being no such plaine places in many cases to be found which they themselves prove by their disagreement about the sense of many places Therefore to allay the unreasonablenesse of this assertion they add that it is Scripture diligently read by us and one place conferred with another all circumstances weighed and much prayer used which is in effect that not the Scripture it selfe but they interpret the Scripture by the aforesaid meanes § 6. But all these waies of study and conference skill in the tongues or the like are but humane endeavours and subject to error yea though much fervour of prayer be mixed therewith and such as the meanes are such of necessity must be the interpretation and determination but the meanes are uncertaine doubtfull and fallible therefore such must be the interpretation and if it be uncertaine it may be false and whether it be so or no Protestants have no way to discover but by the Spirit as he instructs every particular man whose insufficiency I found in my former consideration of the meanes to know the Scripture to be the Word of God And if it cannot assure me of the letter of Gods Word no more can it of the meaning considering that I can neither know whether another have the Spirit nor yet whether I have it my selfe or no without some miraculous revelation for all other proofs of having the direction of the Spirit are but humane and so subject to deceipt but miracles we are sure are from God because they exceed all humane and created power § 7. And seeing Protestants ground their salvation upon faith onely which as they say doth onely justifie and faith upon Scripture only which according to them containes all things necessary to be believed and the Scripture and sense thereof upon the private Spirit only by which they expound the Scripture it followes that the private Spirit is the sole or principall ground to them of the sense of Scripture the Scriptures sense the like ground of their faith and this their faith the like ground of their salvation therefore no Protestant can have greater certainty of his faith or salvation then he hath of this private Spirit whereof seeing he hath none either from Scripture Church Councells Fathers common sense or experience it must needs follow that he hath certainty of nothing and that this relying upon the private Spirit must needs plunge him into infinite and abominable errors CHAP. IV. Of the vanity and impiety of those who affirm that each mans particular reason is the last Judge and Interpreter of Scripture and his guide in all things which he is bound to believe and know And that the Catholike Church is the sole Judge § 1. FInally Chillingworth the last reformer and calciner of the Protestant Religion seeing the weaknesse of all the former pretences hath boldly and roundly reduced all to one only principle and that is of naturall reason affirming that our belief of the Scripture to be the Word of God and also our belief of the Scripture in every particular part thereof depends upon each mans reason and discourse beyond which or different from which he is not bound to believe a title Yet he doth not say that this way is infallible but because all wayes else are fallible as he supposes and this the onely way God hath given us to be guided by we must be herewith contented and God also must be contented herewith in us and give salvation to those that believe and do according to their best understanding And this opinion I observed had got a large possession in the minds of Protestants especially of the Clergy and Gentry whose ingenuous education gave them the highest claime to the exercise of reason who were therefore very glad to embrace such a principle of Religion as of which they accounted themselves the chiefest Masters § 2. This conceipt seemed to me no lesse absurd and much more insolent than any of the other for the other did seem at least to ascribe our knowledge of the Scripture and sense thereof to God either speaking in the Scripture or by his Spirit speaking to their soules or concurring with their humane endeavours though in conclusion they drew it to the determination of their owne fancies But this man more impiously hardy than all that went before him doth directly and in plaine termes attribute all the assurance we have of the Word of God the director to salvation unto our selves and that too as we are meer men And this resolving of faith not into Authority but into reason and that not as preparing or inducing us to believe which Catholiques allow but as the maine ground and strongest pillar of our faith and the dependence of faith upon reason as the Conclusion on the premises is a doctrine incredibly pernicious and the source of monstrous impieties And for this purpose he builds much upon this * Pag. 36. n. 8. Axiome we cannot possibly by naturall meanes be more certaine of the conclusion than of the weaker of the premises as a river will not rise higher than the fountaine from whence it flowes Hence in the same place he inferres that the certainty of Christian faith can be but morall and humane and not absolutely infallible Therefore as an instance to the same purpose he saith * Pag. 116. We have as great reason to believe there was such a man as Henry the eight King of England as that Jesus Christ suffered under Pontius Pilate And in larger explication of this his doctrine he saith If upon reasons seeming to my understanding very good I have made choice of a guide or rule for my directions in matters of faith when afterwards I discover that this guide or rule leads me to believe one or more points which in the best judgement that I can frame I have stronger reason to reject than I had to accept my former rule I may and ought to forsake that rule as false and erroneous otherwise I should be convinced not to follow reason but some setled resolution to hold fast whatsoever I had once apprehended From which wild and vast principle doth follow that if the Scripture for example propound things seeming more contrary to any mans reason and opinion than the inducements which first moved him to believe Scripture were in his opinion strong and convincing he must reject the Scripture as an erroneus rule and adhere to his owne reason and discourse as his last and safest guide Especially considering that according to him the motives for which we believe the Scripture are but probable and by consequence subject to falshood which in all reason must give place to reasons seeming demonstrative and convincing as there will not want many such against the highest mysteries of Christian faith if once we professe our assent to them must be resolved into natural discourse For for what reason do the Socinians and such like deny the misteries of the blessed Trinity the Diety of our blessed Saviour
being once evident to the world are by the worlds full report declared unto us which is a morall infallibility So that if we have not a Metaphysicall or Mathematicall infallibility of the truth of Miracles yet we have a Physicall and morall infallibilitie as much as we have of any thing we either hear or see Nor doth this Physicall evidence take away the merit of faith because this evidence not being altogether and in the highest degree infallible in it self for our senses may somtimes be deceived it is not sufficient to conquer the naturall obscurity darknesse and seeming falshood of things to be believed upon the testimony of those miracles For the mystery of the Trinity of the Incarnation Reall presence and the like seem as far above the reach of reason as any Miracle can seem evident to sense hence when faith is proposed by Miracles there ariseth a conflict betwixt the seeming evidence of the Miracles and the seeming falshood and darknesse of Catholique Doctrine against which obscurity a man cannot get the victory by the sole evidence of miracles except he be inwardly assisted by the light of Gods Spirit moving him by pious affection to cleave to the Doctrine which is by so cleer testimony proved to be his Word Even as a man shut up in a chamber with two lights whereof the one makes the wall seem white the other blew cannot be firmly assured what colour it is untill day-light enter and obscuring both those lights discover the truth so a man looking upon Christian Doctrines by the light of miracles done to prove them will be moved to judge them to be truth but looking upon them through the evidence of their seeming impossibilities unto reason they will seem false nor will he be able firmly to resolve for the side of faith untill the light of divine grace enter into his heart making him prefer through pious reverence to God the so-proposed authority of his Word before the seeming impossibility to mans reason CHAP. VII That Catholique Tradition is the onely firm foundation and motive to induce us to beleeve that the Apostles received their doctrine from Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ from God the Father And what are the meanes by which this doctrine is derived downe to us § 1. AS Catholique Tradition is infallible in it self so is it most necessary for us there being no other certaine testimony to any prudent man no firme ground or motive to believe that the Primitive Church received her doctrine from the Apostles the Apostles from Christ Christ from God nor no way to bring it downe from those times to these but only the Tradition of the Church For we may observe three properties of the doctrine of faith to be true to be revealed of God to be preached and delivered by the Apostles The highest ground by which a man is persuaded that his faith is true is the authority of God speaking and revealing it the highest proof by which a man is assured that his faith is revealed is the authority of Christ and his Apostles who delivered the same as descending from God but the highest ground that moveth a man to believe that his faith was preached by the Apostles is the perpetuall Tradition of the Church succeeding the Apostles unto this day assuring him so much according to the saying of * De praescr c. 21. 37. Tertullian who maketh this ladder of belief in this sort what I believe I received from the present Church the present from the Primitive the Primitive Church from the Apostles the Apostles from Christ Christ from God and God the prime verity from no other fountaine different from his own infallible knowledge So that he that cleaveth not to the present Church firmely believing the Tradition thereof as being come down by succession is not so much as on the lowest step of the ladder that leads unto God the revealer of saving truth successive Tradition unwritten being the last and finall ground whereon we believe that the points of our belief came from the Apostles which may be proved by these arguments § 2. First if the maine points of faith be to be believed to come from the Apostles because they are written in Scriptures and the Scriptures are believed to be the Word of God upon the report of universall Tradition then our belief that the things which we believe come from the Apostles and from God resteth upon the Tradition of the Church but it is most certaine that the Scriptures cannot be proved to have been delivered unto the Church by the Apostles but by the perpetuall Tradition unwritten conserved in the Church succeeding the Apostles all the other waies by which the Protestants endeavour to prove the Scripture to be the word of God being vaine and insufficient as I have proved before Secondly common and unlearned people which comprehend the greatest part of Christians may have true faith yet they cannot have it grounded on the Scripture for they can neither understand nor read it or if read it yet but in a vulgar language of the truth of whose translation they are not assured therefore must rely upon the testimony of the present Church that that which they believe is the Word of God Thirdly if all the maine and substantiall points of Christian faith must be believed before we can securely read and truly understand the holy Scripture than they are believed not upon Scripture but upon Tradition going before Scripture and that it is so is manifest because true faith is not built but upon Scripture truly understood according to the right sense thereof nor can we understand the Scripture aright unlesse we first know the main Articles of Faith which all are bound expresly to believe by which as by a rule we must regulate our selves in the interpretation of the Scripture otherwise without being setled in the rule of faith by Tradition men are apt to fall into grievous errors even against the main articles of the faith as of the Blessed Trinity and Incarnation of the Son of God as experience doth sufficiently testifie so that reading and interpreting Scripture doth not make men Christians but supposeth them to be made so by Tradition at least for the main points such as every one is bound expresly to know Fourthly they to whom the Apostles wrote and delivered the Scripture were already converted to Christianity and instructed in all necessary points of faith and in the common practises of Christianity and so by what they knew by Tradition could easily interpret what was written but otherwise might easily have failed in the mainest points as some forsaking Tradition did for example the Arrians who were confuted by the Catholiques not by bare Scripture for of that the Arrians had plenty but as it was interpreted by Tradition Therefore none can be supposed to understand the Scripture aright so to know the true word and will of God but by being such as they were to whom the Apostles
delivered the Scripture that is first instructed by Tradition Otherwise they may easily erre in some chiefe articles of Faith any of which to erre in is damnable And I would faine know whether any understanding Protestant doth believe that if a Bible were given to a heathen or to one borne amongst themselves supposing he had not been trained up by Catechisme and other traditionall instruction whether I say he could out of that extract as points cleerly expressed therein the thirty nine Articles of the Church of England or the book called the Harmony of Confessions which is the profession of the faith of most of the Protestants of the world Lastly we cannot with modesty say that we are more able to understand Scripture than were our fore-fathers the ancient Doctors of the Church but they thought themselves unable to interpret Scripture by conference of places or such like humane means without the light of Christian Doctrine before-hand knowne and firmly believed upon the Tradition of the Church witnesse * Ruf. Eccl. hist l. 2. c 9. S. Basil S. Gregory Nazianzene and * Orig. tract in Mat. 29. c. 23. Origen who thus writeth In our understanding of Scriptures we must not depart from the first Ecclesiasticall Tradition nor believe otherwise but as the Church of God hath by succession delivered to us therefore no man is able to interpret Scripture without the light and assistance of Christian faith afore-hand received by the voice of the Church delivering what shee received from her ancestors Dangerously and high boldnesse then it is for men of this age so to presume on their owne interpretations of Scripture gotten by humane meanes as to make them over-ballance a thousand * Luther de capt Babil Tom. 2. VVittenberg p. 344. Cyprians Augustines Churches and Traditions § 3. From all which I observed that the Protestants do not well understand that place of Scripture so frequently urged by them against Tradition where S. Paul saith to Timothy Thou hast known the holy Scriptures from thy childhood which are able to instruct thee or make thee wise unto salvation Inferring from hence that the Scriptures are able to make all men wise unto salvation whereas this was spoken with relation to Timothy only and to such as agree with him in the cause for which this saying is true in him that is such as were aforehand instructed by Tradition and did firmly believe all substantiall Doctrines of faith and know the necessary practises of Christian Discipline even as what God said to Abraham I am thy protector and thy exceeding great reward Gen. 15.1 is not appliable to all men absolutely but only to all men that were of the same qualification that is faithfull and devout as he was Moreover the Apostle in that place speaketh only of the Scriptures of the Old Testament for the New was not written in the infancy of Timothy nor some of it at this very time that these words were written and these Scriptures he affirmes also to instruct Timothy not by themselves alone but by faith which is in Christ Jesus that is joyned with the doctrine of the Christian faith which Timothy had heard and believed on the voice of Tradition And the following words of the Apostle are with equall confidence insisted on All Scripture inspired of God is profitable to teach c. is very unprofitable for their purpose seeing that profitable can by no means be stretcht to signifie sufficient as they would have it and that for every man but particularly for him that is HOMO DEI a man of God that is one already instructed by Tradition in all the main points of Christian faith and godly life such an one as Timothy was Thus indeed the Scriptures may be granted sufficient joyned with Tradition but not alone And whereas there are some places of the Fathers alledged by Protestants to prove the Scriptures to be clear in all substantiall points they are to be understood as the Apostles words are with reference to such men who have been before instructed by Tradition even as they that hear Aristotle explicate himself by word of mouth may easily understand his books of nature which are very hard to be understood of them that never heard his explication either from his own mouth or by Tradition from his Schollers § 4. Whereas some Protestants say that the difficult places of Scripture are unfolded a VVootton triall of the Romish c. p. 88. l. â—9 by Scripture and the rules of Logick b Field p. 281. lin 20. and by other things beside Scripture evident in the light of nature it seems to me very incongruous First because the rule of faith must be for the capacity of the unlearned as well as the learned and unlearned men cannot be sure of the infolded sense of the Scripture by Logicall deductions Secondly the Scripture it self sends us to supply her wants not to the rules of Logick but unto Tradition saying Hold the Traditions which ye have received by word or our Epistle 2 Thes 2.15 It sendeth us to the Church the pillar and ground of truth 1 Tim. 3.15 which whosoever doth not heare is as a Heathen and a Publican Matth. 18.17 It did the same to the Jewes who had the Scriptures also saying Remember the old dayes think upon every generation ask thy father and he will declare unto thee the elders and they will tell thee Deut. 32.7 The same do the Fathers as I shall shew hereafter § 5. And whereas it is further objected that the Fathers disputed negatively from the Scripture against Heretiques thus Doctrine is not cleerly delivered in Scripture therefore it is not to be received as a matter of Faith we must know that the Fathers proceeded upon this supposition that was known to all and granted by the Heretiques themselves namely that the Doctrines they disputed against were not the Traditions of the Church and in this case they required the testimony of Scripture Yea more the Fathers did not onely require places of Scripture from the Heretiques by way of deduction and Logicall inference for to such all ancient Heretiques and Protestants now pretend wherewith they delude ignorant people but they required of them to shew their Doctrine in Scripture saith Irenaeus expresly and in termes and to prove it not by texts * Aug. de unitat Eccles cap. 5. which require sharpnesse of wit in the Auditors to judge who doth more probably interpret them not by places which require an interpreter one to make Logicall inferences upon the text but by places plaine manifest cleere which leave no place to contrary exposition and that no Sophistry can wrest them to other sense to the end that controversies which concern the salvation of soules be defined by Gods formall Word and not by deductions from it by rules of Logicke And even by this way of the Fathers arguing negatively from the Scripture the Protestant Religion is quite overthrowne for seeing nothing is
