem he propounded his opinion concerning the matter of the Gentiles whose vocation was reueyled vnto him and Iames there concludeth as President and letters are dispatched awaye in the name of the whole assemblie And yet this shoulde haue bene the place where this preeminence ought to haue appeared To be short he calleth himselfe a companion or fellowe of the Elders of the Church and louingly exhorteth them as his equalles and not by decrees and commaundementes c. If we should goe any further Saint Paul in two first chapters of the Epistle to the Galatians declareth that he was not subiect vnto him that Saint Peter required it not of him but onely that he gaue him the hande of fellowshippe to trauayle in the Lordes vineyarde and that he reprooued him to his face and that he resisted him as his fellowe and companion And their ordinarie glose sayeth vpon this place The other Apostles seemed to be more worthie then Paul because they were sent by Iesus Christ but he was a great deale more woorthie then they because he was sent by Christ altogether immortall whereas they were but sent by Christ then a mortall man Also he learned nothing of Peter nor of the rest but contrariwise he taught Peter and they conferred not any thing to him but he rather conferred and profited Peter Also the Lord Iesus sayeth Saint Paul which is in vs all hath ordeyned some Apostles some Prophets some Doctors c. for the Ministerie of his Gospell Also we are one body and one spirite hauing the same hope of calling one God one faith one Baptisme It shoulde haue followed that he shoulde haue adioyned in recommendation of this vnitie a ministeriall head of the Church Peter and his successours in the See of Rome Hitherto then we haue not so much as any appearance of primacie Yea but Peter is sometyme first named A poore foundation of so monstruous a buylding And the Uirgine Marie is named in some places the last and Saint Peter himselfe by Paul after S. Iames. But he was wont oftentymes to speake first and he was endowed with great giftes and oftentimes he is called by the fathers the chiefe amōgst the Apostles And who of vs is there that doth denie S. Peters excellencie that doeth not wonder at his incomparable zeale that doeth not place him in the vppermost seate of the Church And contrariwise who is he that doth more dishonour him then the Pope who hideth his filthinesses and vilanies vnder S. Peters Cloke vnder the colour of his name filleth all the worlde ful
time to time howe they are groūded vpon mans lawe and that which wee call positiue They holde that S. Peter was crucified vnder Nero in the yeere of our Lorde 69 and that Clement succeeded him Others say that Linus succeeded him then Saint Iohn yea and Iames himselfe If we beleeue those bookes supposed to bee Clements they shoulde haue obeyed Clement as head of the Church for he succeeded as they saye in Peters Authoritie he ought to haue no lesse authoritie then the popes at this daye who can dispense with Paules epistles A wonderfull case that the primitiue Church when they made the Canon of those bookes that should haue authoritie in the Church that they should rather put in those bookes of Iames and Iohn then of Clement the principall heire and successour of the holy ghost by the vertue of Saint Peters chaire A wonderfull matter further that this Clemēt made so smal accompt of succession so necessary in the Church seeing that in his epistle which he writeth to Iames Bishop of Ierusalem he calleth him our Lordes brother the Bishoppe of Bishops and gouernour of the Church of Ierusalem and of all others throughout all the worlde But yet a more wonderfull matter that they shoulde bee found so impudent in the light of good learning that at this day shineth as to foūd the papacie vpon those gaye bookes of Clement in which there are so many falsehoodes Clement writeth to Saynt Iames after Peters death and teacheth him the institution of our Lorde when as the Scripture witnesseth that S. Iames was martyred long before in Ierusalem and that as long as hee liued he was to teach Clement such matters and not to learne them of him And yet this is one of the notablest authors that they can alledge But let vs proceede We holde the Apostles Creede from the beginning of the Christian Church And we there finde the Catholike church But this article of the faith that pope Boniface the eight made is not therein That if we will be saued we must acknovvledge the pope to be the soueraigne Lord. Saint Cyprian saith That there is but one Bishoppricke of vvhich euery Bishop holdeth his parte vvholy vvithout any diuision Also that none of his time either called or made him selfe Bishoppe of Bishops eyther made through tyrannie his companions subiect to his obedience Also he complaineth that certaine prophane men and Schismatikes vvith drevve them selues to the bish of Rome who saith he hath none but certaine desperate wicked fellovves that stay vpon him making thē selues beleeue that the Bishops of Affricke haue lesse povver then the Bishops of Rome And in very deede he calleth not Stephen Cornelius bishops of Rome other thē brethren cōpanions handleth Stephen rudely enough in manye places To be short a litle after his death the church of Affricke decreed in the councill of Carthage that none should be called the prince or chiefe of ministers or the first Bishoppe but onely according to the dignitie of Cities the Bishoppe of the first See. Irenee very liuely reproueth Victor the Bishop of Rome who through a certaine shamelesse ambition had excommunicated the Churches of Asia for disagreeing about the Passeouer The Ministers saith he vvhich haue helde the eldershippe of the Church ouer vvhich thou novv doest gouerne Anicetus Pius Higinus c. haue not done as thou hast done neither they also vvhich vvere vvith them Tertullian who otherwise is wont to attribute verye much to Saint Peter scorneth the Bishop of Rome his great ambition which then began to shew it selfe albeit in a certaine place he maketh a long narration of the praises of the Church of Rome yet he teacheth not