pleased fryer Luther it leekyd him that this or that scripture shoold haue this or that sence VVhat so euer therfore hath been deliuered frō the fathers what so euer hath been establisshed by aucthorite of councells what so euer hath been receyued and allowed by the continuall practise of the whole Churche all that must wee despyse reiect and howld for vayne Neither must suche a multitude greatnes depthe largenesse miracles or hollinesse of so many Sainctes of the Churche mooue a mā one iote But that sense which hee interpreteth wee must not dowbt to haue been the very sense and meaning of the holly Ghost And that which the Catholikes haue tawght which the auctoritee of the Churche hath deliuered which all Christian people haue so many hundreth yeeres imbracyd which schooles defend and mainteyne all that wee must thinke to be the deadly poyson of Sathan How trewly is it sayd of S. Pawll Knowledge puffith vp and Charitee edifieth Thowgh in deed opinyō of knowledge rather puffith vp then knowledge it self For if these fellowes had but one cromme of charitee in them could they so swell with pryde to thinke all men in respect of them selues to be blynd foolish blockish and ignoraunt But euē as wyne if it be not delayed with water dooth trouble the mynd euē so knowledge yf it bee not temperyd with charitee doth with a certayne pryde and ouerturning make a man as it were dronke or rather starke madde-VVherfere S. Pawll doth very well adde thus but yf a mā thīke him self to knowe myche he hath not yett learned in what sort he should knowe For yf he had he would neuer with the opinion of his owne knowleage haue growen so insolent to preferre him self before all others and as it were from an high to looke downe vpon them For the beginning of trewe knowleage is the knowleage of God which breedeth in vs humillitie and submission and dooth rather deiect then by pryde erect the mynd of man And wher so great pryde is as we see is in these men what can there be ells in them then in deed a very ignoraunce and not knowing of God But S. Pawll teacheth vs in an other place by what meane wee should learne rightly to knowe Lett no man sayth he seduce you yf any man among yow seeme wyse in this world lett him becoome a foole that he may be made wyse So then by the iudgement of Saint Pawll a man may become wyse yf hee leane not to his owne fancye yf he condescend to seeme in his owne sight a foole yf he examin him self And yf he seeme to haue any wysedom that he reduce and submitt the same to the seruyce and obedience of Christ the Head and his mystical body to beleue what he teacheth and rather with feare and reuerence to imbrace the same then to follow that which seemeth probable to himself VVhich thing where it is not done what ells followeth then that as S. Augustin writeth all auctoritee be taken from the scriptures And doo wee not see it euen now thus come to passe There is sproong vp in this our vnhappy age Martin Luther who hath with violence broken into the scriptures and shouldering out all others cōtentiously bearyth mē in hād that the sense of the scriptures is euen suche as he will haue it and as may best accorde with his doctrine In fine he so handleth the matter that he sowght to bee reputed not a dispensor but a lord ouer the holy scripture He required obedience of all in imbracing that sence of the scripture which he him self hath browght foorth ▪ After that sprāge Carolstadius and after him Zwinglius Oecolampadius and Caluin and as Luther had reiectyd all the catholykes and right beleuers so did this man together with the rest remoue allso Luther himself And with greate exclamations contenciously affirmeth that the scriptures doo not meane as Luther sayth but as he him self teacheth Then brake owt in an other corner not long after one Balthasar Pacimontanus He in interpreting certayne places of the scriptures dissenteth both frō Luther and Zuinglius and will nedes haue the scriptures to meane as he doth interpret thē and not as they will haue it The heauenly prophets so called wherof Swenckfeldius is now the ryngeleader espied this that these fellowes thus tempered the scriptures to their owne sence and contēded so earnestly not for the scriptures but for the maintenaunce of their owne priuatt and peruers opiniōs and that for ensample they set foorth to the people for the pure and expresse word of God not that which Marke or Mathew thought but that which them selues had imagined So as whyle euery mās mynde was to him self an authour and teacher what was in euery scripture to be allowed or disallowed they did not submitte them selues to the authoritee of the scriptures but thrall the scriptures to them selues and as it were vsurpe a rule and maistry ouer them then I saye begāne these diuine prophetts thus to thinke with them selues How long in the end shall we indure the tyranny of these vnhooded and rennagat fryers Howe longe shall we be driuen to adore as the expresse word of God what so euer hath lyked them to sprinckle with a fewe wordes of the scripture VVhen yett in the meane tyme we see them so fight and disagree emong them selues while euery of them laboureth that his followers should esteeme and receiue not the mynde of the Apostle or the Euangelist but his owne proper exposition for the expresse worde of God VVhat will these fellowes now be worshipped as Gods what remaineth thē but that wee should kneele downe to this or that Archheretike and presently worship as the very voyce of God what so euer shall be spoken by any of them Nay we will for our partes rather harken for the mynd of God out of heauen and will bidde away both with these fellowes thus striuing for the vnderstanding of the scriptures yea and with the scriptures them selues wherof wee now see so many not only diuers but allso mere contrary expositions daily browght foorth And looke what it shall please that heauenly teacher to reueale vnto vs that will we receiue with due reuerence as the very expresse word of God and will rather heare him self speake according to the saying of the prophett I will heare what the lord speaketh with in me then turne our selues to those bare elementes and naked letters and in them which wee see to be turned this waye and that waye to sette our saluation It is not needfull to be cunning in the lawe or the scripture but to be tawght of God Vayne is the labour which is bestowed on the study of the scripture For the scripture is but a creature and a certayn bare letter It is not meete for a Christian to be to mych addicted to the creature Yow must heare God his