are fundamentall others not that is some points are to be believed explicitely and distinctly others not and more points are to bee believed explicitely by some than by others as I have shewed before speaking of points necessary to salvation But in regard of the formall object and motive for which we believe namely the truth of God revealing it by his Church there is no distinction of points of faith we being equally bound to believe all that is sufficiently proposed unto us as revealed by God whether the matter be great or small and whether the points be fundamentall in their matter or no yet they are proposed unto us by the same authority therefore we are bound equally with the same firmenesse of faith to believe every one as any one For example the Creed of the Apostles containes divers fundamentall points as the Diety Trinity of Persons Incarnation Passion and Resurrection of our Saviour it containes also some points for their matter and nature in themselves not fundamentall as under what judge he suffered that he was buried and the circumstance of time when he rose againe to wit the third day Now whosoever knowes these to be contained in the Apostles Creed is bound to believe them as firmely as the other and the denyall of any one of them is a fundamentall and damnable errour a giving of God the lie For the nature of faith doth not arise from the greatnesse or smalnesse of the thing believed for then there should be as many different faiths as there are points to be believed but from the motive for which a man believes which is Gods revelation testified by the Church which being alike for all objects it is manifest that they that in things equally revealed by God do grant one thing and deny another do forsake the very formall motive of faith Gods revelation and so have no true divine faith at all § 7. Moreover if the Churches infallibility be tied to a certain matter in Religion then it is meet we should know that first that so we may accordingly apply our belief if it be fundamentall then without doubt to imbrace it if not to exercise our liberty and believe it so far as we see cause but then we must know the matter wherein she is infallible distinctly and particularly as also infallibly or else we may mistake and believe when we need not and disbelieve when we ought not Now from whence shall we have this knowledge God hath no where revealed it and it ought to have been revealed together with the Commission given to the Church to teach or else shee might have deceived us before the caution came but the Church it selfe hath told us no such matter we have no such Tradition therefore we must have this most fundamentall point of all the rest which is to know what is fundamentall and what not either by inspiration or by the strength of reason both which are ridiculous or by some authority coequall to the Churches and yet not hers which is most absurd And in this businesse the Protestants seemed unto me to deal as obscurely and deceiptfully as did once Richard the second King of England who in a return to peace betwixt him and his subjects granted pardon to all except fifteen but would not declare what their names were but if at any time he had a mind out of some new displeasure to cut off any man he would say he was one of the fifteen whom he excepted from the benefit of his pardon In like manner the Protestants say we will believe the Church in all points but those that are not fundamentall not expressing what they are and when they have a wanton disposition to deny their belief to something that the Church hath declared they shelter their denyall under the protection of this unlimited distinction and say it is a point not fundamentall And if on the other side they find it for their advantage to close with other Churches they say they are all one Church with them because forsooth they agree in they know not what that is in their inexplicable fundamentalls § 8. But Chillingworth hath undertaken to give us though not a catalogue yet a description as he supposes by which we may discern between fundamentalls not fundamentalls or circumstantialls as he calls them pag. 137. sect 20. The former being such as are revealed by God and commanded to be preached to all and beleived by all The later such as though God hath revealed them yet the Pastors of the Church are not bound under paine of damnation particularly to teach them unto all and the people may securely be ignorant of them And this is even the same obscurity in more words for what is to be preached to all and believed by all and what the Pastors may forbear to preach and the people may be ignorant of especially seeing the same degree of ignorance is not secure to all people alike but receives infinite variety according to their meanes of knowledge is as undeterminable as what is fundamentall and what not But suppose the Pastors doe preach more than they are bound to preach and reveal that truth which if it had not been revealed the people might safely have been ignorant of may they be ignorant or unbelieving now it is revealed to them If they be then they deny that very authority upon which they believed the most fundamentall points which is the ground of all belief and by consequence deny the whole faith From whence wee may see that the Pastors teaching is not to be stinted by the things the people ought necessarily to believe but the peoples necessity of believing ought to be enlarged according to the measure of the Pastors preaching The Church is not confined to the teaching of fundamentalls only for the matter but whatsoever shee teacheth is fundamentall for the forme and motive of beliefe The circumstantialls are as he confesseth revealed by God to the Church and if the Church reveal them to the people the people must either believe them or deny to believe God And though common people and others also may safely be ignorant before they have been instructed yet they may not be so after nor hath God confined the Pastors instructing of the people to any certain matter to fundamentalls only for Christ bids his Apostles teach all nations to observe all things whatsoever he commanded them Matth. 28.20 And though common people may safely be ignorant of many things yet they must not be unbelieving of any thing but by an implicite faith at the least believe all that the Church believes by adhering and resigning themselves to her being prepared to believe explicitly what and when shee shall declare it to them Which faith is originally and fundamentally built upon the Word of God not as written but as delivered by the Tradition of the Church successively from the Apostles upon the authority whereof we believe that both Scriptures and all other Articles of
examine the matter and being infallibly assisted by the Spirit of truth which our Saviour promised should be with his Apostles to the end of the world that is with the Church their Successor which was to continue to the worlds end shee declares what is true and what is false as agreeing with or disagreeing from that doctrine which shee hath received from her Fore-fathers the Prophets and Apostles upon whom shee is built as S. Paul saith built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets Ephes 2.20 For as in a building there is not the least stone which rests not upon the foundation so in the doctrine of the Catholique Church there is not the least point which is not grounded on or contained in that which was delivered by the Apostles For example in the principles of every Science are contained divers truths which may be drawn out of them by many severall conclusions one following another These conclusions were truths in themselves before though they did not so appear to us till wee saw the connexion they had with the premises and how they were contained in them And by the many severall conclusions so drawn the truth of those principles doth more shew it selfe but doth not receive any change in it selfe thereby even so in the prime principles of our faith revealed immediately by God and delivered to the Church are contained al truths that any way belong to our faith but it was not necessary that the Church should manifest all these at their first meeting in Councell but only so much in every severall Councell as should concerne the present occasion of their meeting which is some particular heresie or heresies then sprung up and so more according to the successive growth of heresies which when shee hath done shee cannot be charged with creating of a new faith or altering of the old but shee doth only out of old grounds and premises draw such conclusions as may serve to destroy new heresies and shew them to be contrary to the ancient faith In this manner the Church hath grown and increased in knowledge by degrees and shall still do so to the end of the world And as the sun spreads the raies of his light more and more betwixt morning and noon and his beames display themselves in a valley or some roome of a house where they did not before without any change of light in the sun himselfe So may the Church spread the light of her faith shewing such or such a point to be a divine truth which before was not known to be so or which though it were a divine truth in it selfe yet it was not so to us for want of sufficient proposall that is of the Churches wherein the Church resembles our Blessed Saviour her Lord and Spouse who though he never received the least increase of grace and knowledge from the first moment of his being conceived yet the Scripture saith He grew in wisdome and age and in favour with God and men Luc. 2.52 to wit because he shewed it more and more in his words and actions This also further appeares by the method which Catholique Fathers and Doctors observe in and out of Councells in proving and defining points of faith namely by having recourse to the authority of Gods Word conteined both in Scripture and Tradition and to the belief and practise of the Church in searching whereof the Holy Church joynes humane industry with Gods grace and assistance For when any question or doubt of faith ariseth particular Doctors severally dispute and write thereof then if further cause require the Holy Church assembles her Pastors and Doctors together in a generall Councell to examine and discusse the matter more fully as in that first Councell of the Apostles whereof the Scripture saith The Apostles and Elders assembled together to consider of this word Acts 15.6 The Pastors being thus come together and having the presence of our Saviour and his Holy Spirit according to his promise amongst them out of Scripture and Traditions joyning therewith the consent of holy Fathers and Doctors of foregoing times she doth infallibly resolve and determine the matter not as new but as ancient orthodox and derived from her forefathers making that which was ever in it selfe a divine truth so to appeare to us that now wee may no more make question thereof So that from hence it appeares that the Church makes no new Articles of faith such as then may be said to have their beginning but only explications and collections out of the old which were delivered to the Apostles and by them to us And though the Church doe thus grow in the knowledge of points of faith yet this is no newnesse of faith but a maintenance of the old with a kind of increase by way of explicating that which was involved cleering that which was obscure defining that which was undefined obliging men to believe more firmly and explicitly that which before they were not bound so to believe That is only to be called a new faith which is contrary to that which was held before or hath no connexion with it and when we cease to believe that which we believed before this indeed is change of faith the other is but encrease And if this encrease of faith by the declaration of Councells may be called a change and innovation of faith there is no Heretique but may challenge antiquity to himselfe and put novelty on the score of the Church For he may say such a thing for example that the Sonne is of the same substance with the Father was not held de fide a matter of faith before the Councell of Nice therefore it is new That Baptisme administred by Heretiques is good baptisme was not held as a matter of faith before the daies of S. Cyprian therefore it is new And the Heretique may say that he believes only that which was believed before such or such a Councell which he please for the case is alike in all and therefore he believes the antient Faith By which way of arguing he may renounce the decrees of all Councells as Novelties and maintaine many Heresies as the antient Faith Yea by this absurdity a man may deny divers Books of the Scripture as the Epistle to the Hebrewes the second Epistle of S. Peter the Epistle of S. Iames of S. Iude and the Apocalyps with some others because they were not admitted for Canonicall untill 300. or 400. yeares after they were written Yet when they were declared to be Canonicall there was no change of faith in the Church thereby for the believing of these Books was involved in this revealed Article I believe in God and the believing of them to be Canonicall was involved in this revealed Article I believe the holy Catholike Church onely hereby was an increase of the materiall object of our faith to us not in it selfe we being bound upon the declaration of the Church to believe that thing firmely and without dispute
adversaries thereof that are under the title of Christian being divided amongst themselves and notorious changers and according to this notion the Church is ever visible and sensible to all men even to her enemies Otherwise there is no ordinary meanes left for men to know what the Apostles taught nor consequently what God by inspiration revealed to them And if she and the light of truth she carries with her should be hidden and lost we must begin again anew from a second fountain of immediate revelation from God and build upon the new planting thereof with Miracles in the world by some new Apostles And if this be absurd then there must ever be in the world a Church visible whose Traditions are famously Catholique and consequently shewing themselves to be the Apostles to all men that will not be obstinate And that the Church shall be universally visible even in the daies of Antichrist may be gathered out of the Scripture Rev. 20.8 For she shall then be every where persecuted which could not be unlesse she were visible and conspicuous even to the wicked And even during the first 300. years after Christ wherein the Church indured incomparably more universall and raging persecutions than ever were yet the a Magd. cent 1 2 3. Fulke cont Stapleton de success Eccl. p. 246. Century-writers and sundry others do take certain and particular notice of the Catholique Bishops and Pastors by name in those very ages of their administration of the Word and Sacraments and their open impugning of Heresies And surely our Lord himself had been which is blasphemy to think of him who is the eternall wisdome of the Father the most imprudent of all Law-makers to have a Law so obscure and exposed to so many suppositions depravations and false expositions whereto the malice of the Heretiques of all ages hath subjected it without leaving a depository to keep it and a judge to interpret it or to leave it to such a keeper and such a judge as should be invisible § 4. Other Protestants I have observed who though they confesse the invisibility of their Church yet professe the being thereof and assigne the place for it to be in the Roman Church mixed like a great deal of ore with a very little pure gold so that it was not discernable But this assignation of their Church seemed to me very unreasonable for either those Protestants did professe their owne faith or they did not if they did then doubtlesse they were visible and the Roman Church would soon have taken notice of them as she did in all ages of such though it were but one man that differed from her If they did not make profession of their faith what wretched sonnes of fear were they that to preserve their temporall security durst not publiquely avow their own Religion but comply in all things with a Religion in their opinion false and impious and dissemblingly do all the externall acts thereof and this all their lives for many generations successively This was not the part of a true Church or of any true member thereof who will surely die rather than deny his Saviour as he doth who believing himselfe to be of the true Religion makes profession of that which he deemes to be false Nor did they fulfill the Prophesie of Esay concerning the true Church which saith I have set watchmen upon thy walls which shall never hold their peace day nor night Esay 62.6 But Doctor Feild hath a new fancy of his owne which I never observed in any but himselfe who saith to this purpose that before the separation of the Protestants from the Church of Rome the Church of Rome it selfe was the Protestant Church and that the Papists were but a faction of the Court of Rome an assertion so grosly false that all the world is a witnesse against it yea even I think all other Protestants themselves and needs no confutation § 5. Others taking all these Pleas for insufficient do affirm that their Church was in being and in sight also in all ages but that through the injury of later times no testimony thereof is now remaining but that all their records through the violence of the Pope and his Clergie have been utterly suppressed Of which vaine conceipt there is no proof at all and if the assertion without proof will serve their turne it may serve also for any other Religion Christian or not Christian who if they please may say the same thing but are never like to be believed by any man of common understanding Besides it thwarteth all experience as appeares by the example of Husse and Wickliffe whose writings are yet extant of Charlemaines pretended Book against Images and Bertrams concerning the Sacrament Also by the decrees of Catholique Councells and the large writings of Catholique Doctors reciting and condemning all opinions contrary to the Roman faith Lastly by the Ecclesiasticall Historiographers of every age who make this the argument of their writings yea even from them the Protestant * Centurists of Magdeburg Cent. Madg. Osiand Ep. Illyricus Catol VVhitak cont Duraeum pag. 276. 