neither neere nor farre of that which is the principall to wit that it was the infallible seat of the holy Ghost by Peters successiō And yet these are for all that the very firste of all antiquitie and in whose time the Church of Christ more florished then at any time In the time of Constātine as the church had more liberty so it had also more ambition then Bishops begā first to think on miters that before time thought nothing els but to be martyrs That same famous Council of Nice was then called together by Constantine the Emperour to the ende to decide the matter of Arrius The B. of Romes deputies were there but they sate onely in the fourth place Yea one decree was there made by which certaine limits were attributed to euerie patriarke ouer which the Canon gaue them equall authority which the Bishop of Rome was wont to haue ouer the neighbour Churches of his citie They went about by infinite meanes to corrupt the canons of this councill as the histories do witnesse vnto vs But Cusan the Cardinal alledging this Councill acknowledgeth the trueth in these words By this we see saith he how much authoritie the Pope hath gotten in our time against the sacred auncient constitutions and altogether through the lēgth of time and custome of a slauish subiectionall obedience And yet in meane time Iulius with standeth it not neither doe his Legates alledge to the fathers of the Councill their Tibi dabo I will giue vnto thee nor their Pasce oues meas Feed my sheep for as yet they were not studyed so deeply therin but they rested onely in the ordinance of the Councill which afterwardes was confirmed by the Councils of Antioche and of Constantinople And this was about the time that they woulde deuise the donation of Constantine to pope Syluester confuted by so many learned men so long time agoe that none but such as are ignorant will beleeue it But if they will beleeue the original which is kept in Vaticā in the popes library in goldē letters let thē also beleeue these words which are written added in the end Quam fabulā longi tēporis mēdacia finxit that is to say in the proper words of ill latine This is a fable which an old lye hath forged Or if they wil therin beleeue the legend of Pope Syluester then let them also beleeue that which it sayeth that then was hearde a voyce from heauen saying Hodie effusum est venenum in Ecclesiam that is to say At this day poyson is shedde into the middest of the Church In the first and seconde Councill of Ephesus Cyrillus and Dioscorus Patriarches of Alexandria did gouerne there though the Bishoppe of Rome there had his deputies And it forceth not to saye that the seconde was not lawfull For this can not be knowen but by the yssue but it sufficeth that in the beginning and then when men thought that it was verye lawfull and that in such a time as the ceremonies were kept there Leo the Bishoppe of Rome neyther his deputies did not there striue for the chiefe place because they thought it to haue no good grounde In the Councill of Chalcedon
they deeme spoyled him selfe of his Empire to enriche them Chrysost sayeth Whosoeuer of the Bishoppes shall desire primacye in earth he shall find confusiō in heauen he that shall desire to be the chiefe he shall not be reputed in the nomber of the seruaunts of Christ Gregory the great Bishop of Rome when the Bishop of Constātinople would attribute vnto him selfe that Supremacy he sayth not that he doeth wrong to Saint Peter or that hee withholdeth vsurpeth the right of the Bishoppes of Rome but rather he protesteth that this vvas a prophane title full of sacriledge and the fore-running of Antichrist and that this was to say with Lucifer I will ascend aboue the cloudes and will make my selfe equall to the high God. That none of his predecessours tooke vpon them to be aboue their brethren cōpanions And if there vvere any such amongst thē he falling downe al the Church should stūble fal vvith him That this vvere to destroy all christianitie And after many such other woordes he pronounceth this generall sentence That vvhosoeuer shal call himselfe vniuersal Bishop or shall desire to be so called that he is the forerunner of Antichrist forasmuch as through pride he axalteth him selfe aboue all As touching him self he flatly refused it and prayed Eulogius the Bishop of Alexandria not to giue him this proude name Hee acknowledgeth that the Bishoppes of Alexandria and Antioche are as well in Peters chaire as they of Rome to be short that Peter Paul Andrevv Iohn c. they are al particular heads of the people vvhom they gouerne but all members vnder one head vvhich is Christ hovvsoeuer they holde Peter for chiefe amongest them I beseech the readers that they will take paines to reade vpon this matter the epistles of Saint Gregory and there they shall finde the condemnation of this Supremacie more expressely then yet I haue said To conclude the Emperours haue called generall Councils the patriarks and. Metropolitanes those that were Nationall and prouincial They that were Patriarkes euery one was president ouer the See of his patriarchshippe and not the Bishoppe of Rome nor his deputies in general councils The patriarks or chiefe Bishoppes went not to seeke their Palls at Rome but were Canonically elected ouer those places The Bishoppe of Rome as appeareth by those Epistles them selues of Gregorye the great when hee was chosen exhibited vnto them the confession of hys fayth by a Synodall Epistle as they did to him Eche one of them had an Ecclesiasticall iudgement ouer his owne and none appealed from them no not the Bishoppes them selues beyond the Sea who had no Patriarke in the Sea of Rome I demaunde then by what marke they can shewe vs that Supremacy in the aunciēt Primitiue church be it but by the positiue lawe of man And yet notwithstanding wee see the course from time to time and from Councill to Councill vntill the yeere of our LORD sixe hundred and more when Phocas the Emperour killed his master Maurice and inuaded the Empire and to get fauour of the Romanes after so cursed and detestable murther gayned Boniface the third their