voyce is to be expected from heauen to teache vs blessed is the man sayth Dauid whom thow teachest He dooth as well teache vs now as in the owld tyme he did the Patriarkes and Prophettes Christ forbadde that wee should haue any moe maister for that wee haue our only maister in heauen Thou seest heerby most vertuous kyng wher vnto at last the matter is come and how truely it was sayd by S. Augustine that all auctoritee is taken from the scripture when a man will not only not be subiect to the authoritee of the scriptures in matters of faith but make them thrall and subiect vnto him neither will contend for the mynd of the scriptures but for his owne For what so euer him self thinketh that will he haue reputed for the trewe and expresse word of God though all other men thinke the contrary By to mych altercation sayth one the truthe is lost And I pray yow is not ▪ the truth now in manner lost Is not with some men the authoritee of the scriptures taken awaye in the which only lyeth all vndoubted truthe Namely since euery man hath sowght to arrogat to him self the iudgement of the scriptures and remouing the sentence of all others hath sought to haue his owne being wyde and straieng from the Churche to be worshipped as the very expresse word of God But could this matter euer haue come to this passe yf these fellowes remēbring them selues to be men would rather haue chosen to followe the iudgement of the Churche and therunto reuerently haue submitted themselues then thus insolently to cōmaunde men to imbrace the visions of their hartes for the word of God VVhen in deed no man lyuing can be of so excellent learning or of so singular holynes of lyfe that it can be lawfull for vs to receyue his opinion for the expresse worde of God But on the other syde where as is a consenting voyce of the whole Churche yf a man dowbt that to be the expresse word of God and a most certayn truth what doth he ells but dowbt whether God be true or no VVhō it is most certayne and vndoubted to speake by the mowth of his Churche Thow perceauest now most fortunat king Sigismond that it is not by and by the expresse and pure word of God what so euer is browght owt of the scriptures From the peruers vnderstanding wherof wee see all heresies haue sproong Namely that the diuell him self did also say for it is written etc. VVhen yet the sence wherwith he browght those wordes was the diuells owne and not the pure word of God The scriptures no doubt are sacred and holy and in them is contayned the very word of God yf the sownd meaning and vnderstanding therof be applyed therunto But heresie is in the vnderstanding not in the scripture the sense not the text is in the fault VVee cōtend not for the scripture with those that haue departyd from vs which boasting them selues so myche of Gods woord doo vsurpe the same vnto them selues alone For they them selues confesse they haue receyued the scriptures from none other but from vs from whom they be departyd who doo allso with reuerence receyue all the Canonicall scriptures They on the other syde because they will not in matters of fayth be subiect to the aucthoritee of the scripture doo receyue only that in thē which by wrestyng may be framyd to serue to their doctryne The controuersy therfore between vs is not of the scriptures but of the sence and vnderstanding of the scriptures Brefely the selfe same varyance wee reade to haue been in all ages betweē Catholikes and heretikes Arius brought foorth this scripture my father is greatter then I by which text as by the expresse word of God he sought to persuade to the ignorant people that Christ the sonne of God was inferiour to his father and was not of the same substaūce with him And in deed yf an vnlerned man come to the wayghing of those naked wordes Arrius may seeme to haue sayde somwhat vnto him But what did hereunto the Catholikes and rightbeleuers They reuerently acknowleged the text But that which Arrius gathered therof they constantly affirmed not to be the pure word of God since Christ neuer spake them in that sence as to teache him self not to be equally God or in any thīg vnequall to his father For in that he was the sonne of God he was of the same substaunce with his father but in that he was the sonne of mā he was inferiour vnto him And allthowgh the sectaryes and followers of Arrius tooke that for the expresse word of God yet the Catholikes ▪ doubted not to affirme it to be the expresse word of the diuell Euen lyke to this is the contention at this daye of the contrary doctrines between the Catholikes and the heretikes For we striue not with them that haue departed from vs abowt the scripture but about the vnderstanding therof And to make the matter the playner let vs consyder but this one place of scripture which is now a dayes commonly alleaged It is sayd to be the expresse word of God Drinke you all of this And doo wee denye this to be the expresse woord of God No but doo willingly grawnt it Yet that it is the expresse word of God in that sence which they that bee departed frō vs doe gather of that text that is it which wee doo vtterly denye For what doo they trowe yow gather of this place of scripture forsooth that all which communicate ye euē the laye people should be bownd by the commaundement of God to receyue the sacrament of the aultar vnder bothe kindes But that Christ spake those wordes in that sense we graunt not But euē as Luther him self once sayd the same in this case saye wee allso That Christ commaunded nothing in this matter as necessary to the laye people because these wordes were spoken to none other but to the Apostles Yow see that here wee differ not abowt the text but about the vnderstanding therof For with no lesse yea and with more reuerence then they which haue deuided them selues from vs doo we Catholikes receiue this text as the very worde of God But they would intrude their owne newe sense forged therunto And wee seeke to defend the sense receyued in the Churche They looue and leeke the sense which them selues bryng not becaase it is trewe but because it is their owne and will needes defend that with toothe and nayle VVee looue and leeke the sense browght by the Churche not because it is our owne but for that wee stedfastly beleue it to be the very trewe sense of the scripture VVhich to be so not one priuatt man but the Churche being as S. Pawl calleth it the piller and sure grownd of truth and wherunto the spirit of truth was promised and sent hath tawght vs. But let vs yet a little
