not Is this companie of Clergie men onely or of Lay men also If of them then belike these are none of the Church But let vs grant that which as it shal appeare in due place is neither true nor probable that the Clergie onely is the church howsoeuer they may be so representatiuely What assurance can any man haue who liueth not in the time of this assembly I might say in the place too where it is that there was any such assembly that the greatest part agreed to the approouing of such a translation that this is the translation they agreed to Especially seeing two Popes since the last Conuenticle of Trent haue set out your authentical translation diuersly Whether of these two was agreed on How shall I be infallibly assured that these Popes altered nothing in the translation allowed by the Councel Shall I say more What if this Councell vsed not the meanes of examining this translation by the originals What if most of them as it is most certaine had no skil in the originals and so did but leape after some few like sheepe not vnderstanding what they did yet the shoot Anchor holds the Pope allowed of their iudgement What if his skil were but indifferent He could not erre you will say What was the reason why he allowed that translation because the Councel examined and approued it But without him al they might erre especially if they did not vse all good meanes to find out the truth VVho assured him they did Shall we haue the holy Ghost like Mahomets doue to come and certifie the Pope of this doubt This is a matter of fact and in things of such nature the Pope may erre euen iudicially Well I will deale bountifully with you Put case all this be true How shal I attaine to infallible assurance hereof Forsooth some Priest or Frier Iesuite or other telleth me that things so passed and therefore I am bound to beleeue it Then my faith resteth not vpon the authority of the Church but vpō the credit of him that saith he is sent by the Church to make such report Thus it cometh to passe that the beleefe of vnlearned Papists is nothing else but a perswasion they haue that such a priest knoweth what is true and will not deceiue them with any false informations Tell me not of other Priests and Iesuits consenting with him that was thy spirituall father for all these together if there were ten times as many of them are not the Church in which onely this infallible authoritie is to be found And so there can be no such assurance in any vnlearned Papist of the truth of your vulgar or any other translation I confesse it is against both Charitie and Ciuilitie to suspect a man of vntruth without iust cause of suspition but such fruites grow vpon such rootes of Poperie that a man must needs be either vnciuill in giuing credit to nothing though vpon neuer so good reason or else ridiculously credulous in beleeuing euery thing that shal be told him though neuer so much against reason But the spirit of God teacheth and perswadeth men to beleeue the Church Are you they that mocke at priuate spirits and yet are glad to flie to that helpe Is it not as likely the spirit should teach men which is the Scripture as which is the Church And assure them of a translation as of this or that mans ordination and priesthood If such proofes as I haue spoken of before will serue wee are nothing inferiour to you but as well for weight as number superiour If you say the Scriptures enioyne vs to beleeue the church How shall I be assured that they are not in those places that seeme to enioyne such a beleefe falsly translated Because the Church saith they are true in all points What if the Church be deceiued It cannot be Who saith so The Scripture Who tels you the Scripture saith so The Church What is to be ridiculous if this be not It might seeme exceeding strange that euer any reasonable man should be ledde away with such fopperies if the holy Ghost had not foretold vs of it that God would send men strong delusions that they should beleeue lies that all they might be damned vvhich beleeued not the truth but had pleasure in vnrighteousnesse These delusions poore ignorant Papists trust to and to none more then to those which are the maynest of all the authoritie of the Church and impossibilitie of the Popes erring to which whosoeuer firmely cleaueth can neuer be good Christian or faithfull subiect in any Church or state whatsoeuer A. D. §. 