Bishop declaring him to be head of the Church and Bishoppe of Bishoppes against that that Gregory his predecessour had a litle before so hotelye fought against If the Church had bene so long time without a head what did the members then And if Iesus Christ were the head then why lesse nowe Also whēce commeth it that when the Bishoppe of Rome was not acknowledged for such a one it had such strength and alwayes afterwards grewe weaker and decayed Againe is it not notable that all the auncient Churche was ignorant of so healthfull a doctrine hidden in the holy Scripture and that Boniface the third shoulde be the firste that shoulde fynde it out That such so necessary priuiledges should be concealed for the space of sixe hundred yeeres in the most happy ages and to the most quick sighted persons which euer were That so many Christian Emperors should make no account of it and one Phocas an execrable murtherer should be the first to giue authority vnto it But as the papacie must needes spring of the ruines of Rome the second beast of the Carrion of the first so also must it needes he that the supremacie of the Bishop of Rome as that of the first kings was must bee founded and buylded vpon murther Against these decrees of the generall councills they blush not to alledge vnto vs those goodly bookes of Clement whereof we haue spoken a litle before that same ridiculous epistle of Anaclet That Cephas is asmuch to say as head of the church that same authentical reuelation of Pope Marcellus of Peters seate to be remoued from Antioch to Rome and such other beggerly trumperie of that decree which some euen of their owne side do deride Also certaine other epistles of Pope Leo who laboureth therby asmuch as he can to make vs credit the latine Church But we know that none must be iudge in his owne cause and if as Gerson Panormitan say One lay man may set himselfe hauing the holy Scripture on his side against a vvhole generall councill vvhich erreth from it By a more strong reason maye the whole primitiue Church oppose it selfe all the whole Scripture hauing al the general councils on her side that were for the space of 600. yeres against the tyrānie of one man alone which cannot alledge any thing but his owne ambition yea against the decretall epistles of some Popes yet for the most part but shuffled in vnder the name of some of the auncient fathers I will not denie notwithstanding that a good time the bishops of Rome had not attempted to establishe a spirituall monarchie at Rome according to the example of the temporall which made them to be enuied For the Church of God began by Abel as Saint Augustine saith and Babylon by Cain and likewise it is not to be doubted but that very quicklye after the foundations of the Christian Church were layde Sathan layd also the foundations of Antichrist In Paul his time the mysterie of iniquitie began to worke when one said that hee was of Apollo another that he was of Paul and another of Cephas Victor the bishop of Rome enterprised to excommunicate all Asia for the feast of Easter but he was most liuely reprooued by Irenee Steuen also receiued the schismatiques of Affricke against the Sentence of the Churche that they should not appeale beyond the Sea but Cyprian calleth him proud and ignorant and the councill of Affricke holden about the selfe same time setteth it selfe against him Iulius in the time of Constantine beganne to establishe his Empire but the councill of Nice limitted him his power bringing him to the bound and skantling of others Yea in the sixth council of Carthage where Saint Augustine was present three bishops of Rome one after another
chased the Emperour to Constantinople and setteth himselfe in full libertie of all that quarter And in deede then ceassed the Exarchates that is Dukedomes so called that had endured sixe hundred yeeres that were as the lieutenants of the Emperor in a part of Italy The Emperors of Constantinople driuen away the Lombards thereupō did inuade the kingdome of Italie The Pope more feared them then those whom he had driuen away because that they were his more nie neighbours At that time there gouerned in Fraunce the race of Martel very desirous to aspire The Pope therefore putteth himselfe into the protection of the Frenchmen against the Lombards and Pepin the sonne of Martel he passeth into Italie with the powers of France who vanquisheth them The issue was that Pope Zacharie in recōpence dispenseth with the Frenchmen for theyr othe made to theyr natural prince Chilperick who left the gouernement to the Martels more subtil then himselfe and crowned Pepin chiefe of the palaces of the king of France forbidding the princes and people of France vpon paine of excommunication to choose any other then of Pepins race Contrariwise Pepin giueth vnto him the dukedome or lieutenantship of Rauenna Pentapolis which contained 29. Cities onely reseruing vnto himself the soueraigntie and the power to choose the Popes the which lawes were afterwardes released by Lewys the sonne of Charles the great although that some Emperours put them in practise afterwards as the histories are ful thereof And so likewise behold him the head of the spiritualtie because he mainteyned the murtherer of his master and temporall Lord because he crowned a subiect in the place of his natural prince this beginning of the temporaltie grewe vp by the controuersies of the houses of Aniou and Arragon in Italie and afterwardes of the Emperours of Germanie and of the kings of Fraunce till it came to that state wherein we nowe see it in these last times This was after the time that the key of knowledge which Christ promised to S. Peter was changed into the key of power the ecclesiastical censure was employed to excōmunicate all princes peoples kingdomes which would not obey them vntill they had left them for a pray and cut them of from saluatiō without acception of any persons This was in that time that these gaye interpretations were bred That all povver vvas giuen to Christ by the father asvvel in heauen as in earth Therefore the Pope absolutely commandeth