first epistle Some man will saye thus yf we might dryue the Pope to this that he would but assent that the ministres of the churches might haue wyues vse the vulgar toung in the administration of the sacramentes and geue the sacrament vnder both formes to the lay people and in all other articles and doctrines to consent with the Churche of Rome as hitherto wee haue doone would ye not thinke good we should there rest for a tyme And laying vp that gayne in store by lytle and lytle in proces of tyme deuise for the winning of the other poyntes I answer saith Vergerius I lyke it not For the matter consisteth not only in that the minister should haue a wyfe vse his vulgar toung in the Churche and deliuer the sacrament in both kyndes but in that he haue a liuely faith that he be a member of Christes Churche and be of a right iudgemēt shewing vnto the people that pure doctrine which our lord Iesus Christ the sonne of God brought out of his fathers bosome VVhat a defyling of our doctryne what a straunge thing should it be yf we should geue our consent that the pastor of our soules should be a massing priest annoynted and allowed by some Bisshop and mēber of Antechrist etc. Here Sathan by this his champion goeth to his matter more opēly then by thē which contend so earnestly for the cuppe and syche other things as seeme of lesse waight VVhose wily deceytes also herein he discloseth and thinkyng it superfluous to vse any more circumstances he fleeth euen straight to the throte to the end that withowt any more delaye God may be brought in order and equallite of degree with mortall men hauing left vnto him neither any priesthood nor externe sacrifice wherby he should be acknowledged to be God This is the thing which Sathan by his lymme and trusty seruaunt Vergerius thought good euē at the first brunt to attempt And suerly it hath been truly sayd In vayne is that doone by many which may be doone by fewe For what should a man go about the bus he yf he may easely get thorowgh But heare what after a fewe wordes he addeth farther For after that this man being ouer curious of the state of forreyn common welthes wherunto he is a straūger and euen borne as it seemeth to stirre vp seditions had exhorted the Polonians that yf these iij. thinges were graunted them they should constantly refuse them he hath these wordes VVote thow well Polonia this matter which now lyeth in controuersy touching religion may indure no moderation or concord Marke well what I saye and laye it in thy remembraunce For there be some that say were it not trowe we possible that some meane migt be found to appease this controuersy I answer sayth he that none can possibly be fownd For yf the papacy remayne in force the doctrine of Iesu Christ can not be free And againe yf the doctrine of Iesu Christ which wee professe doo preuayle then of necessitee must the whole papacy be rooted vp so as ther is none other meane of concord or establisshing of the true churche of Christ but that the whole papacy with all the tiranny and wicked doctryne therof be cleerly taken away And sure as for that Vergerius writeth that the state of religion may indure no moderation or concord I can not well denye but he writeth truly For either a man must be a whole Christian or a whole Lutheran There is no haltyng on either syde As well shalt thou be dāned yf thou be a half Christian or a half Lutheran as yf thou were a whole Lutheran I call him an half Christian which beleeuing all thinges as he ought to doo of Christ the head dooth yet by his owne priuat fancye in certayne rytes deuyde him self from the body He thinketh he houldeth fast the head and yet deuideth him self from the body Therfore he will be halfe a Christiā and half a Lutheran that is to say a Sathanist For Christ him self sayth No man can serue ij masters what participation can ther be between righteousnes and iniquitee or what society sayth Pawll betweē light and darcknes or what agreement between Christ and Belial And in the Apocalips wee read I knowe thy workes that thou art neither hot nor cold I would thou were either hot or cold but synce thou art luke warme and neither hott nor cold I will by vomyt cast the out of my mowth The luke warme is euen in lyke sort cast foorth in lyke sort vomyted out of the mowth of God as he which sinneth in the contrary part Therfore they are in dede very muche deceyued which thinke to contriue a concord by mediocrite in matters of religion The bed is straight sayth the prophet so as the one must nedes fall out and a scant cloke cā not couer both They can not be together in one bed that is to say Christ and Luther may not ioyne in one mans hart the one of them must nedes faull out they can not be both couered with one cloke VVherfore in some part of rytes and ordinaūces to professe Christ and in an other part Luther is nothing ells but to denye whole Christ That is therfore so true as may be that matters of religion admyt no concord by that meane VVe professe in our crede that wee beleue the holly catholyke Churche From her who so euer departeth and harkeneth not to her teaching and preceptes but geueth more credit to his owne iudgement then to hers though he beleue all the rest which is cōtayned in the crede though he beleue and receyue all the scriptures though he honour them as the very word of God as in deed they are being rightly vnderstanded yet hath he nothing to do with Christ the head which hath separated him self from the body of Christ He is an Ethnik and a Publican not deseruing in any part the name of a Christian How often did the Arians attempt to come to soome agreemēt with the Catholikes VVherūto to shewe them selues willing they sayd they woold not stick to permytt that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 should be beleued to be the sonne of the father so he were not callyd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 There was but one poore letter Iota .i. in question or difference between the Christiās and the Arrians Yet could not the Christiās thinke meete to graunt it vnto them For vnder this one letter they sawe them hyde their heresie wherby they were content to allowe the sonne to be leeke vnto the father in fulnes of grace but not in propriete of nature VVith what sleightes did the goouernour of Cesaria seke to persuade vnto S. Basil that he should yeeld to the tyme and not bryng so many Churches in daunger by standing vppō the sifting of so nyce a point of doctryne But what sayd S. Basil therunto Suche taulke sayth he may serue yoong men for they and