2. Secondly they faile in the second condition or propertie which the rule of faith should haue For the Scriptures themselues alone in what language soeuer be obscure and hard to be vnderstood at least to vnlearned men who cannot reade them and therefore the Scriptures alone cannot be vnto vnlearned men a sufficient rule to instruct them in all points of faith as is plaine For locke vp an vnlettered man and an English Bible for a time in a studie and hee will come forth I warrant you as ignorant in matters of faith as he went in if wee adde no other meanes to instruct him but the bare written word which hee cannot reade And yet vnlearned men may be saued and saued they cannot be without an entire and vnfallible faith and this they cannot haue vnlesse there be some certaine rule and vnfallible meanes prouided by Almightie God meet for their capacitie to teach them this faith and Scripture alone as is now proued is not a rule meete for the capacitie of vnlearned men or apt to instruct them sufficiently in all points of faith But what speake I onely of vnlearned men sith also learned men cannot by onely reading the Scriptures be vnfallibly sure that they doe rightly vnderstand them For while they vnderstand one way perhaps they ought to vnderstand another way that which they vnderstand plainly and literally ought perhaps to be vnderstood figuratiuely and mystically and contrarie that which they vnderstand figuratiuely ought perhaps to be vnderstood properly And seeing that it is most certaine that all doe not expound right sith the exposition of one is contrarie to the exposition of another as right is neuer contrarie to right how should one be vnfallibly sure that hee onely expoundeth right hauing nothing to assure him but the seeming of his owne sense and reason which is as vncertaine and fallible as the iudgements and perswasions of other men who seeme to themselues to haue attained as wel as he the right interpretation or sense Moreouer there be many things required to the perfect vnderstanding of Scripture which are found but in very few and those also in whom those gifts are are not vnfallibly sure that they are so guided by those gifts but that both they and others may prudently doubt lest sometimes in their priuate expositions as men they erre And consequently their priuate
the scripture For how many points of doctrine are there not yet decreed of by your Church How many thousand places of scripture not yet expounded by it If then it be no hindrance to saluation for a man to be ignorant of the truth in many points and places of scripture may not the written word of God be the rule of faith though diuers things in it be not certainly vnderstood A. D. §. 3. Thirdly they faile in the third condition For the Scriptures are not so vniuersall as the rule of faith had need to be For this rule ought to be so vniuersall that it may be able absolutely to resolue and determine all doubts and questions of faith which eyther haue bene or may hereafter be in controuersie for otherwise there were not sufficient meanes prouided by which schisme and heresies might be auoided vnitie of faith so necessarie to saluation might be conserued among Christian men A. W. The last imperfection you note in the Scripture whereby you would make it insufficient to be the rule of faith is the scantnesse of it that it conteineth not all things necessarie to be beleeued which you go about to prooue thus The rule of faith must be able absolutely to resolue all doubts of faith that haue bene or may be The Scripture is not able absolutely to resolue all such doubts Therefore the Scripture is not the rule of faith I should haue let your proposition passe without any question but that I am so vsed to your craft in speaking doubtfully For feare whereof I would faine vnderstand what the reason is why you put in absolutely If your intent be to signifie that the resolution must be certainly true you might haue spoken plainly as you meant But it may be you vnderstand by resoluing absolutely such a kinde of resolution as shall take away all outward contention which sometimes is indeed brought to passe by the Decrees of your Popes no man daring for feare of his life once to open his mouth against them Such a resolution the scripture cannot giue neither is it to be looked for that the rule of faith should be of that nature It is enough that it shew plainly and certainly what is true in all matters of faith Secondly the controuersies of faith you speake of must be indeed matters that require beleefe otherwise the rule of faith is not to meddle with them To speake more plaine It is not to be held as a duetie of the rule of faith that it should be able to determine of euerie idle question that curious and contentious heads can deuise For example if any man will make question of the Virgin Marie whether she were as you teach fifteene yeare old or perhaps eighteene or nineteen when our Sauiour Christ her Sonne was