both one other Also God translateth kingdomes from one nation to another Ergo the Pope hath power to establish and to put downe as it seemeth good vnto him whereupon Kings and Emperours of blinde zeale began to kisse his feete both present and by their letters and to hold his stirrop This was in that time also that Pope Boniface the eighth caused this to passe as an article of faith That the Pope is soueraigne both of the spiritualtie and temporaltie shewing himselfe in a Iubilie with a key in one hand and a sword in another that Pope Clement the fift his successour not content to commaunde Kinges and Emperours tooke vpon him by an expresse Bull to cōmaunde Angels that they should execute his will. To be short one hath concluded and decided at Rota that is to say in the Parliament of Popes at Rome that God holdeth for wel done all that is done of the Pope that his will is the rule of all right and righteousnes that he can absolutely do in this world all that God can do seeing he is all and aboue all thinges That if he change his purpose it is to be presumed that God changeth his that when he sendeth thousands of his brethren to hell none may therein reproue him that his power extendeth it selfe to heauen and earth yea and to hell that none maye appeale from him to God that he may ordeine against the epistles of Saint Paul as greater then Saint Paul and against the old Testament as greater then any authors thereof And yet one man hath gone further for one hath disputed whether he may ordeine any thing contrary to the Gospell Whether he haue not yet more power then S. Peter Whether he were simplie a man or as god To be short the deuil hath passed so far in this mysterie of iniquitie that one disputed in the schooles a litle before Luther came and somewhat after whether the Pope participated not with both natures the diuine humane with Iesus Christ And what could the deuil say more if he had come in the flesh to haue destroyed the Church And yet notwithstanding the people do worship this monster the princes of the earth do clap their hands at him destroy their kingdomes to serue his lust sacrifice yet euery day their poore subiects for a sacrifice of a sweete smelling sauor at his feete Who would haue beleeued this except the Spirite of God had foretold it and who will beleeue it after vs when the selfe same spirite shall haue destroyed him But which is more marueilous when the power of the bishop of Rome was intolerable he neuer durst alledge in the councills and in the face of the old Church one only text of Scripture to groūd his supremacy on And now that it is so much beyond the bounds that it spurneth the earth vnder feete thereof that it threatneth heauen that it aduaunceth it selfe so farre that it may be aboue God himselfe they are so impudent and so shamelesse but so she must be that is an harlot that they alledge S. Peters See and the word of God and the keyes which were promised to him as though there were no more eyes in the world to reade nor sense in men to iudge Let them not therefore ground their tyrannie vpon this Dabo tibi I wil giue thee which Iesus Christ spake to S. Peter For betwene the kingdome of Christ and the tyrannie of the Pope there is no likenes or agreement But rather if they wil ground themselues vpon some text of Scripture let them alledge that Tibi dabo I will giue thee which sathan vsed to Iesus Christ I wil giue thee saith hee all the kingdomes which thou seest if thou vvilt worship mee That is for worshipping the deuil they haue that they haue and not for any other title they can alledge But I suppose that nowe with the licence of all the Readers I maye conclude by these proofes conteyned in these two chapiters that which followeth That the essentiall head of the Catholique Church is Iesus Christ our Lord That vnder him all the Apostles were equal in dignitie and power That after them the bishops are equall amongst themselues euery one in his Ministerie occupieth the place of Christ That none may be the Ministeriall head of the Church That the Pope of Rome can pretend this title neither by Gods law nor mans That the first roume that he had was by reason of
dignitie of the ministerie which he calleth the power of the ecclesiastical gouernmēt ouer the people he maintayneth that the priests are equal to the Popes thēselues he proueth it because in their orders they vse the same words that they vse in the orders of bishops Apostles Receiue the holy Ghost vvhatsoeuer ye bind on earth shal be boūd in heauen c. To be short Cardinall Cusan himselfe maintaineth that the popedome the state of Bishopricks that is to say al their degrees both great smal they are not ordeyned of God but of men That all Priestes according to the ordinance of our Lord are equal that they were likewise ordeined of men for the better to wit to auoyde diuision But whē this better was turned into worse this which men had ordeyned to bring m̄e to God serued to turne thē away frō God then the cause ceasing these positiue lawes should also cease mē should be brought to the first institution And therfore marke saith he that in time of necessitie whē the Pope hath excōmunicated with an euill purpose the least priest may absolue him whosoeuer he be frō his excōmunication Behold therefore that in that the B. is aboue an elder it is but frō mans lawe for order which is no longer order when it is the cause of disorder Consequently we saye that those elders haue power to laye on their handes and to ordayne pastors That they had so in the Apostles tyme it is most cleare Neglect not sayth Saint Paul the gift that is in thee which is giuen to prophecie with the imposition of the handes of the Eldership that is to say of the assemblie of Seniors or elders And againe Timothie ordeined him selfe forasmuch as a Bishop elder were al one if by the scripture the Byshops take this power to themselues aswel might the Ministers Elders if they deny it to the ministers elders they deny it to themselues In deede in the olde time this argument was cōmon in the Church He might baptize he might minister the