to saluation he is farre wyde Very truly sayth a vertuous and lerned man The Clemency of God regardeth not with how great knowledge wee beleue but with how great deuotiō we loue that which we beleue And an other vertuous mā also sayeth In the last day wee shall not be asked how myche how sharpe and how lerned our vnderstanding was but how great our affection and zeale to our lord God that is how simple how right how vertuous humble and deuout and how willing and faythfull our seruyce toward him hath been VVhich thinges being so why doo we not rather spend our whole study and labour in this poynt which only and alone we knowe to be necessary to our saluation to reteyne among our selues mutuall loue and brotherly charitee which is the very proper marke of the childrē of God In so myche as the vnderstāding of the scriptures is not to all men a leeke necessary The simplicitee of beleuing not the quicknes of vnderstanding keepeth safe the vnlerned multitude And as the same S. Augustine sayth The man which trusteth to faith hope and charitee and fast reteyneth them hath no need of the scriptures vnlesse it be to teache others And therfore by these three many lyue well in desertes and solitary places without bookes Now contrarely all men will search the scriptures and dispute of the sence and vnderstanding therof But that wher vnto as to a certayne marke al the scriptures are referred and that which those scriptures labour to inculcate in euery place into the eyes eares and myndes of men that Charitee I saie which only bringeth saluation no mācareth to reteyne And verely looke how myche the oftener and more feruent disputation is made of the scriptures and of the expresse word of God so myche the more dooth Charitee which all the scriptures doo with one voyce sounde out vnto vs wexe could in the mindes of men And is it leekly that the sound vnderstanding of the scriptures and the expresse word of God is there wher Charite is wexen so could and hatred so hot VVhere besides rayling reuyling skofing and contumelyes a man can allmost read or heare nothing And where they them selues which are departed frō vs who had rather be called Gospellers then Christians doo not only fight against vs but allso one against an other with syche infest rāckorous and vnchristian myndes that no cruell Barbarians or enemyes of Christ his Crosse could deale more leeke enemyes Truly before this Gospell sprang vp which is proceded from none lesse then frō Christ wee neuer sawe any syche bitternes of myndes or cruell contentions Namely emong those whose office was to teache and open the Gospel of Christ And shall wee cal this the Gospell shall we call this the expresse word of God from the which all Charitee the thing most expressly commaunded in the Gospell is so vanished that euen they which glory to haue been the first which as them selues say haue of late brought to light the buryed Gospell doo so hatefully contend emong them selues burne with syche mutuall enuy and so byte one an other that it can not be long but wee must nedes see them consumed one of an other This is sure the expresse word of the diuell not the expresse word of God seing as I haue allredy so often sayd the expresse word of God is only Loue and Charitee That is it that imbraceth Vnitee that ioyneth vs all in one body that geueth peace and with pure hart keepeth the same And Christiā charitee can not be kept but in the Vnitee of the churche so that in vayne doth he vaunt him selfe to haue charite which doth not imbrace Vnitee But yf this expresse word of God Charitee be not kept any where but in the vnitee of the church who is there that can thinke that the expresse word of God can be found any where out of this vnitee And this is it that in this treatyce I shewed before that somtyme when two men bringe foorth one self text of scripture yet God openeth the mouth of one and the diuel of the other For he which hauing deuided him self from the churche alleageth it not with the common sence and vnderstanding of the Churche but with his owne priuat and wrested interpretatiō for so myche as S. Iohn sayeth VVho so euer speaketh of him self yea though he speake scripture yet vttereth he a lye the mouth of that man doth the diuell open and that which he speaketh is the word of the diuell But allthough following S. Ambrose wee sayd that Charite is the thing which imbra cyth and conteyneth vnitee and which makyth vs all one body wee would not be vnderstanded in that sence as though we mēt therby that euyll and vniust men were excludyd from the body of Christ which is the churche For allthough Charitee which the scripture chieffly commendyth vnto vs be the proper marke of them which doo truly honour God wherby the children of God are discernyd from the childrē of the diuel and that those be only they which appertayne to the coompany of the Elect yet is there a certayne other congregacyon or churche of thē that are called from the which they be not excluded which are destitute of true charite so they reteyne that which S. Augustine calleth the loue of vnite by the which he sayeth the members of Crist are couppled vnto him The working wherof is to suffer al thing That ther may be as the same S. Augustine writeth a certain force of suffring houlding the sure handfast of vnitee which was signified by the pytche wherwith the Arke being a figure of the churche was fastned and sodred both within and without for euill men are to be suffred both with in and without lest the knot of peace be dissolued Of which charite allso S. Augustine writeth in an other place saying I do not thinke any mā to be so vnwyse as to beleue that he which hath no charite doth appertayne to the vnite of the churche whē it is certayne that they doo belonge to the vnitee of the churche so long as they be not cut of from the same yea though they be destitute of the other effectes of charitee so that reteyning that force or vertu of suffring they be emōg them of whom S. Pawll writeth supporting one an other in charite carefull to preserue the vnitee of the spirite in the bond of peace But here these fellowes will denye that to be the churche of God which we professe and wherof we glory and reioyce to be the hūble children and wil go about to challenge that name to their congregation But I would fayne haue them shewe vs their churche I speake not now of the Sacramētaries Anabaptistes heauēly prophetes nor of the Campanians or Seruetians all which sectes they haue allredy throwen out of their congregation but let the Confessionistes or Lutherans shewe vs their Churche Melancthon and his