borne whether she were threescore three whē she died or more or lesse In these a thousād such matters deliuered as points of faith by your Priests and Iesuits it is not to be expected that the rule of faith should affoord any resolution We grant that infinite questions of your schoolemen positiōs of your Diuines cannot be determined by the rule of faith but only thus that they may be cōuinced to be no matters of beleefe that a Christian must needs think thus or thus of thē because they cannot be prooued either one way or other by scripture your proposition therefore is true onely of those things that are needfull to be beleeued all which may be certainly resolued by it What cannot is not of necessitie to be held by faith Your proposition you prooue as you thinke by this reason If there be no sufficient meanes prouided by which schismes and heresies may be auoided and vnitie among Christians conserued vnlesse the rule of faith be able to resolue all such doubts then it must be able to resolue them But there is no sufficient meanes prouided whereby schismes and heresies may be auoided and vnitic conserued vnlesse the rule be able to resolue all such doubts Therefore the rule of faith must be able to resolue them If the proposition be taken in that sense which the former may seeme to haue as I shewed then I denie the consequence therof that is I say it doth not follow that if there be no sufficiēt means prouided whereby schismes and heresies shall de facto and in euēt be auoided vnlesse the rule of faith be able to shew what is true what false in all questions that any man will mooue then the rule must be able so to doe The reason of my deniall is that as before I answered it is sufficient for the rule to shew what is true in matters of faith and let vs know that those are not needfull to be beleeued of the truth whereof it saith nothing anie way The assumption also is false though you speak not of actuall auoiding of heresie and schisme For there is sufficient meanes prouided for the auoiding of schisme because nothing must be held for certain truth which cannot be prooued to be according to the rule which is the onely measure of true vnitie among Christians A. D. §. 4. But the Scriptures be not thus vniuersall For there be diuers questions or doubts moued now a dayes and those also touching very substantiall matters which are not expresly set downe nor determined by onely Scripture For where haue we any expresse Scripture to proue that all those and onely those bookes which Catholickes or Protestants hold for Scripture are indeed Gods word and true Scripure This we shall not find expresly set downe in a part of Scripture This point therefore whereupon dependeth the certaintie of euery point proued out of Scripture cannot be made certaine to our knowledge or beliefe vnlesse we admit some other infallible rule or authoritie wherupon we may ground an vnfallible beleefe which infallible rule if we admit to assure vs that there is at all any Scripture and that those bookes and no other be Canonicall Scripture why should we not admit the same to assure vs vnfallibly which is the true sense and meaning of the same Scripture Hereupon S. Austin saith very well Cur non apud eos diligentissimè requiram quid Christus praeceperit quorum auctoritate commotus Christum aliquid praecepisse iam credidi Tune mihi meliùs expositurus es quid ille dixerit c. Why shold I not most diligently ask or learne of those he meaneth of the Catholicke Church what Christ hath commanded by whose authoritie I was moued to beleeue that Christ commanded any thing at all What wilt thou expound vnto me better what he hath said that is to say the meaning of his words Quae saith he ista tanta dementia est illis crede Christo esse credendum à nobis disce quid ille dixerit multo facilius mihi persuaderem Christo non esse credendum quà m de illo quidquam nisi ab ijs per quos
God will haue all men to be saued not euery man p. 53. 55. 57. 58. 203. 257. The meanes of saluation by Christ are such as no man could deuise p. 102. 103. 113. 235. May be knowne what they are by the Scriptures without faith but not acknowledged to be true without faith p. 235. 236. Contempt or neglect of some things not absolutely necessary to saluation may yet depriue a man of it p. 188. The graces of sanctification shall make the enemies of Gods children acknowledge them p. 179. That this maÌ„ is saued rather then that it proceedeth froÌ„ the wil of God p. 203. Sacrament what it is p. 385. Administration of the sacraments not absolutely necessary to the being of a Church p. 226. 