469. and others do recite the opinions mentioned and condemned in every age by the Church of Rome of which some were the very same that have since been revived by Protestants So that the Church of Rome hath been so far from extinguishing their records that she hath been the chief recorder of them and their doctrines § 6. The last and most valiant attempt of Protestants is to affirme that as the Church must be allwaies visible so theirs hath been in persons distinct from the Roman Church and thereby invite us to * A Protestants book so entituled look beyond Luther Which barren endeavour of theirs hath been like Peters fishing all night and catching nothing For they whom the Protestants claime for their predecessors were neither of their Religion nor yet alwaies visible there happening huge gaps betwixt them nor can the Protestants by any art or industry bring both ends together First they were not of the same Religion for to be of the same Religion or Church with another imports an agreement in all points of faith for the truth of doctrine being of the essence of the Church whosoever erres in any little thereof he ceaseth to participate of the soule of the Church which is the Spirit of truth and is but a dead member one equivocally and in name but not in truth We see that the Arrians Macedonians and many other Heretiques were accounted and are so by many Protestants not of the Catholique Church for one single error against faith now the Protestants disagreeing in many points not only from one another at this present but from all that went before them and that in points which they believe to be revealed in the Scripture their only rule are neither one Church amongst themselves at this present nor any one of them one with any society that hath gone before In particular the Grecians whom
the judgement of charity but of discretion Catholiques judge no particular man to be damned because they know not the operations of God upon his soule in his latest minutes but they judge that all men out of the Roman Catholique Church are out of the road of salvation because they are assured thereof by the word of God And if to grant the possibility of salvation to others be such a testimony of charity as they conceive then surely Origen was of all men most charitable who held that at the last even the devills themselves should be saved and yet I find no man agreeing with him in this charitable opinion But the truth is as I conceive that Protestants are thus kind to Catholiques for their own ends which are to provoke Catholiques to shew the same favour to them that so they may have the better security in their way by the concurrent opinions of others and also for feare lest by denying salvation to the Church of Rome they cut off the hope thereof from themselves who acknowledge no lawfull ministry by consequence no Church and by consequence no salvation but that which they derive from the Church of Rome Which seeing they do indeed want they are neither united with her nor can justly hope for salvation without her CHAP. XV. Of the fifth Mark of the true Church viz. Unity in doctrine And of horrible dissentions among Protestants § 1. A Fifth Mark of the Church is unity in doctrine of which it is said by S. Paul I beseech you that all speak one thing be ye knit together in one mind and one judgement 1. Cor. 1.10 endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace Ephes 4.3 Continue in one Spirit and one mind Philip. 1.27 of one accord and one judgement Philip 2.2 Thus in the first times were the multitude of them that believed of one heart and one soule Acts 4.32 Thus our Saviour prayeth and no doubt was heard that they may be one John 17.11 and the effect of that prayer we see in the Church of Rome and no where else Thus also the Holy Ghost describes the Church of Christ saying my dove is one Cant. 6.8 And the want of this unity is so improper to God that he is therefore termed the God not of dissention but of peace 1 Cor. 14.33 And it is such an assured meanes to shorten continuance that the Scripture saith if you bite and devoure one another take heed that you be not consumed one of another Galat. 5.15 and that a kingdome divided against it self shall perish Luc. 11.17 And by the want of this mark of unity did the antient Fathers discover the Heretiques of their times S. Crysostome saith Op. imperfect in Math. Hom. 20. All infidells that are under the devill are not united nor hold the same things but are dispersed by divers opinions one saith so and another so c. in the same manner are the falshoods of Heretiques who never hold the same things but have so many opinions as there are persons To the same purpose speakes Jrenaeus Tertullian and others Iren. l. 1. c. 5. Tertull. de praesc advers haer 42. And this unity I found apparently in the Church of Rome and the contrary as apparent amongst Protestants Thus the antient writers do wonderfully agree in all matters of faith so also do all the decrees of all lawfull Councells and Popes though they were men living in severall ages in severall countries and wrote in severall languages And now also all Catholiques in the world howsoever otherwise divided by country language particular interest civill dissentions or war yet agree exactly in all points of faith And this because they have a certaine compasse to steere by to wit the generall Tradition of the Church and the decrees of Generall Councells who they have reason to believe doe preserve that which was delivered by the Apostles and if any doubt arise about the sense of Scripture are better able to interpret it than any other persons to which therefore they doe modestly and wisely submit their judgements But no such agreement was ever found or ever can bee found amongst Protestants or any sort of Heretiques S. Irenaeus lib. 1. cap. 21. saith of Simon Magus his Heresie that it was divided into severall sects S. Augustine of the Donatists lib. 1. de Bapt. c. 6. that in his time it was cut into small threds And particularly the same is happened to Protestants who soon after their separation from the Church of Rome were divided amongst themselves and have ever since so continued multiplying daily in their divisions insomuch that even in the one Kingdome of England and even in the one City of London there are very many And in many particular houses there are some different Sects of Religion each pretending to be the true Protestant and denying that title to the other Nor is there any meanes to reconcile their differences but they are rather likely to grow more and greater as wee see at this day For no Sect will acknowledge another its superiour in matter of Religion nor stand to its judgment except it be by force no not any one particular person thinks himself obliged to submit to the whole world therefore they use to say that they will not pin their faith upon another mans sleeve but all pretend to be guided by the Word of God which each one will interpret for himselfe and accuse all others of error so far as they dissent from him And though Sects and Heresies do first arise out of the Catholique Church as the Apostle saith There must be Heresies 1 Cor. 11.19 yet the Church doth not lose her unity hereby because she having a certain Touch-stone whereby to try them namely the judgement of the Church if they will not submit to that they are excommunicated and by judiciall sentence cut off from that body from which they first cut themselves by mis-belief as the Apostle saith an hereticall man after the first and second admonition avoid Tit. 3.10 whereby they preserve the rest of the body intire and at unity within it self So that the Heresies do not arise from the Doctrine of the Church but from the malice of the Devill But amongst Protestants the liberty of reading and interpreting Scripture and the examining and judging the Preachers Doctrine thereby being given to every silly soul as Doctor Bilson saith c True difference part 2. p. 353. The people are discerners and judges of that which is taught as with good reason they ought for it was upon this ground that they first separated from the Church of Rome undertaking to be judges of her Doctrine and if the present Clergie should not continue this liberty to the people against themselves who are no more infallible than the other nor can pretend to it they would play very foule play with the people and instead of giving them liberty of conscience which they promised only translate them from
one Tyrant over their consciences so they called the Church of Rome to another the Church of England there must needs arise varieties of Sects in Religion according to the various conceipt and apprehension of people even out of the very nature of this their Doctrine which is the ground-work for all the rest and is the most exercised in those who are most conversant in the reading of Scriptures to wit the Puritans and Sectaries And in the many differences that are amongst them they call no Generall Councells nor indeed can they by way of authority no Sect acknowledging it self subject to anothers Jurisdiction if it be under another temporall Governour but constitutes a Church by it selfe absolute and independent And in the variety of Sects in any one Kingdome or Government neither party believing it self justly subject to another in matter of conscience But supposing themselves alwayes in the truth they think they are bound to maintain that truth with the hazzard of their lives and to oppose their lawfull Soveraignes in the defence thereof and whensoever they have power they put it in execution and turn Rebells for Gods sake As we see many have done heretofore and the English are many of them now in the accursed act Nor can the men under whose conduct the people do this hope for more calme obedience from them longer than by force they are subdued to it unlesse they give them that in possession which now they have in hope and for which they have all been united in their service to wit Liberty of Conscience to every particular person to be of what Religion soever he shall make to himself out of the Bible free independent on the jurisdiction of any other And with very good reason for seeing they have all shaken off Christs yoke why should any man put a yoke upon another mans conscience and oblige him to believe or do or suffer that which is against his Word of God Thus as their Religion is divisible according to their severall senses of the Scripture so Kingdomes are divisible according to their Religions So that there must still be division either in Religion or in War for the defence thereof Yea so accurately doth Heresie teach to run division that it is meerly by accident that any two Protestants are of the same Religion in any one point for seeing they do not oblige themselves to agree in any one Principle but only the letter of the Scripture and refer the interpretation to themselves as Chillingworth Preface fine saith Let all men believe the Scripture and that only indeavour to believe it in the true sense and require no more of others it is but by the constitution of their brains and the grain of their fancie running the same way that brings any two of them to an union in the same belief concerning any point of Religion which constitution as it was accidentall in their generation so it is daily changeable by age education and many other occurrences and so also as uncertain for the future as accidentall at the present Thus all tends to division amongst them through the nature of their doctrines and the method of knowing and preserving them And this division of theirs in doctrine and opinion is the reason why when I mention the belief of Protestants I usually say some Protestants because they are not all of a mind scarce in any one point wherein they differ from Catholiques And some of them are so silly as to think that if they themselves doe not believe such a point no Protestant else doth supposing all Protestancy included in their owne brests which indeed is nothing so only they have reason according to their principles to believe as they do that that which every particular man holds is the true Protestancy and ought to be a rule to all the world beside § 2. The Catholique Roman Church hath in it the propriety of heat and doth congregare homogenea gather together things of the same kind and disgregare heterogenea separate things that are of different natures casting out of her Communion all sorts of Heretiques And on the contrary the Protestant Religion hath the property of cold which is congregare heterogenea to gather together things of different natures enfoulding under her name a miscellane of Religions freezing them altogether and withall making them so brittle that every chance breakes them into smaller sects and sub-divisions which in the end will be the destruction of the whole as it hath been of all foregoing heresies And this truth Sir Edwin Sandys a learned Protestant In his Relation of Religion of the Western parts confesseth saying The Papists have the Pope as a common father adviser and conductor to reconcile their jarres to decide their differences to draw their Religion by consent of Councells unto unity c. whereas on the other side Protestants are like severed or rather scattered troupes each drawing adverse way without any meanes to pacifie their quarrells no Patriarch one or more to have a common superintendency or care of their Churches for correspondency and unity no ordinary way to assemble a generall Councell on their part the only hope remaining ever to asswage their contentions Of which seeing there is no hope the sword must be the Umpire Which if it should in England prevaile on the Puritane or Roundheads side as they now stile them which God forbid I think I may without rashnesse say that it falls out by the just judgement of God that they that cast out the Catholique Religion and Catholique Bishops their predecessors upon pretence of the Reformation of Errors which they discovered as they said by the pure word of God are upon the same pretences cast out themselves and are forced to say with Adonibezek in the first of the book of Judges As I have done so God hath rewarded me So true a rule it is that he that practises disobedience to his superiours teaches it to his inferiours § 3. But the Protestants say that they do not differ from one another in fundamentalls no not from the Catholiques so much at unity with all the world do they professe to be The impertinency of their distinction of fundamentalls and unfundamentalls I have before discovered and little reason have they to use it in this case For to my apprehension all their differences are in fundamentalls yea all that they believe they account fundamentall For the Church of England saith in her sixth Article That whatsoever is not read in Scripture nor may be proved thereby is not to be required of any ma that it should be believed as an Article of Faith or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation as nothing but what may be proved by the Scripture is by her accounted necessary to salvation which is the same with fundamentall so I suppose that all that can be proved by the Scripture is necessary to salvation even in their own opinion for I think they will not say