vnderstanding of the scriptures is promysed of almighty God So as there can be no surer argument that a man speaketh his owne that is a lye then when he departeth from the sence exposition and consent of the Churche For thē althowgh he bring neuer so many texts of the scripture hee may vtter in dede the expresse word of the diuell but neuer can he in that sorte bring foorth the expresse and pure worde of God For it is as certayn that the diuel openeth the mowth of them which teache Gods word being owt of the Churche as that God him self openeth the mowthes of them which beyng of and with in the churche doo vtter the same And this is the cause that when so euer ther is in the Church memory made of an Euāgelist or any other notable doctour that both in the entry of the Masse and in the Canonicall howres this text of Ecclesiasticus is read In the midle of the Churche he opened his mowth VVherby is signifyed that God openeth the mowth to no mā vnlesse he be with in the Churche From the true sence and vnderstanding wherof who so euer differeth his mowth not God but the diuell doth open How famous so euer any doctour of the Churche bee yet yf he be not with in the Churche if he consent not with the sence of the Churche it is certayn that God opened not his mowth But yf any man speake cōtrary to the sence and consent therof wee need not doubt to saye that the diuell opened his mowth VVho so euer therfore vttereth his owne vttereth a lye and he that speaketh of God speaketh the truth but he speaketh of God which vttereth the scriptures not at aduenture or by his owne priuat sence but with the sence that is common to all that is with the sence of the catholyke Churche And that is it which is truly and properly caullyd the word of God when to the wordes of the scripture not our owr owne sence but the commō sence that is the sence of the Catholike Churche is applyed which to be the very trewe sence and meaning of God is not to bee doubted For thus wee reade noted by Socrates that the Emperour Constantine calleth the sentence of all them which were assembled in the councell of Nice the sentence of God For the voyce of the Church is the voyce of God speaking by her He therfore is a Catholike and a right beleuer and syche as can by no meanes vtter vntruth which being mindfull of that is written woo be vnto foolishe prophetts which followe their owne spirite and see nothing followeth not his owne but the spirit of the Churche not his owne imagination or conceyte but the sence and consent of the Churche Yea thowgh the wordes of the scripture should seeme not very open and playne which syche a one bryngeth foorth yet because he produceth them with the sentence of the Churche he vttereth the very worde of God But if a man will applye therunto his owne proper conceyte if he will temper the scriptures with his owne imagination for he ioineth his owne sence to the scriptures which contendeth so earnestly not for the true vnderstanding of the diuine scriptures but for his owne that he will haue that to bee the scriptures which is his when he owght rather to make that his which is the scriptures yf I saye he obstinatly defend syche his sentence against the common sence and cōsent of the whole Churche he is an heretike and a schismatike And bring he neuer so many testimonies of the scriptures yet he vttereth not the pure word of God but the expresse worde of the diuell Ther is therfore no authoritee taken from the scriptures when it is sayd that heresies spring not so myche of them as of the lewde and faulse vnderstanding of them This is an owld complaynte made by S. Basill that the deprauers of the truth doo not applye their vnderstanding to the scripture but violentlye drawe the mynd of the scriptures to their owne will But notable is the counsell of S. Clement that when the lawe of God is read it bee not read or tawght according to the vnderstanding of a mans owne brayne for there are many thinges in the diuine scriptures which may with force bee drawen to syche sence as eche man shall fancye to him self And therfore sayth he must we learne the vnderstanding of the scriptures of him which keepeth them being orderly deliured vnto him by his forefathers according to the truth VVhich counsell Rufinus writeth those ij lights of Grece Basill the Great and Gregory Naziāzene to haue followed VVho whē they gaue them selues to the only study of the scriptures remouing from them al other secular bookes of Greke writers they followed not in seeking the true vnderstanding therof their owne fanceys but the writings and authoritee of the fathers whom they allso knewe to haue learnyd that rule of trewe vnderstanding from the Apostolike succession But how farre do they differ frō the dealing of these fathers who rashly faull them selues to the wayghing of euery scripture and beleeue it according to their owne iudgement not passing at al vpon the sence exposition of the fathers to wbom they thinke it iniurious to be put ouer But what may bee sayd more rightly to these men by vs then that which wee reade to haue been sayde to the Manichees by S. Augustin Yow see sayth he your dealing tendith to this end that all auctoritee bee takē from the scriptures and that euery mans priuat mynde should tell him what were in eche scripture to be allowed and what to be disallowed That is in effect that the mynde should not by faith bee subiect to the auctoritee of the scriptures but should make the scriptures subiect to the fancye of the mynd So as nothing pleaseth him because it is found written and receiued with high and great auctoritee but therfore it seemeth well written because in some respect it pleaseth his fancye VVherunto doest thow committe thy self thow wretched and frayle sowle all wrapped in cloudes of the fleshe VVherunto doest thow committe thy self Maye wee not well saye also to these men where bestowest thow thy self thow miserable and wretchyd sowlle wrapped in cloudes of fleshe VVhere bestowest thow thy self VVilt thow haue that what so euer pleaseth thee wee should take for scripture and howld that for the pure and expresse word of God And why not that which hath semed good to al that is to the vniuersal Churche VVhat an intollerable pryde is this VVhat an arrogancy and swelling of the mynde VVilt thow so challenge to thy self alone the spirit of God and so pull it from all others that what so euer sense thow wilt bring owt of the scriptures wee showld bee bound to beleue that neglecting the sence and vnderstanding of the whole churche can there be a greater arrogancy or a greater tiranny then this It