227. All things that belong to the right administration of the sacraments are set downe in Scripture p. 230. There haue bin 32. schismes in the Romish Church p. 393. None are properly schismatickes but they that refuse coÌ„munion with some true church p. 275. Schoole-mens writings full of needlesse and endlesse questions p. 20. All the schoolmen haue refuted some of their fellows or bin refuted by them p 313. Interprete and apply the scripture falsly p. 118. Scribes why so called p. 140. What is meant by Christs sheepfold p. 265. Similitudes how they argue p. 50. Scripture the epistle of the Creator to the creature p. 81. Acknowledged by Protestants and Papists to be the word of God p. 87. 42. May be knowne to be so by the matter p. 89. Written for the instruction of all p. 74. 79. 82. Of greater authority then any mans writings or then all mens p. 241. The bounds of the Church p. 61. Ignorance thereof the cause of all euils p. 119. Condemned by the Papists of hardnesse and vncertaintie and vnsufficiency p. 11. 73. 79. 22â— Are not hard p. 74. 75. 76. 77. 82. 94. Papists blasphemies against the Scripture p. 42. 5â— 81. Depriuing the people of them p. 52. Hard places of Scripture must be expounded by the plaine p. 79. Some places of Scripture so plaine that they cannot be mistaken p. 79. Why some places of Scripture are hard some easie p. 76. 82. Scripture expoundeth it selfe p. 82. Reading thereof may breed faith how p 25 26. 34 35 36. 75 76. 114. 235. Exposition of the scripture not tied to the senses of the fathers p. 121 No exposition to bee thrust vpon the church that cannot euidently be proued p. 122. The scriptures left instead of the Apostles to be aduised with in all points of faith p 97. May be vnderstood by naturall wit and learning p. 102. 103. Papists glad to flie to the priuate teaching of the spirit to know the scriptures p. 72. 245. Scripture why called Canonicall p 106. Christians doubting of the scripture how to be dealt withall p. 90. Atheists in the same question how to be dealt withall p. 90 92. Knowledge of scripture to be laboured for p. 20. 74. How far the scripture must be knowne before the church p. 244. 247. Many things required to the perfect vnderstanding thereof p. 73. 81 82. This word Expresly foisted in by the Papists into the question of the scripture p. 88 89 100. The Hebrew and Greeke originals reiected by the Papists p. 52. Interpretation of scripture p. 73. 80. 82. 92. 101. 118. 120. 121. Scripture an absolute rule for saluation p. 7. 17. 96. 97. 322. How alone sufficient to saluation p. 65. 66. 73. 78 96. 97. Sufficient for all matters of faith and maners p. 56. 67. 68. 83. 86. 87. 89. 94. 250. 260. 314 395. All parts of scripture not true in like sense nor of like necessitie to be beleeued p. 38 By what argumeÌ„t the spirit perswades vs that the scripture is from God p 245. Priuat spirit when to be reiected p. 120. What spirits are to be tried p. 252. Who are to trie them p. 254. Sins of infirmitie lesse hainous then sins of wilfulnesse p. 344. Suspition without iust cause against christianitie and ciuilitie p. 72. What succession is to be esteemed p 2. 393. 394. Succession no good mark of the church p. 394 395. Protestants haue succession if Papists haue it p. 392. 409. T The English Translation reproued p. 66 Defended p. 69. 70. Not held by vs to be infallible p. 68. 94. The Rhemish Translation hard to be vnderstood p. 70. The vulgar Translation corrupt in eight thousand places by the iudgement of a learned Papist p. 52 Doubts concerning it p. 71. The generall Analysis of the Treatise p. 4. 5. The summe of it p. 54. What Traditions are to be held for Apostolicall p. â—5 The spirit is to teach all truth how p. 130 God doth not miraculously reueale all truth at once to any man p. 313. Truth manifested by one simple man is to be preferred before the iudgment of neuer so many wise and learned in a Councell p. 249. 250. Truth must be receiued though deliuered by euill men p. 143. 144. Beleefe of euery truth is required as a dutie of sanctification p. 274. The truth hath had witnesse of men from time to time p. 205. From whom truth is hid p 82. Euidence of truth not visibilitie of the church the means of conuersion p. 204 The speedie conuersion of great multitudes by preaching a great argument of truth p. 205. Truth with contention is better then agreement with Antichristianisme p. 317 Without truth the greatest agreement is but a conspiracy against God p. 317. V The Protestants Churches haue meanes to continue vnitie p. 314. Vniuersalitie p. 65. Cannot be seene but onely conceiued p. 177. No certaine marke of the Church p. 293. The state of the question concerning the visibility of the Church p. 197. 209. 