Lordes body ergo he might lay on his hands Also when they ordeined an elder the B. holding his hand ouer his head al the other elders drew neere layd on their hands together held them vpō the head of him whō they so ordeyned as it appeareth in many places of Gratians decretals which was to keepe their right in giuing of orders to shew that although the Bishop had the charge of this action that notwithstanding it was equall amōgst thē that he could not do it of himselfe alone And certaine of their owne haue disputed this same question 300. yeres since And if the ambition of Bishops the negligence of the Ministers Elders haue confoūded all thinges abolished the order of the church we must labour as much as wee can to bring it in againe And if the Bishoppe of a companion which he ought to be is become a tyrant ouer the ministers elders why it belongeth to those that are true ministers and elders to exercise the duetie which is left vnto them And if the primacie of the Bishop brought in by men haue led men to perdition which order we do not altogether disalowe if it be rightly obserued why then by the equalitie of ministers and Elders instituted of God they must bee brought againe to saluation To be short the first Bishops of the Christian Church were but elders and our first ministers were elders the elders by the institutiō of the Apostles had authoritie to lay on their hādes according to which also ours were ordeined ministers therefore ordeined by them are well ordained and their vocation can not in any wise be cauilled at or slaundered Nowe if any thinke them contemptible in comparison of the great prelates of the Church of Rome Caiphas in deede was reuecenced of the worlde whereas Cephas had neither golde nor siluer Paul being a persecuter was in great credit and Paul being an Apostle gotte his liuing with his owne hands Also God is wont to confoūd the great and mightie things of the world through thinges which seeme small And many of ours followe the pouertie of Christ which might be honoured yea and were so sometimes amōgst the chiefe vpholders of Antichrist It is not therfore to the purpose to aske miracles of vs for the approuing of our calling For if we must shew some then must they also for that is ordinarie But if by vertue of their calling they haue taken vpon them to preache newe doctrine why then let them suffer vs by vertue of the same to restore the auncient And if they say it is ours that is newe and not theirs why then there is no more question of our calling but of our doctrine and therefore we must passe through all these suburbes and come directlye to the conference of these two In meane time these were the goodlye fetches that hyndered the fruite of the conference at Poissy from whence all Fraunce wayted for some singular good thing yet this is that vpon which at this day the Iesuites do ground their principall defence When any say vnto them Shew me purgatorie and transubstantiation and the inuocation of Sayntes or any thing which draweth neere to the Scriptures they saye vnto vs Worke miracles Euen so likewise Satan said vnto Iesus Christ If thou be the sonne of God cast thy selfe downe from the toppe of the pinacle c. being as ready to haue turned vnto him if he had done it as if he had done nothing But our Sauiour who could haue done greater things confuted him onely by the scriptures So likewise the Pharises aske him for signes albeit he wrought inow those wonderful But if he cast out deuils this was say they by the power of the deuil If he did thē in earth they aske thē frō heauen if the heauen it selfe should speake to giue authoritie to his vocatiō thē they said What thūder is this Likewise they say vnto him vpon the Crosse If thou be the sonne of God helpe thy selfe c. and when he stept out of the Sepulchre ouerth wart those gross-headed watchmen they said that he was stolne away To be short euen so in asking miracles of vs nowe they are wholy bent to say if we should do them that we were the Antichrists which should deceyue the worlde by signes miracles that therfore we ought not to be beleeued But as the Pharises whē Christ suffered vpon the Crosse in steade of asking him miracles had done a great deale better to meditate vpon this place of Isaie He was wounded for our transgressions he was smitten for our iniquities and with his stripes were we healed So should it be much better for our masters to searche out of the holy scriptures the true markes of Antichrist and deepely to thinke vpon this great miracle which God hath wrought in our
of all our thoughtes and that wee conclude that if wee see nothing the faulte thereof is in our eyes and not in the light They alledge that the Scripture is doubtefull because that Satan alledged it vnto Iesus Christ I aunswere that there is no lawe that a man may not reiect by this argument for all lawes are subiect to be alledged both by good bad But let them also marke that by the same Iesus Christ stopped his mouth Also your Sauiour Christ hath spoken in parables and similitudes we know that similitudes are to make cleare and not to darken and I make their owne consciences iudges whether those parables of Christ so expoūded as we haue them in the scriptures tend to any other end When he would teach vs who is our neighbour he maketh it playne by the similitude of the man descending from Iericho what the kingdome of heauen is by the similitude of the sower what the vocation of the Gentiles is by the prodigall childe and so likewise of other I aske if by these parables we may iudge more clearely or more darkely whether all the gloses or long cōmentaries of the Pharises were able so clearly to expound this matter But they will say you cannot deny but the there are manye darke places for S. Peter himself saith that there are such in the epistles of S. Paul nay but rather we may say that forasmuch as there are only certaine places darke it followeth contrariwise that the Scripture is not darke For this is an euill argument to reason from some to all and hee that sayeth that vpon a garment there are blacke spottes he