the Hebionytes begaÌ„ne to sprynge who would needes haue all the ceremonies of the lawe also as precysely obserued and kept as the very Gospell and therfore vtterly denied that this sacrament might be made in leauened bread because all oblation offred to our lord ought by the lawe to be with out leaueÌ„ the contrary was decreed that is to saye That the sacrament should be made of leauened bread VVheÌ„ yet the thing in his owne nature is indiffereÌ„t neither seemeth it muche materyall whether you make it in vnleauened or in leauened bread But after the heresie of the Hebionites ceased the Latyn churche thought good to returne agayne to their intermitted manner of consecrating in vnleauened bread Thus wee see our holy fathers thought not good by permission to noorishe heresies but by meere contrary decrees to suppresse them But somwhat they saye is to be graunted to the multitude which require this VVhat yf the multitude should propound this pointe of doctrine that only God the father were to be adored and called vppon but Christ to be holden only for an aduocate Shall we say that this is straight wayes to be graunted because the multitude required it The matter goeth yll when we shall rather chose to followe the vnlearned multitude then the iudgement of those who are properly called to this office Namely synce it is truly sayd that the multitude is the mother of sedition and contumacye and the small nomber the mistrese of discipline The multitude ought to be gouerned and not to gouerne ought to obey but not to prescribe lawes That kingdom is in an hard and pittefull case where the Rule and gouernemeÌ„t standeth in the multitude As in all other thinges so chieffly in matters of religion it is diligently to be considered not who or how many doo requyre but what the thing is that is required The multitude requyred of the Apostles and their followers that they should denye Christ and offer incense to idolls The power and auctoritee did also earnestly aduyse theÌ„ therunto But what did they to this VVee must sayd they obey God rather then men And so they were ready to indure al kynd of punishemeÌ„t yea to laye downe their neckes vnto theÌ„ rather theÌ„ they would do that they required yea and by their martyr dome they ê‘formed in deed that they had spokeÌ„ VVhat your part is to doo most vertuous kyng in the suppressing of heresies you are not ignorant You are taught this also by the lawes of your contrey to the keeping wherof you bound your self by an othe when you were inuested in this your kingdom Verely all men which will be accompted ChristiaÌ„s especially wee that be bisshops and guides of religion must rather desire a thowsand deathes then once to denye Christ. But he denyeth Christ not only which confesseth him not to be God and acknowlegeth him only for an aduocat or he which dooth not beleue euery poynt and article which the infallible auctoritee of the canonicall scriptures prescribeth vnto vs either of his diuinite or of his humanite but allso he which dooth not in all pointes communicatt with the vnitee of his churche For Christ is both the head and the body The head is the only begotten sonne of God and his body is the Churche they be as husband and wyfe two in one fleshe VVherfore he dooth as myche denye Christ which dooth so dissent from his body the Churche that he thinketh the communion therof not to be spred ouer all but to be found separat in some one part as he which dissenteth from the holly scriptures in any point touching Christ him self the head therof as S. Augugustine teacheth vs in many places There is extant in Eusebius an epistle of Dionysius AlexaÌ„drinus to Nouatus wherin he writeth that martyrdome indured for not deuyding the Churche is as glorious as that which is indured for refusing to committe idolatry Yea and surely in my iudgement saieth Dionysius it is so myche more glory For there he suffreth martirdome but for his owne soule but here for the whole churche VVherby wee may see it is no lesse greuous offence to deuide the Churche or by assent to allowe a schisme then to offer incense to idolls Let it therfore be farre from a christian man and namely from a Bisshopp by and by to geue his assent wheÌ„ a multitude or power requireth a separation from the Churche of God It is to be wished that it may please God to geue vs this mynd rather to suffer our bodyes to be deuyded from our soules then by our assent to allowe any sacrilegious deuise of separation from Christ or his body the churche Of this mynd as it becometh all Christians to be so chieffly vs that be bisshopps yf wee will duely execute the office of good pastors It is well remeÌ„bred most vertuous kyng how when your highnes came first to the gouuernement of this Realme and that some thing was then requyred of you which partly tended to separation your highnes curteously as your manner is and yet well and flatly denyed their request saying you could not without offence of your conscience graunt the same vsing farther in the presence of your councell and a very notable assembly of the people this saying of Christ VVhat auayleth it a man yf he gayne the whole word and suffer his soule to perishe or what exchaunge may a man make for his soule Your princely crowne the empyre of your large and populous kingdome and of so many dominions adioyning therunto were not so deere vnto you that the losse or hazard of any of them could once moue you to do any thing that should seeme to be against your faith and religion And why should not the lyke wordes now allso serue for answer Vnlesse perhapps this separatioÌ„ seeme of lesse importaunce then the other being now required to permitt a deuisioÌ„ to be made from the holly Catholike Church being the body of Christ But some what is to be grauÌ„ted say they in respect of a publyke tranquillitie And I pray you was not then allso the publyke tranquillite of the kingdome preteÌ„ded VVas it not said that great troubles would ryse yf the request were not graunted Yet God did forsee and prouyde for the tranquillitie of your kyngdome And yf tranquillite and quyet be to be bought with so great losse of suche a number of sowlls it were better as the Prouerb sayeth that heauen and earth should meete and a thousand tymes to indure the losse of this mortall lyfe then being deuided from the body of Christ to lead a whyle a happy lyfe heare in yearth in the iudgement of common men and soone after to change the same with euerlasting death and hell tourments that neuer shall haue end Lighter is the losse of goodes and lyfe then of the soule the losse wherof is not to be recouered I reason not as though it were true which they seke