though the Apostles their hearers be departed out of this life yet there still remaines a meanes in the world by which all men may assuredly know what the Apostles preached and the primitive Church received of them seeing the Church to the worlds end must be built on the Apostles and beleive nothing as matter of Faith besides that which was delivered of them as S. Paul saith Ephes 2.20 and are built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets Jesus Christ being the chiefe corner stone CHAP. II. Of the meanes to know which is the Word of God And that all the Protestants Arguments to prove that the Scripture and it onely is the Word of God are insufficient And that the generall Tradition of the Catholike Church is the only assured proof thereof § 1. THese things being supposed the chief difficulty to my seeming consisted in this how we might certainly know now adaies so many ages after the Apostles death what all necessary points that they taught and preached the Protestants said that this was to be found in the Scriptures which were written by them but this did not satisfie my doubt for supposing the Scriptures to be the word of God delivered by the Apostles and others inspired by him yet I wanted some sufficient witnesse or proofe to assure me so much for of my selfe I could not find it The bare word of the Protestants I saw I had no reason to take because they confesse that they may erre and I in this matter not being able to discover whether they did erre or no relying upon a fallible guide must alwaies remaine in uncertainty and fear I observed moreover that although in most of their assertions they might upon examination prove false yet in saying that the Church might erre and taking themselves for the Church they had said most true finding that they indeed had erred in this most important Particular of declareing what is the word of God and what not the Lutherans affirming much lesse for the word of God then the Calvinists and the Church of England doth § 2. Now of necessity one of these sorts of Protestants must erre and that most dangerously the one by beleiving that to be the word of God which is not but the invention of men and perhaps false and foolish Praefat. in Epist Iac. in Edi◠levens as Luther said of S. Iames his Epistle or the other by renouncing that which is indeed the Word of God and so not believing what God himself hath spoken Their Authority being by themselves in their evident disagreement thus broken I descended to consider the reasons by them alledged to induce men to believe that the Scriptures are the Word of God which in general I apprehended to be insufficient because they did not lead the Protestants themselves to an agreement in the quantity thereof But I further weighed them particularly the principall whereof are these § 3. First they say the Scriptures are knowne to be divine by their owne light shining in them Cal. lib. 1. Inst cap. 7. Sect. 2. infine Even as sweet and bitter are knowne by the tast white and blacke by the sight which assertion to me seemed very absurd I confesse indeed much of the Scripture is but the amplification of the Morall Law which is a knowledge engrafted in man by nature by the light whereof we may see that it is true but this proves it not to be the Word of God For though all truth be from God as he is the prime verity and so may be called in some sense his Word yet by the Word of God in this case is meant truth revealed by God immediately unto the pen-men thereof and though we find much thereof to be true as agreeing with the engrafted principles of reason yet this proveth not that it was revealed immediately and extraordinarily which is the circumstance that makes it the Word of God in the sense of those that dispute about it As for the historical parts both of the Old and New Testament the institution of Sacraments with the like they have no affinity with the in-born principles of reason and are therefore not knowne to be so much as true by any light they carry with them much lesse to be extraordinarily revealed by God and so to be his Word Besides if it could be discerned what were the Word of God and what not by the resplendent light thereof as easily as the light is knowne from darknesse as some of them say how could there be so much dissention about the parts thereof as it is knowne there is the Calvinists seeing more to be the Word of God then the Lutherans do and lesse then the Catholikes and yet if it shew it selfe by its owne light the Turks may see it as well as any of them And heere I observed that many had blinded themselves with looking on the light and could not see so far as to discern between corporall and spirituall light but because the Prophet David saith Thy word is a lanterne unto my feet and a light unto my paths Psal 118.105 they conceived the Scripture was as easily discerned by its own light as the Sun True it is that every corporall light that doth enlighten the eye of the body must be evident in it selfe and originally cleer but not so every truth that doth illustrate mens understanding The reason is because the eye of the body cannot by things seen inferre and conclude things that are hidden but can only apprehend what doth directly and immediately shew it selfe but mans understanding apprehends not only what shewes it selfe but by things knowne inferres and breeds in it selfe the knowledge of things hidden Hence though things shewing themselves directly and by their own light be prime principles of the understanding and the meanes to know other things yet also things hidden in themselves being formerly known by the light of authority may thereby become lights that is meanes to encrease our knowledge of hidden things So that speaking of spirituall and intellectuall lights it is false that all lights that enlighten mans understanding to know other things are evident in themselves yea some secondary principles and lights there are which must be shewed by a superiour light before they become lights themselves In which kind is the Scripture being a light only to the faithfull because known by the Churches Tradition to be from the Apostles by the Apostles authority confirmed by miracles to be of God by Gods supreme verity who cannot deceive nor be deceived to be the truth Moreover this conceipt of theirs doth utterly extinguish faith and beleife of the word of God for every thing is so far forth the object of faith that it is not seen as S. Paul saith Faith is the argument of things not seen Hebr. 11.1 In Evang. Ioan. Tract 40. and S. Augustine What is faith but to believe that which thou dost not see If therefore they do see it they cannot properly
be said to believe it but to know it and if so what excellency what vertue what merit what pious affection towards God to believe that which they see plainely before their eyes A bold presumption also it is in them to claime a cleerer degree of knowledge then the Apostles had for they did but see through a glasse darkely 1 Corinth 13.12 but these men are convicted of the divine truth of the things they believe Fran White Orthodoxe p. 107. by the lustre and resplendent verity of the matter of Scripture which is a priviledge which whosoever hath equalls the blessed Saints in heaven whose happinesse it is to see what we believe especially seeing one point of the Doctrine Protestants pretend to see is the mysterie of the Blessed Trinity the true light resplendent veritie wherof no man can see manifestly out of the state of Blisse § 4. Secondly they pretend to know the Scriptures to be the Word of God by the * Whites Reply p. 16.30.68 Feild Appendix pag. 34. Cal. Inst l. 1. c. 7. majestie of the matter and purity of the Doctrine but I conceived that though some mysteries of the Scripture carry a majesty in them in respect of naturall reason and an elevation above it as of the B. Trinity yet other matters of Scripture seem unto reason ridiculous as the Serpents talking with Eve and Balaams Asse reproving of his master with many others Nor could the purity of the doctrine convince me seeing we know that many learned and godly men have written very holily whose writings are not therefore accounted the word of God Besides there are many historicall parts of the Scripture which do not at all touch upon purity therefore cannot be discerned by it Againe they affirme that the Scripture may be knowne by the stile but I considered that God hath no proper stile or phrase of his owne but can at his pleasure al stiles that he did vse the pens of those whom it pleased him to inspire couching his heavenly conceipts under their usuall language and ability of expression whence issueth so great difference of stiles as is on all sides acknowledged amongst sacred Writers and that God did only guide them in the truth they wrote not in the stile for then all their stiles in likelihood should have been alike Indeed God hath an eternal increated manner of speaking which is the production of the eternall word by which the blessed do discern him from all other speakers by the evidence of blissefull learning but no created manner of speaking no not his speaking inwardly to the soule is so proper to God as that it can be knowne to be his speaking by the meer sound of the voice or by the stile without especiall revelation or some consequent miraculous effect § 5. Thirdly the * VVhites Reply p. 19. Harmony of the Scriptures is alledged by some as an argument to prove them to be the Word of God But though this Harmony appeare in divers things yet it is most certaine that there are very many seeming contradictions many of which are but probably answered by Commentaetors by assuming some things without proofe because otherwise they must admit contradictions some places are not fully answered but the Fathers were forced to fly from literall to allegoricall senses as appeares particularly in the foure first Chapters of Genesis the Genealogy of our Saviour and in the reconciling of the Chronologies of the Kings And seeing no man is infallibly sure that all the answers used to reconcile the seeming contradictions of Scriptures are true no man can be assured by the evidence of the thing that there is this perfect harmony in them nor consequently that they are thereby knowne to be the Word of God Moreover if we were infallibly assured that there were this perfect harmony in the Scriptures yet this to me seemed not a sufficient proofe that they are the Word of God because there is no reason forbids me to believe that it may not be also found in the writings of some men yea I make no question but it is to be found and that with lesse seeming contradiction then is in the Scripture yet no man accounts that this proves their writings to be the Word of God Neither as I saw could these pretences before mentioned be laid hold on by the unlearned multitude an innumerable company whereof cannot read at all and when they heare them read if they were asked would say that they see not this light this majestie stile and harmony which their learned men talk of nor do they know what it meanes nor that a tittle of it is the word of God but only because they are told so Indeed S. Peter saith in the behalf of the old Testament 2 Pet. 1.21 That holy men of God spake as they were moved by the holy Ghost But we are as uncertaine by any thing in the words themselves that S. Peter said this as of all the rest that is altogether § 6. So that I could not find that there was any more then probable arguments to be drawn from the Scriptures themselves to prove them to be the word of God For that which is the word of God and the rule of faith must be certaine not only in some parts but in every part and particle book chapter and line thereof which is impossible to be knowne by the light and evidence of the sense and doctrine seeing many places even by * Field of the Church lib. 4. cap. 15. VVhites Reply p. 35 Protestants confessions are darke obscure and full of difficulties and how can that be knowne to be the Word of God by the light thereof when the light thereof is not knowne As uselesse also to their purpose is the majestie purity stile harmomony or any the like for we believe it to be harmonious because it is the Word of God not to be the Word of God because it is harmonious which wee doe not infallibly see So that upon these considerations I saw no evident certainty out of the Scriptures that they were the Word of God but that they are believed to be such without being seen upon some other Word of God more cleerly appearing to be the Word of God and lesse liable to corruption then the Scriptures are assuring us so much and that is the Tradition of the Church according to the saying of S. Augustine * Aug. contra Epist fundament c. 5. I would not believe the Gospell unlesse the Authority of the Catholike Church did move me To which Hooker one of the learnedest men that ever the Protestant party could boast of agreeth saying * Eccl. Pol. lib. 1. sec 14 p. 36. Of things necessary the very chiefest is to know what books we are bound to esteem holy which point is confessed impossible for the Scripture it self to teach * Ibid. l. 2 sec 4.102 for if any one book of Scripture did give testimony to all yet
still that Scripture which giveth credit to the rest would require another Scripture to give credit to it * Ibid. p. 103. neither could we ever come to any pause whereon to rest unlesse besides Scripture there were something else acknowledged And this something is as he saith * Lib. 2. ca. 4. p. 300. The Ecclesiasticall tradition an argument whereby may be argued and convinced what books be Canonicall and what not § 8. Lastly some say they know the Scripture to be the Word of God by the Spirit of God prompting it to their soules And this of all the rest seemed to me most absurd For first I durst not arrogate this Spirit to my self nor could I know it was in any other His saying the Spirit told him the Scripture was the Word of God did not prove it nor had I reason to believe he had the Spirit more than I without some proof If a mans testimony in his owne case might thus be admitted I saw that no Heretique would want it to support his impiety by ascribing it to the Spirit as * Epiphanhaer 21. Simon Magus did only this H. Spirit he believed to be his Concubine Helena and Protestants ascribe the title of the Spirit to their private fancies If I should have said that I know by the suggestion of Gods Spirit that this or that part of Scripture or that none of it was the Word of God my proof was as good to him as his to me For although the testimony of the Spirit of God be a sure witnesse to him that hath it yet it is none to others unlesse he can prove he hath it by some miraculous effect And without this kind of proof every prudent man hath reason to believe that such a boaster is a lier and intends to deceive others as it is likely of the first Authors of Heresies or else that he deceives himselfe by a strong operation of his fancy which he calls the Spirit because he is told by the doctrine of some Protestants that he must feel that he hath the Spirit as in particular concerning the assurance of his salvation desirous then to be in the right way that which he would have he perswades himself he hath because else he finds himselfe at a losse which begets a horror in him Which to avoid he flies to this pitifull refuge being the best he is instructed to that he may have some stay for his belief and repose for his soul And this happens commonly and most strongly to those that have some zeal but little wit on whom therefore the reflection of their fancy is the stronger and works upon them as upon some I have read and heard of who by their eager desire to be so have strongly conceited themselves to be indeed Kings and Princes and other kind of great and rich men when truly and in all other mens judgements they were either mad-men or fools So that this I perceived was to open a gap to any mans fantasticall pretence whatsoever who had the impudence to ascribe it to the Spirit of God Nor is there any peaceable way to compose the differences amongst men of this nature for each one pretending the Spirit he hath no reason to yeeld to another the holy Spirit being an infallible director wheresoever it is yet when it is different in different men who pretend to it as it often falls out it is a certaine signe that one of them is deceived and both are deceived in the opinion of each other yet neither yeelding to other the contention ends in the action of Zedekiah against the Prophet Micheas who gave him a box on the eare and said 2 Chron. 18.23 Which way passed the Spirit of our Lord from me that it should speake to thee And so it hath fallen out amongst those that derive their knowledge this way that they end their differences by blowes and conquests not by Councels and miracles Plut. And as the sonnes of Pyrrhus asking him who should succeed him in his Kingdome he answered he that hath the sharpest sword so if it be demanded amongst them who hath the Spirit of God and consequently the true Religion It must be answered He that hath the most strength of armes to maintaine it But S. Peter did otherwise who provoked by Simon Magus proved that he had the Spirit of God by raising up a childe from death Egesippus which the other with all his Magick could not do who also challenging S. Peter to fly from the Capitol to Mount Aventine while he was doing so by the prayer of S. Peter he came tumbling down and brake his leg whereof he soone after died If men that boast of the Spirit cannot this way prove it the saying of S. Augustine is appliable unto them * Tract 45. in Ioan. There are innumerable who do not only boast that they are Videntes or Prophets but will seem to be illuminated or enlightned by Christ but indeed are Heretiques § 5. Yet most certain it is that no man can believe the Scriptures to be the Word of God but by the Spirit of God inclining him thereunto for as the Apostle saith Ephes 2.8 Faith is the gift of God But there are two kinds of inspiration of the Spirit of God one immediate without the concourse of any externall ground of assurance the other mediate moving the heart to adhere to an externall ground of assurance making it to apprehend divinely of the authority thereof they that challenge the first are Enthusiasts and run into all the fore-mentioned absurdities they that take the latter way must besides their inward perswasion have an externall ground of belief and then what is there so high and sufficient as the testimony of Vniversall Tradition Agreeable whereunto Hooker saith * Eccles Pol lib. 2. sect 7.8 The outward letter sealed with the inward witnesse of the Spirit is not a sufficient warrant for every particular man to judge and approve the Scripture to be Canonicall the Gospell it self to be the Gospell of Christ * lib. 3. sect 3. but the authority of Gods Church as he saith is necessarily required thereunto § 9. And though it were true that we might know the Scripture to be the word of God without the testimony of the Church yet it doth no where appear that the Scripture is the whole word of God and containes all that the Apostles left unto the Church for their direction so that my first Quere would still be unsatisfied to wit how we should know the whole word of God which the Apostles taught For even that word which is written doth tell us that all is not written and therefore doth S. Paul exhort us to keepe both the written and unwritten Stand fast saith he and keepe the traditions which you have learned whether by word or by our Epistle 2 Thes 2.15 It is manifest that the first Church of God from the creation untill Moses which was about the space