sayeth by consequence that that garment is not all blacke And as concerning those we say that the light of the Scripture is sufficient for to giue them such light as they neede not dwell anye more in darkenesse vnlesse it be those whome the God of this worlde hath blinded in their vnderstanding as Saynt Paul sayth to the end they should perish that the lyght of the Gospell shoulde not shine vnto them or as Saynt Peter sayeth in the selfe same place which they alledge to the vnstable and vnlearned which peruert the Scriptures to their owne destruction This is the sentence of all the auncient fathers with whome wee conclude thys poynte There are sayeth Saynt Augustine handling this matter certaine harde places in the Scripture and yet notwithstanding there is no other thing but that which is expounded in most expresse wordes in other places whereby the holy Ghoste hath wonderfully measured and tempered the holy Scriptures to the ende that those cleare places shoulde serue healthfully to satisfie the hunger of the readers and those darker places shoulde encrease their appetite to take away all contempt but in that that is spoken clearly in the Scriptures they shall finde all things which conteyne fayth and the waye to liue well to witte hope and charitye And hee that will haue more examples hereof in the foresayde places he alledgeth more Saynt Ambrose There is sayth he much obscurity in the Propheticall writings he speaketh namely of the Prophets but if thou knocke at the doore of the Scriptures with the hand of thyne owne vnderstanding thou shalt gather the sense of the darke places and the woorde of God it selfe shall be that that shall open it vnto thee The most obscure and darke then that is therin may be made plain by it selfe S. Basill If wee be commanded to doe any thing and we knowe not howe let vs take the LORD for our guyde who sayeth vnto vs Searche the Scriptures and let vs followe the Apostles who asked him selfe of the interpretatiō of those thinges which hee had spoken vnto them and of those thinges which hee hath spoken to vs in one place let vs learne to vnderstand those things which he hath spoken in another This is that which Marsilius of Padua disputed against the Pope 300. yeeres agoe that the Lawe of the Gospell is sufficient perfect and plaine of it selfe immediatly to direct vs to euerlasting saluation and to turne vs away from the path of miserie But to thē which finde nothing in the light but darknes I feare that it is to no purpose to alledge plaine places out of the auncient doctors The mischief is that we finde not in the Scriptures in any place neither the Masse nor Purgatory neither the papacie nor the power of one man alone ouer the whole Church and such other inuentions of the prince of darkenesse and therefore we accuse Gods worde to be darke to the ende we may fetch these goodly doctrines from thence by meane of some colde Allegorie that wheresoeuer this light shineth not vnto vs in the Churche wee shoulde knowe that there is nothing but darkenesse But yet see a farther matter then the former for it is so farre of that they will accept the Scriptures for their iudge that they them selues will bee Iudges ouer the Scripture If the Churche saye they had not kept the Scriptures and witnessed of them they had bene of no more authoritye then any other writing Therefore the Churche is Iudge ouer the Scripture and not the Scripture ouer the Churche First I demaunde what that Churche is which hath kept the Scriptures whether this bee onelye the Christian Churche or the Iewish Churche also Nowe wee knowe that the Olde Testament was deliuered from hand to hande vnto vs by the Iewes and therefore the auncient doctours called them the booke keepers of the Churche For they were so curious that they would enter euerye tittle and poynte both the accentes and letters and made a Register of them Therefore the Iewishe Churche was iudge of the Olde Testament when Iesus Christ came and therefore to verye euill purpose our Sauiour Christe sendeth the people to the Scriptures who might more safely haue bene sent to the high Priestes and Pharisees But these Iudges of the Scriptures they iudged Christe to death the Schollers and Students of the Scriptures acknowledged him for their lyfe And at this daye euen by this argument the Iewes shoulde winne the victorye It followeth then whether they renounce this Sophistrye or whether they will mainetayne it that they renounce their Saluation Consequentlye I demaunde of them Whether the Church of Rome aloue haue kept the Scriptures or other Churches also They can not saye that it was the Churche of Rome or the Latine Churche alone For the Ecclesiasticall storye wytnesseth that the Primitiue Churche gathered the Canon of the Registers of those Churches which were founded by the Apostles and to which the same Apostles had written Nowe there is but one Epistle written to the Romaines and all the rest are written to the Easte Churches In like maner the Gospell of Iohn was kept at Ephesits and that of Saynt Marke at Alexandria c. If then the Easte Churches had a greater parte in keeping the Scriptures then the Romaine and therefore
sayeth that they were beheaded both together and the Canon sayeth the same yere in the same daye and at the same hower Eusebius sayeth that the one was beheaded and the other was crucified and Linus who hath written the suffering of Saint Paul he I saye whome they holde to haue bene the next that succeeded Saint Peter hath made no mention of Saint Peters suffering One sayeth that Linus was his successour another that it was Clemens To be short they are not yet agreed neyther of the tyme of his comming nor of the tyme of his death nor of the maner thereof nor of his successour nor of any thing And yet for all that they are so impudent that they will drawe all staye of the Christian faith vnto the faith of a lying legende Nowe agaynst these proofes they can alledge but one place of Scripture whereof they may be ashamed to witte that which is in the later ende of the first Epistle of S. Peter The Church which