to persuade that it should myche perteyne to the preseruation of the tranquillite of your Realme yf the vse of the cuppe were graunted to those which require it to whom it may well be sayd you wotc not what ye aske But it is in deed most certayne and vndoubted that yf the thing they require be graunted that shall bryng to your kyngdom mycbe greater troubles The wyse and pollityke men of this world which haue written of common welthes haue taught vs how perillous to euery common welth is innouation and chaunge Namely of lawes or auncient manners VVhich they haue proued by a similitude taken of the body of man In so myche as they which leaue their accustomed manner of diet and chose vnto them selues a new hardly and very seldom doo it without hazard of their health VVherfore they thinke it better to tollerat some faultes of the lawe makers and magistrates For that it is often seen that in diuers cases there cometh not so myche good of correcting an errour vnorderly as hurt in that therby men are by lytle and lytle accustomed not to obey the magistrat So as ofte to chaunge lawes seemeth to be none other thing but to withdrawe all the force and credit from the lawes and to accustome men by litle and lytle to the attempting of moe and greater alterations And ofte we see that thinges which in them selues seeme small do proue causes of great mischieffes And doo wee not euen presently before our eyes see those thinges thus to haue happened both emong our neighbours and euen emong them allso which in this your realme applyed their myndes to innouatiōs I could touche soome by name which at the beginning requyred but the cuppe which allso soone after they vsurped to them selues But did they rest there No but after receyued and imbracyd the whole confession of Augspurg And within a whyle reiecting that tooke the Picardican religion And after that the Gehennian I woold haue sayd Geneuian but that Gehennian and Geneuian be all one which Lysmaninus the Apostata bānyshed by your highnesse king Sigismōd dooth now openly professe VVhat they will doo in the end I knowe not perhapps they will faull to Suenckfeldius I woold any man coulde shewe me any one contrey where the cuppe hath by priuatt aucthoritee been begoonne to be vsurped where very sone after many other and most horrible heresies haue not followed VVithin the memory of our Grandfathers in the kingdō of Bohemia our next neyghbour first fell this cōtentyon about the cup which soome Cittyes of their owne aucthoritee vsurped to themselues But what mōstrous heresies did not presently ensue How few townes coold yee find in Morauia or Bohemia where the vse of the cuppe was receyued in which you might not see sixe or seuen sectes at once and all miserably deuided one from an other But in Germany which with owt great sorrowe and woōder wee cānot behould wherof did this Sathanisme take beginning but of the cuppe These sleyghtes which by the members of Sathan are vsed and framyd against true pietye seeme myche lyke vnto a wedge which being very thīne at the edge semeth scarce entryd into the wood whē soone after it throwghly cleaueth and deuydeth the same in soonder But albeit the first edge be but thinne yet maketh it a waye to the growing thicknes that followeth so as when the first part is receiued and edge entryd of necessitee the rest followeth vntyll at the last the whole peece be soondered And yf a man woulde saye the cuppe to be the thinne and sharpe edge of this destroying wedge he shall no whit erre frō the truth For where the same hath been receyued wee see the thicke parte of the wedge hath followed First the Augustane confession which toke away both priesthood and sacrifice and brought God him self as it were in to an equallite of degree so as he should haue no more honour doō vnto him then to mortal men Thē entryd by and by a thicker part which was the Tigurin and Lascan cōfessiō which tooke away those ij sacramentes to witt of the supper of our lord and of baptisme which yett the Augustane confessiō had of curtesie left vnto vs to the end that as that confession had left their followers with owt priesthood or sacrifice so this would farther allso leaue theirs withowt sacramentes And this secte findeth no lesse fault with the Lutherans then it dothe with vs that be Christians But cōdemneth both of idolatry because we both are persuaded though after a diuers sorte that the very body and bloud of Christ is conteyned in the sacrament And therfore as by their iudgemēt wee made of that a certayne ydoll so doo we also as they saye of the sacrament of baptisme in that wee attribute therunto remission of synnes and beleue our selues to be saued thorowgh the fonte of regeneratiō Looke therfore what we seeme to the Luthe rans the same do the Lutherās seeme to the Sacramentaryes that is to saye idolaters At last foorth cometh Suenckfeldius who taketh away not only the whole scripture but allso all outward ministery of the word and maketh the Sacramentaryes Lutherans and vs Christians idolaters all a leeke who hauing regard to the bare letter meaning the canonicall scriptures seeke there in to fynd our saluation And this was the last but or end of the wedge whose first part being entred and receyued how thinne so euer the edge therof seemed wee see how by litle and litle all the rest of this Sathanisme brake in as more largely wee haue opened in an other booke Thus doo you see most vertuous kyng wherunto the matter is now brought How after that in despight of the churche the cuppe in the beginning had encroched how greate a forwardnes and swaye grewe therby to the rest of the Sathanisme VVho so euer is a Christian man at the lest yf he be of any pietye can not easely be induced to depart from the sense and consent of the vniuersall churche But so soone as a beginning of departure in any one thing is made now is it more hard to fynd the end then it was to see the beginning So as not without cause it hath been taken for an old prouerb the beginning is more thē the halfe of the whole which wee may see manifestly verefyed in them which at the first by the only vse of the cuppe wowned thē selues out from the knot of the churche who sone after receiued if not all other sectes yet at the lest the whole Lutherā heresie owt of hand Haue wee not to good proufe of this matter in Germany There was set forth a certain Interim religiō as muche to saie as religion put to daying how well I will not saye but at the lest by auctoritee suffred and receyued allmost of all sauing only a few But I pray you with them that receyued it was the