in Jesus Christ without any distinct belief of his divine and humane nature and that he died for the sinnes of the world and that a man must repent before he die is all that is necessarily required either for belief or practice of any man As for those that cannot read which are I believe the greatest number or very little inferior they deal most unkindly with them not providing a certaine means whereby they may be brought up to read which they that can read think all are bound to with references to the Scriptures by the commandement of Christ and wherby they are to find out the things necessary to salvation but leave them if at all to be saved by the cruell blind Popery as they please to call it of an implicite faith § 3. I then considered that there was much ambiguity in these words necessary to salvation there being divers kinds of necessity that have place in matters of Religion First there is an absolute necessity and a conditionall necessity Absolute necessity is that which admits no excuse of impossibility nor any exception of place time or person as in regard of those that are of age capable of knowledge The belief of Christ mediator betwixt God and man and to this kind of necessity there are some that would restrain all things to be believed leaving themselves the liberty of all matters else to believe what they please but with as much reason they may restraine this necessity to the believing only that there is a God and so renounce their Christianity Conditionall necessity is that which obligeth not but in case of possibility and receives exception of time place and person Thus there are many points necessary to be believed if a man be in place where he may be instructed in them and hath time to receive instruction which are not necessary for a man liveing in the wildernesse or so ready to be attached by death as he hath no leisure to be instructed or apprehension to receive it as that Christ was borne of a Virgin and crucified under Pontius Pilate And many things are necessary for Pastors to believe which are not for common people as that the persons of the Trinity are the same in essence but distinct in subsistence that in Christ there are two natures and but one person with many the like And in matter of practise there are many things necessary in case of possibility and opportunity of time and place which are not necessary if the conveniency to accomplish them be wanting as the assistance at Church service and participation of the Eucharist Secondly there is a necessity of means and a necessity of precept Necessity of means is in those things to which God hath obliged us if we will attaine the end as of the Sacraments to which God hath given power to confer grace and of the Commandements whose necessity is imposed upon us if we will enter into life and of repentance of sinnes which is a means necessary to obtain their remission Necessity of Precept is that which only obliges in regard that it is commanded contributing otherwise no real advancement to our salvation as the celebrating the Lords day and other such like observations the omission wherof could be no hindrance to salvation but in respect of disobedience and breach of the Commandement Thirdly there is a necessity of speciall belief and a necessity of generall belief Necessity of speciall belief is of those points which all faithfull if they be not prevented by death are obliged to believe with faith expresse distinct determinate which the Schoolemen call explicite faith as the twelve Articles of the Creed Necessity of generall belief is of those things which every particular man is not bound to believe with a distinct and explicite faith as that Baptism given by Heretiques is true Baptism and that Heretiques which have received Baptism must not be baptized again when they return to the Church with many such like in which it will suffice the unlearned multitude to believe them implicitly that is to adhere to the Church that doth believe them and by a generall belief imbrace them by believing as the Church doth and referring themselves to her prepared alwaies to believe them explicitly when they shall be declared to them and themselves are capable to apprehend them Lastly there is a Necessity of act and a Necessity of approbation Necessity of act is of those things which every particular person is obliged actually to perform as to professe the name of Christ to forgive offences commited against him with the like Necessity of approbation is of those things which every man is not bound actually to performe but only not to contradict them nor to condemne those that do them nor the Church that allowes them nor to seperate themselves from her upon this occasion as the choice to live in virginity and single life with the like § 4. Now according to these severall kinds of Necessity I accounted it meet to hold for necessary to salvation all those things that the Fathers have holden necessary in that degree and according to those kinds of necessity as they have holden them And this I did not perceive to be a matter of such ease to find out as Protestants did under their title of necessary to salvation affirm I found innumerable places of Scripture were obscure and hard to be understood and that their distinction of things necessary to salvation was more obscure and uncertain than any thing having no limits or determination but like the Gladius Delphicus was fitted for all turns but indeed served none but to cozen themselves who presented with a point of belief or practice which they did not like would wave it with saying it was not necessary to salvation Therefore as S. Philip asked the Eunuch whether he understood what he read who said how can I without some body to interpret it So I answered my selfe and had reason to believe that others could not truly answer better for themselves An interpreter then was necessary who might judge of the true meaning of the Scripture against the corruption of heretiques who all take their protection from thence and which should determine all emergent controversies which were needfull for the preservation of peace and unity And in bestowing of this Office I observed that the Protestants voices were divided * Har. Confes p. 5. some gave it to the Scripture it selfe saying that it must interpret it selfe and be the Judg of all controversies * VVhites way to the Church p. 6.27 Others that the Spirit of God doth interpret to every private man both which I apprehended absurd and unreasonable The former because nothing if it speak obscurely can interpret it selfe but that which hath a living voice which the Scripture not having cannot possibly interpret it selfe As for the assertion of some that the obscure places are interpreted by plain places speaking to the same purpose it is false there
propagated it But the Church having in it the property of heat which as Philosophers say is to gather together things that are of the same nature and separate things that are of different natures includes all that are of the same faith and admitteth no other § 3. I therefore conceived according to the judgement of the most learned the Church to be a society of those that God hath called to salvation by the profession of the true faith the sincere adminstration of the Sacraments and the adherence to lawfull Pastors Which description of the Church is so fitted and proportioned to her that it resembles the nest of the Halcion which as Plutarch saith is of such a just and exact size for the measure of her body that it can serve for no other bird either greater or lesse Then for the meaning of the word Catholique the Protestants say that that Church is Catholique which holdeth the true faith which though it be not spread universally over the world yet it ought to be so say they and therefore it is Catholique By which they leave men in a labyrinth of finding out the true faith in all the particulars thereof which as they say must guide a man to the Church that is truely Catholique which being the object of the understanding is much more difficult to find out than that which is the object of the sense as is its being Catholique And therefore it seemed to me as proposterous as to set the cart before the horse to prove a Church Catholique because it is true whereas it should be proved true because it is Catholique Beside the name Catholique is not a name of belief only but of communion also else antiquity would not have refused that title to those which were not separated from the belief but only from the communion of the Church S. Aug. Ep. 50. nor would they have affirmed that out of the Catholique Church the faith and Sacraments may he had but not salvation So that Catholique imports thus much both the vast extension of doctrine to persons and places different and the union of all those places and persons in Communion Therefore allbeit the Protestants should hold the same belief that the ancient Church did yet if they did not communicate with the same ancient Church which by succession of Pastors and People is derived down to this present time I could not see how they could with justice assume to themselves the title of Catholiques CHAP. VI. Of the Infallibility of the Church § 1. NOw that the Catholique Church which society of Christians soever it be of which we shall deliberate hereafter is the only faithfull and true witnesse of the matter of Gods Word to tell us what it is and what is not it the only true interpreter of the meaning of Gods word and the last and finall judge of all controversies that may arise in matters of Religion and that shee is not onely true but that shee cannot be otherwise seeing shee is infallible I was perswaded to believe by many reasons In the alleadging of which I will avoid the accusation of Protestants of the circular disputation of Catholiques saying they believe the Scripture because the Church saies it is so and the Church because the Scripture bids them do so First then without dependence on the Scripture I conceived the Catholique Church to be infallible in her Traditions in that which she declareth to us concerning the doctrine of Christ and the Apostles and that even in the very nature of her testimony and tradition For Tradition being a full report of what was evident to sense namely what doctrines the Apostles taught what Scripture they wrote it is impossible it should be false Worlds of men cannot be universally deceived in matters evident to sense as are the things men heare and see and not being so it is impossible they should either negligently suffer it or maliciously agree to deceive others being so many in number so distant in place so different in affections conditions and interests Wherefore it is impossible that what is delivered by full Catholique Tradition from the Apostles should be by the deliverers first devised as Tertullian saith Tert. de praesc cap. 28. That which is found one and the same amongst many is not an error but a Tradition Yet supposing universall Tradition as it is meerly humane be in its nature fallible yet the Tradition of the Catholique Church is by God himselfe preserved from error which is thus demonstrated God being infinitely good and ardently desiring the salvation of mankind cannot permit the meanes which should convey the Apostles doctrine to posterity by the belief whereof men must be saved to be poisoned with damnable error to the destruction of their salvation now the onely meanes to convey this doctrine is the Tradition of the Catholique Church Tert. de Praes cap. 21. as Tertullian saith what the Apostles taught I will prescribe ought no other wayes to be proved than by those Churches which the Apostles founded All other means as I have shewed you before are insufficient and if this Tradition of the Church should be insufficient also by reason of its liablenesse unto error then were there no certainty at all of the truth of Christian Religion no not so much as that there was such a man as Jesus Christ but all men would be left to grope in the wandring uncertainty of their owne imaginations which for God to suffer cannot fall under any prudent mans belief § 2. Secondly that which bindeth men to believe a thing to be Gods Word God cannot suffer to delude men into error whereby for their devotion unto his truth they may fall into damnation now Catholique Tradition from the Apostles is that which bindes men to believe the same to be the Word of God and that because it is thereby sufficiently proposed the World affording no higher nor surer proposall so that either this must be infallible or else God hath left us to the guidance of our own weak understandings the weaknesse of which conceit I shewed even now and all Christians to that confusion which all different opinions yet reputed the Word of God by them that hold them may produce § 3. Thirdly God being the Prime Verity he cannot so much as connive at falshood whereby he becomes accessory of deceiving them who simply readily and religiously believe what they have just reason to think to be his Word but there is most just and sufficient reason to believe that the doctrine delivered by full and perpetuall Tradition from hand to hand even from the Apostles is undoubtedly their doctrine and the Word of God therefore he cannot suffer Catholique Tradition to be falsified Nor can as I conceive any prudent man imagine that God having sent his Son into the world to teach men the way to heaven every moment of whose life was made notable by doing or suffering somthing to that end should suffer the efficacy and
higher then the fountain from whence it springs if therefore particular reason be the governour of our faith which reason is a humane and fallible thing it cannot rise to nor support a divine faith But divine faith is that which God requires of us in the businesse of Religion and that which is not such is none And it is convenient that as God ordained man to a supernaturall end namely the blissefull vision of himselfe which is a thing far above all excellencies of nature so he should bring him to this blisse by believing things above the reach of reason which in man is his nature and to beget this faith by Miracles his owne acts which are above the power of nature and by the testimony of those that do those supernaturall acts to whom if he have given his deeds it cannot be doubted but he hath given his word of any part whereof to make any doubt is to call the credit of all into question the house of Faith being like some artificiall buildings whereof if you pull out one pin you loosen the whole frame So if a man disbelieve any one point delivered him by the Catholique Church he unjoynts the whole frame of faith and virtually denies it all and that because they have all the same height of proof to wit the testimony of the Church which if she can lie in one thing she may for ought wee know in another and so in all and thus bring a man to doubt of all and then to denie all And that those men that doe denie some one point of Catholique Tradition though unwritten doe not denie all is not for that they have any faith but out of secular ends and deceiptfull reason § 4. Indeed some Protestants grant that if Tradition be universall and perfectly Catholique it doth oblige to the belief thereof but not otherwise by which universall Tradition they meane such as never any one gainsaid But if such onely are to be called Catholique Traditions there is scarce any thing left for Christians to believe and indeed to that passe have many brought it for some have denied the distinction of Persons in the Trinity others the Divinity of our Saviour others his humanity others the Deity of the Holy Ghost and a hundred more now if no Tradition be to be called Catholique but such as was never denied by any one or some number of Christians then a man may deny the fore-mentioned and many other points and Articles of faith because their Tradition hath not been so universall but that some have denied it yea some books of the Scripture it self were not universally received till about four hundred years after Christ By Catholique or universall Tradition then must be understood that which the Catholique Church hath alwaies taught not which all Christians for then we must look for Tradition in the mouths of Heretiques whose property it is to deny some Tradition or other under pretence that it is opposite to Scripture And if any have taught contrary the Catholique Church hath condemned them for Heretiques which is a sufficient proof that untill such Hereticall Spirits opposed some one or more Traditions of the Church they were universally believed As for example the Doctrine of Christs consubstantiality or being of the same substance with the Father no reasonable man will deny but that it was generally believed in the Church before the daies of the Arch-heretique Arrius and that the Councel of Nice condemning of him was a sufficient proof that the doctrine he opposed was the universall Tradition of the Church by force whereof he was overthrowne and not by Scripture only there being no place of Scripture so plaine but he would give some answer to it and likewise alledge plenty of Scripture in the proof of his own Heresie while he took upon him to interpret it himself forfaking the traditionall sense thereof and would receive no answer to it And if Arrius his denyall of that point of Faith will make it universall for place or the doctrine it self new and so universall for time as some in other instances do alledge because it was then first declared by reason of that opposition then it may be lawfull under the same pretence for men to deny all the Traditions of the Church all the decrees of Generall Councells of the Church and to revive all the Heresies that were in the Church § 5. Moreover to attribute conditionall infallibility to the Church and not absolute in all that she delivers * Chillingworth pag. 118. Pet. Martyr loc Com. clas 4. c 4. sect 21. Confess Helvet c. 17. as some Protestants doe making her infallible onely while she followes the Scripture and Vniversall Tradition is to give her no more priviledge than to a child or fool who are also infallible while they affirm nothing but what is agreeable to Scripture and universall Tradition But if we know not Scripture nor Tradition but by the Churches direction how shall we know in her exposition of Scripture and deciding of controversies that she doth erre unlesse we know it from her also seeing her authority in the one is as good as in the other and by those reasons that we may deny the truth of the one we may deny the other And if she say she have expounded Scripture truly and decided controversies aright by the rule of Scripture and Tradition who shall gainesay her Can any man be so foolish as to think his word is of more credit than the whole Churches Or that his reason is better then hers Or that if she may erre from her rule he may not do so also And if their infallibilities be both of the same strength who in his right mind would not believe millions affirming the same thing rather than one or some few affirming the contrary If there were a rule so plaine and clear that all men understood it and none could pervert it then there were no need of a judge or directer but if the rule be obscure or liable to misinterpretation as all words are let them be expressed never so plainly then it is meet that there should not onely be a Judge but that this Judge should be infallible seeing the businesse concerns the salvation of mankind and not be subject to the petty after-examinations of proud and discontented people as if one or more of them did know the meaning of the rule better than the Judge when that Judge is the universall Church And that which these men affirm in this matter amounts to this wise Maxime That the Church is infallible while she is infallible and so is the Devill § 6. Frivolous then and without foundation is that late started distinction of points fundamentall and not fundamentall and the assertion built thereon That the Church may erre in the one and not in the other and so by consequence we are not bound to believe her in all things Indeed in regard of the materiall object or thing to be believed some points