is in Babylon saluteth you I wyll not denye vnto them that Eusebius and Beda and Saint Hierome hath interpreted the date of this letter to be from Rome but I do rather willingly accept that which they confesse that they are not able to aucthorize the See of Rome by the scripture otherwise thē by acknowledging it to be called Babylon euen by their pretended founder himself Now if they wil alledge vnto me that this is a common receyued opinion that S. Peter was at Rome besides the diuersities that we haue noted before I answere that the question is not of the opinion but of an article of faith vpon which they would buyld many others of like sort That S. Hierome a Romane elder expoūding this place Beholde I haue sent you Prophets wise men and Scribes c alledgeth for example Saint Stephen stoned and S. Peter crucified by the Iewes to be short that the popedome then is founded vpon opinion and not vpon a certaine and an vndoubted faith But granting that opinion that he was there for I will not now debate the matter to shewe the vncertaintie of that which they pretende to be most certayne I demaunde whether he were there in the state of a Bishop or of an Apostle If as Bishop or elder for then we know that both these were one they were bounde euery one to their owne citie or towne and to his owne Church as may appeare by the Actes in the Epistle to Titus and therefore the Bishop of Rome could not pretende any aucthoritie ouer others for none could transferre that right which he had Againe why shoulde they not rather haue chosen Paul for their Bishop seeing that it appeareth by the holy scripture that he had preached there a long tyme Moreouer what will they answere to the Bishoppe of Antioch who is more clearely founded in the scripture then the Bishop of Rome that is to say euen in the expresse text of the Scripture for alledging that goodly reuelation of translating Peters See frō Antioch to Rome which is read in Gratians decretal they shal be derided as for an idle dreame And what will they answere to S. Gregorie himselfe who sayth that the Bishops of Alexandria and of Antioch are aswell Peters successors as he of Rome that they sitte in Peters chaire If as an Apostle we knowe that the charge of the Apostleshippe was not tyed to any citie towne or prouince no nor to any one nation but was extended throughout the whole world and if they will haue it any maner of way limited this must be by the spirite of God who had appointed Peters Apostleship amōgst the Iewes and Pauls amongst the Gentiles sending the one sayth S. Hierome to the Gentiles and placing the other by the singular prouidence of God in Iurie Whereupon it wil folowe then that by the same right all places where Peter hath preached shall haue a primacie that is to say there shal be primacies and popedomes without nomber and so consequently not one alone Also that the succession of Rome ought rather to be taken of Paul then of Peter for Rome is of the Gentiles Also that all the places spoken of Peter are yll alledged by them forasmuch as the succession is not drawen frō him This is beside For Cardinall Cusan maintayneth vnto them that all Bishops are equally of S. Peter whereof it foloweth that they haue all the priuiledge of his See that as one may erre so likewise may another If they say that S. Peter hath foūded the Church of Rome that is false for long time before that they say it should be foūded by him S. Paul wrote vnto them that the renowme of their faith was spread throughout the whole worlde Nowe if it be in respect onely that Peter there dyed they say that so did Paul also who went thither by the expresse commandement of God I say that S. Ierome writeth that he was crucified in Iudea to be short I say that the Apostle S. Iohn who liued longer then all the Apostles thirtie yeeres at the least after S. Peter according to their own reconing and who wrote the last of all sayth rather that Christ foretolde Peter that he should be glorified by his death but he maketh no mention of the place where he shoulde thereby glorifie the Pope which without doubt hee would not haue concealed for the benefite and saluation of all the worlde if the state of the Church had depended vpon this supremacie But I demaund farther who cā vaūt to be Peters heire whether the Church of Rome or the Pope If the church of Rome as it semeth the Pope Calixte gaue place to it then there is no more questiō of a Pope nor of one man alone nor of one personall succession For the Church is a body a body dieth not but successiuely in his parts there needeth no successor to him that dyeth not If it be the Pope then ought not the Church of Rome any more to say that she is the head of the Church neither that shee say any more as the schole of Sorbonistes noth That Peters chaire is for the Church and not the Churche for Peters chayre For she is but a part of the succession And if this come to passe I demaund what shal become of the Church and of the Ministerie of the same when the head thereof shall become an heretike and an Atheist when there shal be a Schisme of thirtie or fourty yeeres continuance without a Pope as often hath bene seene when Ioan shall be in Peters place c. But before they answere vs they must make voyde this broyle amongst themselues and if it please God before they agree therein their pretended succession must fall to the ground Nowe albeit we coulde reiect all in one worde beyng not grounded vpon any one worde of Gods lawe yet it shal be good to see from