219 Visibilitie of the Church p. 174. 176. 198 202. 20â— 214. A Church may for a time be inuisible how p. 202. And yet the flock and Pastor know each other p. ead Why it was necessarie that the churches at the first should be visible p. 204. 205 The Catholicke Church inuisible p. 209 To whom the churches are visible p. 216 Voluntas signi beneplaciti p. 58. 59. W The will of God ought to be a sufficient reason of his doings to all men p. 204 Mans free-will preferred before Gods glorie by the Papists p. 361. Men commonly wonder at that they vnderstand not p. 27. Good workes shall be rewarded though not vpon desert 343. Good workes are not made meritorious by being dipt in Christs bloud p. 365. Faults escaped Page 61. line 16. for seene read said p. 69. l. 9. for which r. with p. ead l. 11. Isidorus Clarius put out the comma p 74. l. 4. in the marg for 13. r. 130. p. 80. l. vlt. for with r which p. 92. l. 28. for be r. he p. 93 l 26. for yours r. you p. 96. l. vlt. for expresly r. properly p. â—7 l. 19 for rule r. vse p. 119. l. 24. put out say p. 134. l. 17. in the mar for vli r. vbi p.
compendious resolution of faith Which before I examine let me here againe put you in minde that you condemne the greatest part of all your Schoolemens writings as needlesse and fruitlesse doubts questions and disputes and call them vnsetled minds that spend their time and spirits in such matters And surely such were many of the points they handled hauing nothing in them but vanitie and vexation of spirit as may appeare to name one for all by their articles and questions vpon Lombard and Thomas about the Masse But is anie man to be found so shamelesse as that he dare call it a needlesse and fruitlesse labour to search the Scripture for the finding out of the truth in such matters as are necessarily to be beleeued for the attaining to saluation Doth the neglect of this dutie bring a man good leisure and liking to build himselfe vp in the loue of God What loue of God can there be where there is no delight in his word Dauid makes it his meditation day and night and preferres the sweetnesse he finds in it and the account he makes of it before honie and the honie combe fine gold and all maner of riches But what should I heape vp vnnecessarie testimonies in a case not doubtfull Is it possible they should be Christians that make so small reckoning of the testament of Iesus Christ Can he be said truly to loue his father that neuer cares to see what his fathers loue to him is but contents himselfe with so much knowledge of it as men list to impart to him yea that knowes not whether he had such a father or no but onely as other men haue told him We say not that euery man is bound vpon hazzard of his saluation to know euery point of difference betwixt you and vs or to vnderstand the sense of euery place of Scripture but that all true Christians must labour for as much knowledge as by diligent hearing reading and meditating of the Scirptures they can attaine to Neither shall they by this study and endeuour either abate their loue to God or depriue themselues of the sense of his loue to them Nay rather both the one and the other shal be increased when a man shall feele the work of Gods spirit in his heart kindling in him a desire to vnderstand the mystery of his redemption by Iesus Christ to comprehend the infinitenesse of the loue of God the Father and enlightning him to conceiue that which by his owne skill he neuer were able to discerne But they that follow your resolution neuer come rightly to vnderstant what the loue of God to them is but if they will consider things aduisedly must needes thinke God hath dealt hardly with them as with seruants not with sonnes whom he shuts out from the knowledge of his will and view of his wisdome maiestie manifested in the writings of the old and new Testament affoording them no more of that heauenly Manna but such chippings and parings as their idle and prowd prelates will vouchsafe to cast them He that finds the loue of God toward him in opening to him the true sense of the Scripture in matters concerning his euerlasting saluation doth beare more true loue to God for it then any Papist can do that glorieth in his blind obedience to men maketh the end of his louing God the deseruing of euerlasting life by his ignorance of the Scriptures As for true holinesse of life whence doth it arise but from the feeling of Gods loue to vs whereby the spirit of God which dwels in vs inflames our hearts with the affections of kind children to so louing a father Can you imagine that he who hath at most but a kind of perswasion of I know not what holy inspirations blessings of Gods spirit