any moderation or concorde namely syche as they would haue synce it is so truly written of the blessed martyr S. Cyprian There can be no socyetee between faith and infidelitee He that is not with Christ is agaynst Christ He that is enemy to his vnitee and peace can not ioyne with vs If they come with submission and satisfaction lett them be heard If they come with curses and threates let them be refused But where that lewde fellowe Vergerius writeth there is none other meane or hope of concord except the vniuersall papacy be suppressed see for Gods sake what sleyghtes these be of Sathan and to what end he tendeth in seeking so earnestly to ouerthrowe the papacy But that our saying may be the better beleeued wee wil rather bryng foorth his testimony of the papacy who so long as he liued held mortall warre against the same and whose word Vergerius adoreth as the very word of God then vse our owne wordes For thus writeth Luther in a certayne Epistle to ij parish priestes of the Anabaptisme I heare sayth he and see rebaptising taken in hand of some vpon this grownd that they would doo it in the despight of the Pope as men that will haue nothing of Antechrist Euen as the sacramentaries will haue in the sacrament but meer bread and wyne in despight of the Pope thinkyng them selues able by this meanes to suppresse the papacy Verely this foūdatiō is friuolous and vayne wherupon they can build no good thing For by that reason wee must denye al the holy scriptures and the office of preaching For all this haue wee from the Pope And then must wee make allso a newe scripture Then must wee forsake also the ould Testamēt lest we should seeme to haue any thing frō the infidell Iues. All this is but foolishnes For Christ allso found in the Iuishe nation abuse emong the Scribes and Pharisees yet did he not therfore reiect al things which they held and tawght But wee confesse that vnder the papacy is myche good Christianitee yea and all good Christianitee And that from thence it hath come vnto vs. Yea truly wee graunt that vnder the papacy is the true scripture the true baptisme the true sacrament of the aultar the true keyes of remission of synnes the true office of preaching the true Cathechisme which is the lords prayer the x. Commaundementes and the Articles of the Crede I say farther that vnder the papacy is the true Christianitee yea and the very true kernell of Christianitee And lest any man should thinke that Luther wrote this when as yet the light of the Euangelicall veritee wherof he so myche vaunteth had not shyned vpon him let him knowe that this Epistle was written by him the x. yere after he had cut him self of from the Churche of God at what tyme his name was very farre spred by the fame of his heresies Thus ye see how the truthe brake foorth from him against his will euen as it did thorowgh the throte of Balaam the prophet all be it he were an enemy of the truth See you now most vertuous kyng wherunto the deuyses of Sathan tend when by his sowldyar Vergerius and by others of that kynd he seeketh to haue the vniuersall papacy taken away For he seeketh therin by the verdit of Luther to haue taken away the true scripture true Baptisme the true Sacrament of the Aultar the true keyes of remission of synnes the true office of preaching the true Catechisme true Christianitee yea and the very true kernell of Christianitee And haue not these his deuises succeded as he would haue them First Luther sowght to take away the papacy and therunto he layd certayne foundations as we haue before shewed For first in despight of the Pope and the councell he graunted the cuppe to the laye people Then he abrogated aunciēt rytes and ceremonies and instituted newe Not long after of the number of the vy sacramentes he tooke away v. And last of all he ouerthrew together both sacrifice and priesthood But what came herof VVith in a short tyme after vp sprang Sacramētaryes and Anaptistes who tooke from vs those ij sacramentes allso of the aultar and baptisme which ij Luther had yet of his curtesy left vnto vs And that did they not more in hatred or desspight of the Pope then of Luther him self if wee may beleue Philip Melancthon For they seing Luther thus to play the Pope yea and more then a Pope could not broke this intollerable tyranny of the man After this foorth came the heauēly prophetes which tooke from vs both the scriptures and all externe ministery of preaching At the last owt of what darke caues I know not issued Campanus and Seruetus which sowght to pull from vs our Sauiour Christ speaking very blasphemously of his diuinitee This end at the last they attayned which laboured to ouerthrow the papacy and to do all thinges in despight of the Pope I vse somtyme most vertuous kyng to reade the triffles of those heretikes which are of no great name that I may knowe the better how things goe amongest them My happe was emong others to hyt vpon a certaine Germayne Luther an named Erasmus and not only by syr name but in deed rightly caulled All beere who wrote a booke against Carolstadius and other Sacramentaries Anabaptistes and image breakers Therein he telleth of one Iames Schēck how when at Berlin he preached to the people the word of Luther for the word of God he could not by any meanes be induced vpon the solemne feast day of Easter to preache of the Resurrection of our Lord but vpon Easter daye he would nedes preache of the Passion And of an other at Francfort that would in no wyse kepe the feast of Christmas daye And why I pray you Forsooth in despight of the Pope lest they should seeme in any thing to impart with the papacy that is to say with Christianitee they had rather all the memory of Christ his benefits were extinguisshed then they would celebrat the same with those Christians that acknowledge the Pope You see most vertuous Kyng what thinges haue followed wher the papacy hath been taken away And this very state of thinges Vergerius or rather the diuell by Vergerius his solliciter seeketh now to bring allso into your kingdom For this hath allwayes been an owld practyse of Sathan as wee reade written by the holy martyr S. Cyprian to infest and persecute in all he may the head ruler of the churche to the end that hauing taken away the master he might with the more violence and owtrage spoyle and ransacke the churche Neither haue heresies or schismes saith S. Cyprian risen of any other occasion then of that the priest of God is not obeyed and that one Priest for the tyme in the churche and one iudge for the tyme in stead of Christ is not thought vpon To