murtherer Phocas declared the Bishop of Rome to be head of al churches Platine saith plainly that it was in consideration that Rome was the auncient seate of the Empire whereon Constantinople was but the pillar as others say propter principalitatem vrbis for the principalitie of the Citie Beholde then that the pretended primacie of Rome neyther proceeded from the ordinance of Christ nor from the priuiledge of Peter but from Romulus and his successors who there erected an Empire Non inquam a Petra neque a Petro sed a Saxo Tarpeio I say neither from the rocke nor from Peter but from the rocke of Tarpeius whereupon Rome was builded the which their owne Canonists confesse seeing trueth giueth them hell for theyr rewardes Quod omnis maioritas minoritas etiam Papatus est de iure positiuo that is to say That all degrees both small and great yea the popedome it selfe they are from the positiue lavve and of mans ordinance I knowe very well that they haue a decree of Pope Innocentius which sayth that it is not necessary to change the ecclesiasticall preheminence according to the Ciuill but this forsooth was at such a time when the good man himselfe feared least the Empire shoulde withdrawe all the honor into the East and he thought it expedient which thing also his successors did very well knowe and finde to builde their greatnes glory of the ruines of the Westerne Empire And againe the decree of one man is not to be preferred before so many Councils seeing that as some of them haue said the decretals haue no authoritie by the meere will of the Pope that is to say absolutely but only so farre foorth as they are agreeable to the Canons of the Councils If they wyll yet alledge vnto me that the constitutions policies of the Church of Rome haue bin receiued by many other Churches I wyll answere them no otherwise then was answered by those professors of diuinitie in Paris three hundred yeeres passed when there was controuersies betweene our kings the Pope by Marsilius of Padua about the same time the Pope making warre vpon the Emperors of Germany which gaue boldnesse to the trueth to speake freely to witte that in the beginning men might be gouerned after it because learning there florished no otherwise then as the vniuersitie of Orleans or of Anger 's oftentimes conforme themselues to that of Paris as also the Romanes borrowed in deede their lawes from the twelue tables of the Grekes And yet by vertue thereof the Grekes shoulde not well ground to pretend themselues superiors to the Romanes and likewise the Romanes if therefore they should pretend to be superiors ouer other Bishops Nowe concerning the name Pope which is giuen vnto him they that haue read know that it was common not onely to al Bishops but also euen to elders in all the auncient Church He that wil see this matter more plaine let him reade the Epistles of Saint Cyprian of Saint Denis of Alexandria lib. 2. epist. 6.25 c. of Saint Augustine of Saint Hierome of Sidonius Apollinaris of Saint Gregorie himselfe and the actes of the Councils where men may finde them full And in deede the Greekes call theyr Priests at this day Papous and the Germaines Pfaff which they that vnderstand the tongue doe deriue from this name Papa which after Suidas signifieth Father in the language of the Sicilians Now concerning the name Pontifex Irenee called Saint Iohn the high Bishop and Athanasius calleth all the Bishops by that name and Ruffinus calleth Athanasius the great Bishop and he that will reade the auncient Fathers shall finde nothyng more often then this Nowe if they will alleadge their Cardinals they shall not finde one worde of them in the olde Church vnlesse in this signification the Cardinall Priest that is to say a Bishop or rather the Curate of some parish of the Bishoprick as in very deede all are at this day eyther Curates or Deacons of some one or other parish of Rome And in deede in the Councils they were set last as in the sixt Councill of Carthage and in the Councill of Gregory Whatsoeuer it is thei can say of it it is certaine that Innocent the fourth about the yeere of our Lorde 1244. gaue vnto them the priuiledge of the red hatte and scarlet robe and to ride on horsebacke and in the yeere 1470. Paul the seconde confirmed it and Clemens the fift is gone so farre in his Clementines that he causeth them to goe before all the princes of the earth These inuentions then were not found in the florishing state of the Church but after that it became subiect to the ambition of one man alone We haue then founde that the Pope of Rome hath beene declared head of the Church a litle after 600 yeeres not by the tradition of Christ or of his Apostles but by the treason of Phocas not by any Councill of the Church but by the conspiracy of a seruant against his master who to reconcile himselfe with the people of Rome ordained his Bishop with that title which Gregorie his predecessor had lefte for Antichrist and the Pope on the other side proclaimed him selfe Emperour in steade of Mauritius whom he had slaine This goodly ordinance of Phocas was confirmed by a pettie Councill which Boniface caused to be holden at Rome when there were none present but the Latines who desired no better And afterwardes by another holden in Affrike in the yeere 642. when the Arabians were turmoiled with many inuasions whereupon they began to inscribe the letters of Pope Theodorus To the holy father of fathers and soueraigne prince of prelates c. and so we see by histories from degree to degree howe this monster hath growen euen to full height frō which he must tumble downe headlong The Emperours of Grece who were then as banisht out of Italy to keepe the Italians in obedience they left vnto them the handling of their affaires in such sort notwithstanding that they were constrained to confirme their election by the Emperour and to date their wrytinges according to the indiction and yeere of their Empyre But euen as the Emperors grewe weake by the enterprises of the Persians in the Easte so grewe the Pope strong in the West so as about the yeere 680. Pope Benedict the second caused himselfe to be exempted from all the imperiall iurisdiction by Constantine the fourth called the Bearded About that time beganne great strifes in the Greke and Latine Church about Images whereupon encreased superstition together with ignorance The Grekes were of minde to throw thē down the Pope in despite of them woulde holde them vp This strife much encreased his might for vnder the shadowe hereof he excommunicated Leo Isauricus called Chassimage of breaking Images and forbade all the people of Italy vpon paine of excommunication to pay him any impost that is to say he