vpon some Priests or Iesuits word can loue God as truely and feruently as he that knowes by the truth of God in the Scripture that the spirit of God dwels in all Gods children one of whom the same spirit assures him he is Your Papist must liue holily that he may become the temple of God a true Christian knowes he cannot liue holily but by the holy Ghosts dwelling in him and making him the temple of God And can it be a question whether of these two loueth God more deatly But I haue bene too long in your Preface Now to the Treatise it selfe A. D. A TREATISE OF FAITH CHAP. I. That true faith is absolutely necessary to saluation A. W. TRue faith whether we take it for an assent to the truth of that which God hath reuealed or for beleeuing in God is absolutely necessary onely for those which are come to yeares of discretion not for them that die in their infancie Which I deliuer not by way of confutation but of explication because I am perswaded you and I agree in this point A. D. §. 1. Whosoeuer hath a true desire to please God and an earnest care to saue his owne soule the which should be the chiefest desire and care of euery Christian man must first resolue and settle himselfe in a sound beliefe of matters of faith holding it for a most assured ground That there is a faith which whosoeuer wanteth cannot possibly please God nor consequently be saued sith none are saued that do not please God A. W. Faith being so diuersly taken both in Scripture and other writings it had bin fit for him that professeth plainnesse either to haue set downe the seuerall significations of the word or to haue shewed in what sense he himselfe vseth it in this treatise Bellarmine giues it foure significations Sanders six Vega nine Yea this author himselfe as it shall appeare taketh it not alwayes in one and the same sense but diuersly as it best fitteth his present purpose especially in one of these two significatiōs either for the habit or quality of faith whereby we are enabled to beleeue or for the obiect of the same faith that is for the things that are to be beleeued Example we haue of both in this first Chapter Matters of faith are such points as we are bound to beleeue That faith which whosoeuer wanteth cannot please God is the qualitie of faith in the soule And these diuers vses of the word are within the compasse of three lines To which I may adde a third sense out of this same chapter where by faith actuall beleeuing is vnderstood as in the places of Scripture alledged For i. is not the hauing but the vsing of faith that iustifieth So thē where he saith that true faith is absolutely necessary to saluation his meaning is that no man can be saued vnlesse he do assent to the truth of those matters which God hath enioyned all men to beleeue or that there are certaine points to be beleeued without assent to the truth whereof no man can be saued But what need was there of this discourse since both parties that were to conferre
agreed about this point without any doubting Or if there were any doubt it was on the Papists side rather then on ours because they require not true faith to make a man a member of the Church but onely the outward profession of beleefe Yea the Pope may be head of the Church though he beleeue not with his heart And therfore it may not seeme strange to vs that a Iesuited Priest in Wisbich castle should affirme That one that was no Christian might be Pope of Rome But such a glorious title of the necessitie of faith maketh a goodly shew to the ignorant yet let no man deceiue himselfe herewithall For this faith which the Papists in words so magnifie is not that beleef in Iesus Christ whereby a Christian man resting on him for pardon of his sinne is iustified but onely an agreeing to the truth of Scripture So that a man may be full of this their faith and yet be euerlastingly damned A. D. §. 2. This ground is set downe by S. Paul himselfe who saith Sine fide impossibile est placere Deo without faith it is vnpossible to please God The same is confirmed by S. Augustine who saith Constat neminem ad veram posse peruenire beatitudinem nisi Deo placeat Deo neminem placere posse nisi per sidem Fides namue est bonorum omnium fundamentum Fides est humanae salutis initium Sine hac nemo ad filiorum Dei consortium peruenire potest quia sine ipfa nec in hoc seculo quis quam iustificationis consequitur gratiam nec in futuro vitam posside bit aeternam It is certaine that none can come to true hap pinesse vnlesse he please God and that none can please God but by faith For faith is the foundation of all good things Faith is the beginning of mans saluation Without this none can come to the fellowship