endewed with so much zeal and courage as to professe her Religion and to propagate it in the world which cannot be Therefore it is impossible that the true Church should not be ever universall and famously known Sixthly this Church is holy both in life and Doctrine Holy for life shining in all admirable sanctity the rayes whereof do overcome the hearts of the beholders such as the Holy Apostles gave example of as of poverty chastitie obedience charity in undergoing all forms of labour and danger for the safety of soules patience invincible in the rough handling of themselves by wonderfull fastings and all kind of austerities fortitude heroicall in suffering martyrdome not onely with patience but with joy though given them in all the most hideous shapes that mans imagination steeled with malice could invent And although this kind of sanctity does not shine in all the members of the Church but in the more eminent professors and principally in the Pastors yet if this kind of sanctity together with Miracles were wanting she could not be so sufficient a witnesse to Infidells who ordinarily are not won to the affection and admiration of Christianity but by beholding such wonders of power and sanctity in the Professors thereof Holy shee is also for doctrine in regard her traditions are divine and holy without commixture of error for if the Church could deliver any one or few errors intermingled with many truths her Traditions even of the truth were questionable and could not be believed upon her word Even as if we admit in Scripture any error in smaller matters we cannot be sure of its infallibility in matters of greatest moment as he that shall say Gods written word is false or uncertaine when it tells him that S. Paul left his cloake at Troas may also say with as much reason that it is false or uncertain when it tells him that Christ was borne of the Virgin Mary Even so he that grants that some part of Traditions or the Word of God unwritten may be false inferrs by consequence that every part thereof may be so and that because we have no antecedent ground or touch-stone to try Traditions by but they must be believed for their own sakes being therein more fundamentall than the Scripures which are not known to be Apostolicall but by Tradition whereas perpetuall Tradition is knowne to come from the Apostles by its own light for what can be more evident then that that is from the Apostles which is delivered as Apostolicall by perpetuall succession of Priests and people affirming and believing the same § 2. But against this truth that if the Church may erre in one thing neither wee nor shee can be sure that shee speakes truth in any thing Chillingworth makes these in my judgement impertinent interrogations A Judge may possibly erre in Judgement can he therefore never have assurance that he hath judged right A travayler may possibly mistake his way must I therefore be doubtfull whether I am in the right way from my hall to my chamber pag. 117. sect 106. In which he weakly falls into comparison betwixt matters which are the object of the sense or of the understanding and of faith which in this case have no proportion betwixt them For the doctrines of faith as they are of faith being altogether and all equally without the reach of our knowledge we have no way to attaine to but by the help of others whom we must absolutely believe and if we know that they may deliver that which is false to us wee can never be sure that any thing they deliver to us is not false unlesse we had some superiour rule to try and examine their Traditions by which certainly we have not Nor can the Church it selfe if shee may erre in the delivery of one thing be sure that shee doth not erre in every thing because shee hath no infallible rule to examine her doctrines by out of her selfe who if shee be assisted by the Holy Ghost cannot erre in any thing if not for ought shee knowes shee doth in all things Now that the Church is assisted by God and that mans reason cannot be the highest judge to whom the last appeal is made in matters of faith which descend from God I have shewed before As for a humane Judge as he may erre through ignorance wilfulnesse or negligence which to conceive of the Church is absurd yea blasphemous shee having Christ for her Head and the Holy Ghost for her Spirit so he cannot bee more certaine of the truth of his judgement than his reason can make him which will not reach to an absolute infallibility And as a travayler may mistake his way in one journey so he may in another if he have no more certainty nor better guide of the one way than of the other which is the Churches case in propounding and believing matters of faith revealed to her by God which like the Circumference from the Center are all equally distant from our knowledge and the Church hath an equall Prerogative of infallibility by the guidance of the Holy Ghost in all who therefore can erre in nothing or in all things which she saith she so receives and delivers Yet Chillingworth saith that his consequences are as like the other as an egge to an egge or milk to milk but more truly they are as like as an egge to an oyster or milk to ink § 3. And lest any Protestant who honours the Scriptures much with his lips though he be far removed with his heart should think that I am injurious to the Scripture in saying that Tradition is more fundamentall than Scripture it selfe I desire him to take notice that Tradition and Scripture according to different comparisons are equall and superior the one to the other Compare them in respect of certainty of truth they are equall both being the Word of God the one written the other unwritten and so both infinitely certain Compare them in respect of depth of sublimity and variety of doctrine the Scripture is far superiour to Tradition Tradition being plaine and easie doctrine concerning the common capitall and practicall Articles of Christianity whereas the Scripture is full of high hidden senses and furnished with great variety of examples discourses and all manner of learning Compare them in respect of antiquity and evidence of being the Apostles the Scripture is inferiour to Tradition in time and knowledge and cannot be proved directly to be the Apostles and therefore Gods but by Tradition As Philosophy is more perfect than Logicke and Rhetoricke than Grammar in respect of high and excellent knowledge yet Logicke is more prime originall and fundamentall than Philosophy Grammar than Rhetorique without the rules and principles whereof they cannot be learned Even so Tradition is more prime and originall than Scripture though Scripture in respect of depth and sublimity of discourse be more excellent then Tradition CHAP. X. That the Roman is that one holy Catholique
but that it is necessary and fundamentall to believe God in all that he saith whether the matter be great or small now Protestants professing to believe nothing necessarily but what may be proved by the Scripture and their differences being in the things which they believe it followes that their differences are in things which are proved by Scripture that are the pure Word of God and the meaning of the Holy Ghost as they use to speak and therefore must needs be in the severall opinions of them that hold them fundamentall and necessary to salvation To instance in some particulars of their disagreement for to speak of all were to enter into a Labyrinth First concerning Scripture it selfe I think they will grant it is a fundamentall point I am sure their learned Hooker doth so Eccles Pol. lib. 1. sect 14. who saith Of things necessary the very chief is to know what books we are bound to esteem holy and as sure I am that in this there is great disagreement for the Lutherans do deny besides those books of the Old Testament which the Calvinists also deny * Châ—mnit exam conc Trid. part 1. pag. 55. also Enchyrid p. 63. the second Epistle of S. Peter the second and third Epistle of S. John the Epistle to the Hebrewes of S. James of S. Jude and the Revelation all which the Calvinists and the Church of England do undoubtedly believe to be the Word of God And if they disagree about their prime Principle how can agreement be expected in the things that they derive from thence Secondly concerning their translation of Scriptures in the truth whereof consists the truth of Gods Word to those that understand it not but as it is translated very great are the disagreements and bitter the reprehensions between Luther and Zuinglius between Calvin and Molineus between Beza and Castalio between legall Protestants and Puritans of England each party condemning the others translation I will instance chiefly in the English The Ministers of Lincoln Diocesse in a book delivered to King James being an abridgement of their grievances say pag. 11.13.14 that the English translation of the Bible is a translation that takes away from the text that addes to the text and that sometimes to the changing or obscuring the meaning of the holy Ghost And Broughton the great Linguist in his Advertisement of Corruptions tels the Bishops that their publique translations of Scripture into English is such as that it perverts the text of the old Testament in 848 places and that it causeth millions of millions to reject the new Testament and to run into eternall flames And yet the translators of the Bible and the Bishops were of another mind or else surely they would not have commended it to the use of the people And what a wofull condition were the people in who must be guided by such a Bible in which either there was certaine falshood or they were not certaine that it was the truth Secondly the Reall presence of Christs body in the Eucharist by consubstantiation and to the bodily mouth of the receiver is affirmed by the Lutherans but denyed by the Calvinists Thirdly that Christ descended into Hell which is an article of the Creed is affirmed by Hill in a Treatise of that subject by Nowell and by many Protestants but is denyed by Carleil in a book written to that purpose and commonly by all Puritans Fourthly Evangelicall Councells are affirmed by Hooker Eccles Pol. l. 3. sect 8. p. 140. but are denyed by Perkins Reformed Cath. p. 241. and most of the Church of England Fiftly concerning the head of the Church or the supreame governour in causes Ecclesiasticall which one would think a fundamentall matter the Church of England holds that the King or Queen when the Kingdome is governed by a Woman is the head thereof but the Church of Helvetia saith f Harmony of Consess p. 308. forward we acknowledge no other head of the Church but Christ and that he hath no deputy on earth and many there are in England of the same opinion who are not afraid to say so now though it be by law a capitall offence Sixtly the government of the Church by Bishops one would think were a fundamentall point for it is affirmed to be jure divino by divine law by many Protestants in England and particularly Bishop Hall wrote a book a few yeares since to that purpose and yet this is denyed by a great party in England as the Bishops by woefull experience do know A hundred other differences might be named in the maintenance whereof books have been written one against another one side holding with the Catholiques so that there is scarce any point of Catholique doctrine but is maintained by some or other Protestants amongst them all almost the whole Catholique doctrine If therefore they differ from the Church of Rome they differ from one another And that their differences are not light but about most important matters in their own opinions being about matters as they conceive revealed in the word of God to which all men are bound to adhere even their persuit of those differences doth plainly demonstrate which stretcheth to the g Luth. con art Louan Thes 27. condemning of one another for Heretiques h Osiander â—pit Eccl. hist cont 16 par altera p. 805. and banishing each other from their severall territories i Hospi hist Sacrament par alt fol. 393. 395. 397. 398. forbidding the reading of each others books imprisoning of their persons and finally breaking into open Arms one against another are not al these tragical particulars to our infinite grief now acted on the stage of England the chief pretence is Religion And surely they are guilty of extreme folly that will fight to the fundamentall overthrow of themselves families for ought they know of the whole Kingdome for matters which they hold not-fundamentall § 4. But the Protestants think to wipe off this staine of disagreement by retorting it upon the Catholiques accusing them of as great disagreement as is amongst themselves which when I considered I found altogether impertinent For amongst Catholiques there are two sorts of points some defined by the Church in a Generall Councell and so infallibly certain others not defined In the former they all exactly agree in the later each man follows the direction of his particular reason Like to this there are amongst Protestants certaine Articles as they call them which are agreed upon in each severall dominion of Protestants which are set down in their Harmony of confessions concerning which first it is to be noted that there is great disagreement in generall betwixt their Churches they never meeting all together in any one Councell to determine any one thing so that they are not united in any one point by consent Then in particular dominions the decrees that they publish are not firmely believed by all under those dominions but are accounted as
one another to this end That the office of a Pastor is alwaies needfull our Saviour implies in calling his people his sheep and sheep without a shepherd are like to be but il provided for and as they are alwaies sheep so they ought alwaies to have a shepherd which office in ordinary being given to S. Peter first ought to continue out of the necessity of the cause thereof so long as the sheep continue which will be to the end of the world Which S. Peter not being now able to doe in person reason requires that it should be done by his Successors The Apostle 1 Cor. 12.21 compares the Church to a body and saith The head cannot say to the feet I have no need of you which cannot be understood of Christ our head for he may truly say to us all that he hath no need of us it must therefore be meant of some Head here on earth which must continue as long as the Church continues a body and that is to the worlds end And that the successors of S. Peter are this Head S. Chrysostome doubts not to affirm who demanding why Christ shed his blood De Saterdot l. 2. initio Leo Serm. 2. de Annivers assump sua ad Pontific answers It was to gaine that flock the care whereof he committed to Peter to Peters successors And S. Leo Peter continues and lives in his Successors And that his successors are the Bishops of Rome is out of doubt none but they ever assuming it to themselves or having it granted by others For the Bishop of Antioch succeeded not S. Peter in the government of the whole Church but of that diocesse for succession to any in his whole right is not but to him that leaves his place either by naturall death deposition or voluntary resignation now S. Peter living and ruling left the Church of Antioch and placed his Sea at Rome where he also died so that he that succeeds him in that Sea must succeed him both as he was Bishop thereof and likewise as he was Head of the whole Church as for the Bishop of Antioch he did never either possesse or pretend to higher than the third place amongst the Patriarchs Cone Nic. Can. 6. Gelasius In decret cum 70. Episcopis affirmes that the Roman Church is preferred before other Churches not by any constitutions of Councells but she obtained Primacy by the Evangelicall voice of our Lord saying thou art 〈◊〉 upon this rock I will build mâ—… 〈◊〉 And S. Hierome in his 59. Epistle 〈…〉 to Pope Damâ—sus saith To 〈◊〉 she 〈◊〉 require from the Priest the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â—â—â—tion and from the Pastor 〈…〉 I speak with the successor of th◠〈◊〉 shoâ—â— c. I following none but Christ in 〈◊〉 joyned in Communion to your holyn sse that is to the chaire of Peter upon that rock I know the Church to be builded 3. whosoever out of this house eates the lamb is prophane whosoever shall not be in the Ark of Noe shall perish in the deluge And S. Aug. writing to Pope Innocentius Epist 92. saith wee think that by the Authority of your Holynesse derived from the authority of Holy Scriptures they will more easily yeeld who believe such perverse and pernicious things Wherein he derives the Popes authority from the Scriptures And S Bernard writing to Pope Eugenius saith thus Thou alone art not only the Pastor of sheep De consider l. 3 cap. 8. Epist 190. ad Innoc. PP but also of Pastors Thou demandest how I prove this Out of the word of our Lord. For to whom I do not say Bishops but also of the Apostles were all the sheep so absolutely and indeterminately committed Peter if thou lovest me feed my sheep which the people of this or that city country or Kingdome Hee saith my sheep To whom is it not plain that hee did not assigne some but all Nothing is excepted where nothing is distinguished c. To conclude James who seemed a pillar for the Church was content with Jerusalem onely yeelding the universality to Peter And with the Fathers apart doe concur the Fathers united in Councell by whom in many Councells this truth hath been declared as in the Councell of a Sess 14. c. 7. Trent the Councell of Florence b Sess ult the Councell of c Respons Synod de authoritat Conc. general Basil the Councell of d Part. 2. Act. 3. Ephesus the Councell of e Sub. Innoc. 