of the children of God because without this neither doth any in this world obtaine the grace of iustification neither shall â—e in the next possesse eternall life Thus saith S. Austen A. W. Well might this whole chapter haue bene spared especially since your proofe is no more direct for your purpose For Saint Paule in that place speaketh of a true iustifying faith which presupposeth a beleefe of all things knowne to be reuealed by God and requireth that a man should not onely acknowledge God to be a rewarder of them that come vnto him that is beleeue in him but also that he should rest vpon him as vpon such a one without which questionlesse no man can please God though he assent neuer so stedfastly to the truth of those and such like points But if you will needs expound the Apostle of assent onely I must put you in mind that by this place you can proue necessitie of faith no farther then for the beleeuing of those two points he specifieth That God is and That he is a rewarder of them that come vnto him Indeed whosoeuer doubts of these particulars thus declared in Scripture can neither be saued nor please God but it doth not follow hereupon that therefore there is a necessitie of faith to the beleeuing of other matters many whereof haue no dependance vpon either of these A. D. §. 3. And the same might be confirmed out of other Scriptures and Fathers but that the matter is cleare enough A. W. The first of these places Rom. 2. is I take it misquoted by the Printer 2. for 3. In the second there is not one word of faith the Apostle there labouring to conuince both Gentiles and Iewes of sin against God by the breach of the law of nature Moses The other two are to be vnderstood of true iustifying faith which must needs be more then assenting to the truth of that which God speaketh as the very phrase of beleeuing in Iesus Christ proueth which cannot with any likelihood of reason be takeÌ„ for giuing credit to those things which are spoken by or of our Sauiour Christ It is one thing to beleeue that God is Credere Deum 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 another thing to beleeue in God Credere in DeuÌ„ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 though the latter alwayes imply the former and the former sometimes the latter Irenaeus hath not a syllable of the necessitie of faith in the place which you quote and where he speakes of it he onely shewes it was necessary that God should reueale his truth by his Word which was his Sonne because by the light of naturall reason all things necessary to saluation could not be found out This knowledge Irenaeus tyeth to the Scriptures Had it not bene better for you to haue spared these needlesse allegations in a matter that was out of question A. D. §. 4. Onely this I will adde that when the Scriptures do require faith as a thing absolutely necessary to saluation the common tradition of Councels and Fathers do interprete not onely that there is a positiue precept of faith for if it were but a positiue precept ignorance might excuse in some case but that at least some kind of faith is necessaria necessitate medij that is to say is ordained as a necessary means without which no man can attaine saluation in any case and that in this matter si quis ignorat ignorabitur if any man by ignorance do not know he shall not be knowne as S. Paul speaketh A. W. This interpretation of the Scriptures meaning in requiring faith as a thing absolutely necessary to saluation is altogether vnnecessary For who knowes not that there can be no saluation without that which is absolutely necessary therunto Therefore it was more then enough to name the common tradition of Councels and Fathers But such gay termes make a goodly shew in the eies of the simple But I pray tel me what haue you got by this learned interpretation Is there any Christian man so ignorant as to deny that some kind of faith is ordained as a necessary meanes without which men cannot attaine to saluation in any case Sure this can neither hurt vs who acknowledge faith to be necessary and if you speake of iustifying faith altogether sufficient to iustification nor helpe you who allow no faith but that which depends vpon the authoritie of the Church But the Councels and Fathers say that kind of faith is necessary What of that Do they therefore hold it necessary to saluation for a man to beleeue whatsoeuer the Church shall teach though without the warrant of Scripture Can a man in no case attaine to saluation without this faith May not the very reading of Scripture without any ministery of man be a meanes by the worke of Gods spirit in his heart to breed true faith to iustification and saluation The necessitie of faith is double First concerning faith as you take it for an assent it is not possible for any man to be