3. e. 5. Lateran the second Councell of f Act. 2. Nice the Councell of g Conc. Chal. Act. 1. Act. 3. tom 2. p. 252 edit Venet. Chalcedon as is easy to shew at large if need required § 3. As for the attempt of the Bishop of Constantinople against the Pope it was not for the Primacy and headship of the Church Catholique but only of the Churches of the East And the title of universall Bishop which he claimed was not with intent of superiority over the Pope but over the other Patriarchs who were all of the Easterne Empire and in association with the Pope for those parts yet with subjection to the Pope acknowledging him the root and stock of the universality even as Menas Patriarch of Constantinople in the time of this contention acknowledges saying Concil Constant sub Men. Act. 4. we will in all things follow and obey the sea Apostolique And as the Emperour and Patriarch both acknowledge as S. Gregory lib. 7. indict 2. ep 93. reports in these words Who is it that doubts but that the Church of Constantinople is subject to the Sea Apostolique which the most religious Lord the Emperour and our brother Bishop of the same city continually protest And if it were true as Protestants imagine that the Bishop of Constantinople contended with the Pope for the absolute Primacy over the Christian world this doth no more prove his right than Perkin Warbecks pretention in the daies of King Henry the seventh did prove his right to the crown of England And certain it is that neither the one nor the other did obtain that which he aspired to but were rejected by the voice of mankind which is an argument that their claim was unjust § 4. Another great objection of Protestants against the Popes Primacy is fetched from S. Gregory who was Pope himselfe and is this That he that intitled himselfe universall Bishop exalted himselfe like Lucifer above his brethren and was a forerunner of Antichrist To the understanding of which words I found that the word universall hath two meanings the one proper literall and grammaticall whereby it signifies Only Bishops excluding all others the other transferred and Metaphoricall whereby it signifies the supreme over all Bishops and S. Gregory censured this title in the first sense because that from hence it would have ensued that there had been but one Bishop only and that all the rest had been but his Deputies and not true Bishops and true Officers of Christ as
do good profitable as our Saviour saith Mat. 25.21 well done good and faithfull servant because thou hast been faithfull over a few things 〈◊〉 place thee over many things enter 〈…〉 the joy of thy Master And the 〈…〉 servant cast ye into utter darkness 〈…〉 if all Protestants be unprofitable 〈…〉 they must expect the sequele there 〈…〉 darknesse that is damnation § 4. Thirdly many Protestant Ministers teach and the people ordinarily believe that Catholiques hold that there is nothing required to the remission of sins but only to confesse them to a Priest and the businesse is done Whereas indeed they teach that not only Confession to a Priest but also Contrition and sorrow for their sinnes which is all that Protestants require as also Satisfaction for the temporall punishment due to sin is requisite and so make it a matter of far greater paine than the Protestants do who reproach it for the easinesse thereof Now all these parts of Penance are plainly expressed in Scripture our Saviour saith to the Priests whose sinnes ye shall forgive they are forgiven and whose sinnes ye shall retain they are retained Joh. 20.23 and S. James bids us confesse our sins one to another Jam. 5.16 and if to another to whom but to him that hath power to forgive The Jewes did object against our Saviour as Protestants do now against Priests saying who can forgive sinnes but God only Mark 2.7 which error of theirs to confute he miraculously cured the man sick of the Palsie That ye may know the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sinnes as our Saviour faith to them which had been no crossing of their erroneous conceipt as the word But doth intimate it was unlesse he had pardoned him as man with Commission from God and not as God immediate for otherwise he should have said why I am God and so I pardon him but he did it as man doubtlesse with delegation from God as another Evangelist expresseth it saying that the multitude glorified God which had given such power to men Mat. 9.8 Nor need the simplest Protestants wonder that men should forgive sinnes seeing Catholiques teach that they do it not by their own power but by power given them from God to whom it belongs originally and by his own power to forgive sins and to them but derivatively and ministerially from him So it is said that God only doth wondrous things Psal 72.18 and yet we read in Scripture of many men that wrought Miracles 3 Kings 8.39 So it is said that God only knowes the hearts of men 4 Kings 5.16 and yet we read of others that knew the secrets of the heart Nor can this forgivenesse of sinnes the power whereof God hath given to men be interpreted of power only to declare forgivenesse as Protestants would have it for this a child or an Infidell may do aswell as any other they may tell them that if they repent God will forgive them nor needed such a power as this onely be ushered by Christ by breathing on them and saying Receive the Holy Ghost Joh. 20.22 nor by these words As my Father sent me so I send you for surely his Father sent him to do more than barely to declare and tell them they were forgiven if they repented and our Saviour should have changed the form of his words and not have said whose sinnes ye remit they are remitted but whose sins ye remit they were remitted before by God And that this power should be given only to the Apostles if it be taken for absolute power of forgivenesse as some Protestants affirme is unreasonable For seeing the reason and use of it which is to reconcile God and man together after mans offending him by sin will remain to the worlds end therefore to the worlds end is committed to them the Ministry of reconciliation 2 Cor. 5.18 19.20 For this power of forgiving sinnes was not given to the Apostles as a particular priviledge wherewith to dignifie their persons above other Priests but for the use and benefit of Christs Church which will alwaies in this world stand in need thereof therefore doth he in their Successors alwaies continue the power § 5. As for Satisfaction which Protestants are taught to believe is needlesse it is plaine in Scripture as first that after the sin is pardoned which is in regard of our reconciliation to God and freedome from eternall punishment yet there remaines a lyablenesse to temporall punishment as appears in David whom after he had repented and God pardoned his sinnes yet he punished one sin with the death of his child another with three daies pestilence 2 King 12.13.14 24.10 12 13. Nor can this punishment be only for admonition not of justice seeing the Text saith it was because he had made the enemies of God to blaspheme Moses and Aaron died both in Gods favour yet were punished with death before they entred into the land of Canaan for their offence at Meribah now where death is the punishment it cannot be intended for their admonition and amendment in time to come but as a scourge for their offences And the Psalmist saith plainely Thou forgavest their sins and didst punish their inventions Psal 98.8 If he forgave them why did he punish them If he did punish them how did he forgive them He forgave the eternall punishment and inflicted the temporall Also the Apostle saith whom ye forgive any thing I forgive also for if I forgave any thing to whom I forgaue it for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ 2. Cor. 2.10 Which words cannot concerne the remission of the fault seeing that was pardoned before by the parties great sorrow mentioned in the 7. verse but must be meant of the temporall punishment which was imposed in the name of Christ This truth Calvin doth not deny nor Beza upon this place who saith that the abatement of this rigour was afterwards called Indulgence And wherefore I wonder do Protestants when they would divert some present or near approaching danger fast and pray and preach and give almes when yet by their contrition they think their sinnes forgiven if they did not hope by these meanes to prevent or remove their temporall evills which in their prayers they confesse to be inflicted for their sinnes Thus doth the force of reason drive them to the practise of that which out of opposition to the Church of Rome in their doctrine they contradict And though Christs satisfaction was sufficient for all the punishment due to our sinnes yet if he hath appointed that we shall also satisfie as knowing it in his wisedome a thing most meet who shall gainsay it His praiers also and his obedience was sufficient to obtain heaven for us shall we therefore neither pray nor obey You will say we shall because we are commanded so also are we commanded to satisfie as the Prophet Daniel saith Redeem thy sinnes with almes and thine iniquities with mercy towards the poore
Dan. 4.24 which Text to avoid the Protestants doe corrupt Now to redeem sinnes is the same in effect as to satisfie for them for how is any thing redeemed but by satisfying the price of its redemption Why then should Protestants under the pretence of magnifying the operation of Christs satisfaction without our concurrence which Catholikes yet acknowledge to proceed from him disobey him and leave him thereby the lesse satisfied with us But this was Luthers most acceptable way to flesh and blood to cast all the burden on Christ and leave nothing to themselves but the pleasing liberty of sin which though it should infinitely extend it self needs no other cure amongst them but only their barren faith § 6. Againe Protestants are taught to believe that to entreat Gods favour by the merits of Saints as Catholiques doe is a great derogation from the merits of Christ. But why Catholiques doe not deny but that the merits of Christ are of infinite value and there is motive enough in them for God to bestow all favour on us yet seeing the Saints have merited of God it is lawfull also to entreat him by those merits and what he doth sometimes doe and not by Miracle it is lawfull at any time to entreat him to doe Now he did blesse the house of Potiphar for Josephs sake therefore doubtlesse it was lawfull for Potiphar to intreat God to blesse him for Josephs sake and if so then much more for the sake of Saints in heaven who are more in Gods favour then Joseph could be here in this life Thus Moses desires God to asswage his wrath against the Israelites saying Remember Abraham Isaac and Israel thy servants Exod. 32.13 and for what should he remember them but for the good works and service they had done and for that to spare their children Calvins shift in answer to this and the like places is trifling when he saith that God is only entreated to remember his Covenant with the Patriarchs whereby he promised to blesse their posterity for there is mention not only of Gods Covenant but of the righteousnesse and merits of the Saints Salomon praies thus Psal 131.1 Lord remember David and all his meeknesse his afflictions as the Protestants read it which is all one for our present purpose both being meritorious and a little after he saith For thy servant Davids sake turn not away the face of thine anointed where God is invocated by the merits of David who was dead and gone and God likewise for Davids sake did hear and prosper Abia as the Scripture saith For Davids sake did our Lord his God give him a lamp in Jerusalem that he might raise up his son after him and establish Ierusalem because David had done right in the eyes of the Lord 3. Kings 15.4.5 Much more is found in Scripture to this purpose Nor can it be a derogation from the merits of Christ whose value as it is infinite in it selfe so it gives all the tincture to all the merits of all Saints like the Elixer which turnes all into gold that it touches And like the radiant Sun enkindles all other celestiall fires yea so far is it from being a dishonour to him that it adds to him a great encrease of honour by being able to raise his servants to such a pitch of excellency that they can merit favours both for themselves and others § 7. Againe Protestants are taught to believe that it is an arrogant thing to think that a man may doe more than he is commanded as Catholiques teach whereas they think he cannot do so much Yet what more plaine in Scriptures What more evident in reason That wee are commanded to give almes is true but the proportion is not exprest let a man give so much dayly as that he may justly think he hath discharged his duty and sinnes not though he give no more and then may he give more and so do more then he is commanded Suppose a man bound to fast and pray in such or such a measure which when he hath done he hath discharged the duty of a Christian yet when this is done he may take some of the time wherein he may lawfully feed and recreate himself and bestow this also in fasting and prayer doth not he in this doe more than he is commanded I think no impartiall man will say the contrary Else there were no compasse or latitude of goodnesse wherein men might move excelling one another in degrees yet the lowest void of sinne Else he that were not most good must be evill there would be no medium betwixt sin and excellency And men that were desirous to please God would abound in scruples that could never be satisfied it being impossible in every mans condition to find out that indivisible point of prayer fasting almes and the like beyond or short of which he must be guilty of sin Our Saviour saith There are Eunuchs who have made themselves Eunuchs for the Kingdome of heaven Mat. 19.12 21. and this is more than any man is bound to for he may marry if he will and yet go to heaven He saith again If thou wilt be perfect go and sell all that thou hast and give it to the poor and thou shalt have treasure in heaven No man can reasonably suppose this to be a command for then all men were bound to obey it and if not than he that obeyes it doth more than he is commanded And to think that this was a personall command to this man only as many do is ridiculous our Saviour had spoke of the Commandements before which when the young man said he had observed Christ gives him this counsel of perfection and the Apostles immediately after affirmed that they had observed it in leaving all things to follow him Concerning Virgins saith the Appostle I have no command but I give counsell 1 Cor. 7.25 plainly distinguishing betwixt counsell command betwixt that we must do and what we may do betwixt well better He that marries doth well but he that marries not doth better 1 Cor. 7.38 and he that doth well doth not sin doth not break a Commandement but he that doth better doth more than not sin doth more than he is commanded And though it be harder indeed to do all that is commanded than in some degrees to do more than is commanded yet the highest degrees of acts of perfection and things uncommanded are harder than the highest of things commanded yet neither impossible by the grace of God as the Apostle saith I am able to do all things through him that enableth me Phil. 4.13 So that the doctrine of doing more than is commanded is not so fraught with pride as Protestants imagine Catholiques say that God doth not require of us all the good that he inables us to do as is proved and this is the ground of works of supererogation and doing more than is commanded Protestants say that God requires of us all that he enables us to
in you Joh. 6.54 And taking the Chalice he gave thanks and gave to them saying drinke ye all of this Mat. 26.27 Also In like manner the Chalice after he had supped saying this Chalice is the New Testament in my blood this do ye as often as yee shall drinke in remembrance of me 1 Cor. 11.25 But none of these places rightly understood nor any other do prove what the Protestants pretend to Particularly to the first of these places I answer that seeing the Protestants do generally interpret this Chapter of S. John not of receiving the Sacrament of the Eucharist but onely of believing in Christ it is no objection for them but because most Catholique Divines do interpret it of the Blessed Sacrament it is an objection against us to which therefore I further answer First that all words of Scripture that in their forme seem to import a Precept do not so indeed as where our Saviour saith to his Apostles that they ought to wash one anothers feet Joh. 13.14 yet no man ever held it for a matter of necessity But supposing for the present that it include a Precept I further answer that as we distinguish in the Sacrament the substance and the manner the substance being to receive Christ the manner to receive him in both kinds by formall eating and drinking So the same distinction is to be made in our Saviours Precept about this Sacrament For howsoever his words may sound of the manner of receiving in both kinds yet his intention is to command no more than the substance to wit that we really receive his body and blood which may be done under one kind The truth whereof will appeare if we consider first the occasion of the words objected which was the incredulity of the Capernaites whose doubt was not whether the Sacrament was to be given in one or both kinds but as Protestants still doubt whether he could give us his flesh to eat Secondly the manner of his speech which was not by making mention of any kind at all in the said words but only of the things themselves for he doth not say unlesse you eat the bread and drink the wine you have no life but unlesse you eat the flesh and drink the blood both which are equally contained under either bread or wine So that if a man receive the forme of bread only or of wine only he doth therein both eat and drinke the flesh and blood of Christ. And in other places of this Chapter where he makes mention of one kind it is of bread only and not at all of wine so that this place is of no force for the forme of wine unlesse the body and blood of Christ be separated and that receiving the form of bread we receive the body onely and of wine the blood only which must suppose Christ still dead which is most impious and impossible § 5. And if any think that because it is said unlesse you drinke therefore Christ must be received under a forme that may be drunke as well as eaten or else it is not drinking his blood but eating his blood as well as his body I answer it is called eating and drinking not so much in regard of the action as the subject so that flesh being the usuall subject of eating when the Sacrament is called flesh the action is called eating and blood being the usuall subject of drinking when there is mention of receiving the blood the action is called drinking and we are not bound to receive him in a drinkable forme because we are bid to drink his blood but we may be said to drink because we receive that which is in its nature drinkable to wit blood which we doe when we receive the body And if this will not serve the turn they may further argue against us that if we swallow the Host whole we do not eat it eating implying chewing more or lesse and so do not fulfill the precept of eating the flesh And we may argue in like manner against them that if they do not take wine enough to make a draught they do not drinke but onely tast or sip thereof and therein also do not fulfill that which they think they are here commanded But as a Protestant I suppose if the bread and wine should be so mixed together in a cup that both might be drunk together or else eaten with a spoon or in the manner of a moist piece of past or swallowed like a pill will believe that he receives in both kinds and fulfills this in his opinion Precept of drinking the blood So the body and blood being joyned together in either kind to us that believe Transubstantiation we receive both when we receive either kind which act of receiving with relation to the flesh may be called eating to the blood drinking yea though it should be taken in such a manner as strictly speaking should bee neither eating nor drinking I adde moreover with relation to them that do not believe Transubstantiation that the conjunctive particle And doth frequently signifie disjunctively that is Or For example the Apostle saith Acts 3.6 Silver and gold have I none where it is manifest that the sense is silver or gold I have none for if he had had either he had had no excuse of want for his not giving of almes So also S. Paul speaketh of this very Sacrament 1 Cor. 11.29 27. He that eateth and drinketh unworthily eateth and drinketh judgment to himselfe which he interpreteth in the same Chapter saying Whosoever shall eat this bread or drink the cup of our Lord unworthily In like manner those words Except ye eat the flesh and drink the blood if they be taken for eating and drinking under the severall formes of bread and wine are to be understood disjunctively thus Except ye eat the flesh or drink the blood of the sonne of man you shall not have life in you Which disjunctive sense is proved to be the sense intended in this place because else Christ should contradict himself for he promiseth in this same Chapter life eternall to eating only He that eateth me the same shall live by me and he that eateth this bread shall live for ever now if he require unto life eternall eating and drinking both under distinct forms and kinds it is manifest he should contradict himselfe and because this is impossible we must necessarily interpret this place with relation to the severall formes of bread and wine disjunctively thus unlesse you eat or drink The second text urged for Communion in both kinds is Drinks ye all of this Mat. 26.27 which being rightly understood will appeare to be spoken neither to all mankind as to Jewes Turks Infidells as Protestants also acknowledge nor yet to all the faithfull but to all the Apostles and to them all only Which is manifest out of the Text it self for what one Evangelist saith was commanded to all another relates to have been answerably performed by all They drank all
to the direct meaning thereof and so either in those things become Popish themselves or accuse their teachers of Popery § 5. Another fraud I have observed amongst the Canonical Protestants which is that when they dispute against Catholikes they have recourse to the Scripture and wil be tried by that only but when they dispute against the Puritanes and other Sects amongst them who deal with them at their own weapon of Scripture only then they have recourse to the Fathers and the Tradition of the Church and use the same arguments against Sectaries that Catholiques do against them and particularly in the points of baptizing of Infants against the Anabaptists and the keeping of the first day of the week holy against the Sabbatarians who would have Saturday for either of which there is not any command in Scripture And shall Tradition serve them in those cases and not in others Or shall Scripture with them prove all other points and not those And this shift is such a one as S. Augustine in Psal 80. witnesses to be common to Foxes and Heretiques For as Foxes have two holes to save themselves by one when they are driven from the other so Heretiques whom the Scripture figures out by Foxes when the Spouse saith Let us take the young Foxes that destroy the vines Cant. 2.15 have a double passage to save themselves by the one when they are assaulted by the other so that he that will catch them must set his nets before both issues and besiege both passages as the excellent Catholique Writers have done and have left them neither Tradition nor Scripture wherby to escape For although the Scripture do not teach all in direct and particular terms that Caliques do yet it teaches nothing that Protestants do in the things they differ from Catholiques And in generall the Scripture teaches all that Catholiques do by referring us to Tradition And this is sufficient for it is not required that all that we believe or do be expresly set downe in Scripture it is enough that there be no Scripture against it for what is not forbidden is lawfull as the Apostle saith where there is no law there is no transgression Rom. 4.15 If then there be no law of Scripture against it it is lawfull especially if it be warranted by the Tradition of the Church to which the Scripture referres us and is to us more evident to come from God than the Scripture is which we do not know to do so but by the Churches testimony So that I found the Protestants were like to the Giant Procustus mentioned by Plutarch who having a great iron bed fit for himself all strangers that he took he layed therein and if they were too long for the bed he cut off so much of their leggs if too short he stretched them out till they came even So the Protestants having built a Religion after the modell of their owne fancy doe examine Scriptures Councells Fathers and all authority by it whereof some they cut off as being too long in affirming more than they do and others being too short for their purpose they miserably serue tenter and rack till they come to the length they desire And had I the wicked ambition by impiety to make my selfe famous I believe I could conjure up new opinions which laying aside the authority of the Church I could varnish with as much reason and Scripture as any they professe Whose attempts have had no better successe then Achelous had in fighting with Hercules who took upon him severall shapes hopeing in one or other to overcome him but was by Hercules beaten through all his shapes and forced at last to take his owne proper shape and yeeld So Protestants fighting against Catholiques are by them beaten through all their changes and formes and shifts through which they wander and are forced at last to take the true forme of Protestancy which is obstinatly to deny the plaine and manifest truth But I heartily pray that it would please God to bring them to the true form which they ought to have which is of Roman Catholique untill which they will like the blinded Sodomites perpetually roule wander and grope in the darknesse of uncertainty and instability till eternall darknesse seize upon them For by embarquing themselves in such an enterprize as is the boarding of the Ship of Peter they are like to arrive at no other port but ruine and destruction § 6. Moreover I found this proceeding of the Protestants to be most uneasonable and full of pride in that they being but few in number especially in their beginning yea but one one infinitely audacious Luther once a child of the Roman Church should presume to correct or reforme the whole Christian world a thing which no man would admit in the private regiment of his own family that a sonne or servant should presume to find fault with and change the customs of the house against the consent of the Father Master and all the rest and assume to himselfe alone to be judge of the cause One earnestly desiring Lycurgus to establish a popular State in Lacedemon that the basest might have as great authority as the highest answered Begin to doe so first in thine owne house which he refused and thereby saw the injustice of his own demand So these men that will not admit within themselves either in matters Ecclesiasticall or civill that they whose duty it is to obey should command they whose duty it is to learne should teach withwhat face can they defend the practise thereof in the Church which is the house of God of which our predecessors were guilty in the first attempt and this present generation in the continuance of their Rebellion Nor let them think that their having of the Bible in the Mother-tongue will save them as if it were like the Palladium to the Trojans a thing dropt down from heaven no man knowes how with this condition annexed that while they kept it in their city they should never perish while in the mean time they extreamly pollute it with two things their interpretation and their conversation whereas the Church of Rome hath not only the word but the meaning of God also as the Apostle saith we have the sense of Christ 1 Cor. 2.16 both proved by never-erring authority And lastly weighing all the Protestants arguments with all impartiality or if there were any inclination of the ballance it was to their side with whose doctrines I had been from my childhood seasoned and had been a teacher of others for the space of neere twenty yeares and to whom to receive contrary impressions I knew must prove extreamly prejudiciall who therefore addrest my selfe to this enquiry with the disposition of a jealous husband seeking that which I was most loath to find yet all this notwithstanding I found that all their pleas and pretences and their answers to Catholiques were weake sleight false or impertinent and like to a certain fish called Sleve
faith were delivered to them by the Apostles to the Apostles by Christ to Christ by God the fountain of all truth CHAP. IX That there is and ever shall be a visible Church upon earth And that this Church is one holy Catholique and Apostolique § 1. NOw considering all that hath been said before the summe whereof is this That we have no meanes to know certainly the doctrines of the Apostles but only the Tradition of the Church and that that Tradition is and ought to be infallible hence I conceived that this consequence was necessary that there should be and is alwaies a visible Church in the world to whose Traditions men might cleave and that this Church is one universall Apostolicall Holy First there is alwaies a true Church of Christ in the world for if there be no meanes for men to know that Scriptures and all other Articles came from Christ and his Apostles and so consequently from God but the Tradition of the Church then there must needs be in all ages a Church receiving and delivering these Traditions else men in some age since Christ should have been destitute of the ordinary meanes of salvation because they had no meanes to know assuredly the doctrines of Christianity without assured faith whereof no man can be saved And although a false Church may deliver the true Word of God as it is contained in the Scripture and the Creed yea even a Jew or Heathen may do so for this is but casuall yet none but a true Church can deliver the Word of God with assurance to the receiver that the text is incorrupt thereby binding him to the belief thereof Now it is necessary that men have the true Scripture not only casually but they must be sure the Text thereof be uncorrupt therefore there must be a true unerring Church whose authority is so aut hentique that it is a sufficient warrant for men to believe the doctrine shee delivers to come from the Apostles Secondly this Church must be alwaies visible and conspicuous For the Traditions of the Church must ever be famous and most notoriously known in the world that a Christian may truly say with S. Augustine De utilit Cred. c. 14. I believe nothing but the consent of Nations and Countries and most celebrious fame Now if the Church were at any time invisible or very secret and hidden then could not her Traditions be famously known nor could men that were willing to submit themselves to her directions know where to find her out of whose communion they cannot attain salvation Thirdly this Church is Apostolicall that is derived from the Apostolicall Sea by the succession of Bishops and Pastors for else how can we be assured that we have the Apostles doctrine It must be one generation that must certifie another and if there should be any interruption in that time all might be lost and changed And how could the Tradition of Christian Doctrine be notoriously Apostolicall if the Church delivering the same hath not a manifest and conspicuous pedigree and derivation from the Apostles Which is a convincing argument used by S. Augustine Epist 48. circa med How doe we trust out of the divine writings that we have manifestly received Christ if we have not also from thence manifestly received his Church The Church that hath a lineall succession of Bishops from the Apostles famous and illustrious whereof not one hath been opposite in Religion to his immediate predecessor proves evidently that this Church hath the Doctrine of the Apostles For as in the rank of three hundred stones ranged in order if no two stones be found in that line of different colour then if the first be white the second is white and so the rest unto the last even so if there be a succession of three hundred Bishops all of the same Religion if the first have the Religion of the Apostles and S. Peter the second hath and so the rest even unto the last Fourthly this Church is one that is all the Pastors and Preachers deliver and consequently all her Disciples and children believe one and the same Faith For if the Preachers and Pastors of the Church disagree about matters which they preach as necessary points of Faith they lose all their credit and authority for who will believe witnesses on their own words if they disagree in their testimony Fifthly I infer that this Church is universall spread over all Nations that she may be said to be every where morally speaking that is according to common humane account by which a thing diffused over a great part of the world and famously knowne is said to be every where In this manner the Apostle said that the faith of the Romans was renowned in the whole world Rom. 1.12 that so the whole world may take notice of her as of a worthy and credible witnesse of Christian Tradition howsoever her outward glory and splendour peace and tranquillity in some places and at some times be more or lesse eclipsed and shee be not alwaies in all places at once And the reason of this perpetuall visible universality is because the Tradition of the Church is the sole ordinary meanes of faith toward the Word of God This Tradition therefore must be so delivered as that it may be known to all men seeing God will have all men without exception of any nation to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth 1. Tim. 2.4 which they cannot do unlesse the Church be so diffused in the world that all known nations may take notice of her And Gods will that all men should be saved though it be but an antecedent will as Schoolemen call it yet it inferreth two things which some Protestants deny first the salvation of all men secondly the meanes of their salvation In respect of the meanes the will of God is absolute that all men in some sort or other have sufficient meanes of salvation In respect of the end to wit the salvation of all men the will of God is not absolute but as Schoolemen say virtually conditionall that is God hath a will that all men be saved as much as lies in him if the course of his providence be not intercepted and men will cooperate with his grace And the reason why some Nations hear not the Gospell and Word of God is not the defect of his Church but the want of working in the naturall causes to discover such Countries which defect God will not ever miraculously supply But if the Church were invisible to the world and hoarded up her Religion to her selfe either not daring or not willing to professe and preach the same unto others Nations may be knowne and yet the Word of God not known to them If therefore this Church should be hidden for a long time mens souls should perish not through defect in the naturall causes but only through the hiddennesse obscurity and wretchednesse of the supernaturall meanes to wit of the Church not