of this matter we must speake more at large hereafter A. D. CHAP. III. That this one faith necessarie to saluation is infallible A. W. If you had bene desirous that euery man should vnderstand you instead of infallible you would rather haue said certaine or without doubting especially since your selfe diuers times vsed the word in the passiue signification for that which may not be doubted of as being most certainly true In this sense you say afterward in this Chapter that the word of Christ is absolutely infallible and againe in the end of the Chapter that we must account the word of faith absolutely infallible A. D. §. 1. This one faith without which we cannot be saued must be infallible and most certaine This is cleare because faith is that credit or inward assents of minde which we giue to that which God who is the prime or first veritie which neither can deceiue nor be deceiued hath reuealed vnto vs by meanes of the preaching or teaching of the true Church as we may gather out of S. Paul when he saith Quomodo credent ei quem non audierunt quomodo audient sine praedicante quomodo praedicabunt nisi mittantur c. ergo fides ex auditu auditus autem per verbum Christi The sense of which words is that sith we cannot beleeue vnlesse we heare nor beare vnlesse some lawfully sent do preach vnto vs faith is bred in vs by hearing and yeelding assent or credit to the word of Christ made knowne vnto vs by the preaching of the true Church which onely is lawfully sent of God wherefore like as the word of Christ being God is absolutely infallible so also the credit giuen to this word which is our faith must needs be also most certaine and infallible A. W. The title and beginning of the Chapter speake of faith as it is a grace or qualitie but the conclusion of the Chapter is concerning the infallibilitie or certaintie of the word of faith as you call it that is the thing to be beleeued so do you run from one thing to another But I may say of this Chapter as I haue done in part of the former that we acknowledge the truth of both these points and thinke your labour in prouing them altogether vnnecessary only in the former there may be some doubt For though it be out of question that we are to endeuor for the perfection as of all other graces of God so of that faith wherby we assent to the truth of that which God hath reuealed yet it comes to passe sometimes by our infirmitie that our faith is accompanied with doubting And this as we heard before Sotus grants to be true of a Catholicke faith and prooues it by the prayer of the Apostles Lord increase our faith to which I may adde the like request of him that crying with teares said Lord I beleeue helpe my vnbeleefe But if any man desire to see a liuely patterne of this doubting let him looke vpon Dauid as he describes himselfe in the Psalme Certainly I haue cleansed my heart in vaine and washed my hands in innocency c. Then thought I to know this but it was too painfull for me And afterward so foolish was I and ignorant I was a beast before thee And yet the point he speaks of is a rulde case in Diuinitie propounded by him in the beginning of the Psalme namely that the prouidence of God watcheth ouer the righteous for their good and that he will be auenged of the wicked That faith which some Diuines call historicall is indeed such an assent goeth alwaies before iustifying faith at the least for the beleeuing of so much as is necessarie to iustification Which I note by the way that no man may be deceiued with an opinion that iustifying faith is an assent to the truth of Gods word whereas it is quite of another nature and hath place in the will rather then in the vnderstanding If you had said that God hath reuealed his truth to vs by the preaching of them that were in the true Church you had spokē more plainely and truely But how the true Church or any Church at all should be said to preach I professe I vnderstand not Neither can any such thing be gathered out of Saint Paule who speakes not a word of the Church true or false And to say the truth what a strange kind of speech is it to say The Church is sent to preach when as onely the Ministers preach and not the Church vnlesse perhaps Iohn Baptist only for a time was the Church whē he preached alone before our Sauiour was baptised But this same Church is a goodly faire word and couers a great many foule errours with the very name of it The Apostles who were they that God employed at the first beginning of the Gospell both in preaching and writing were vndoubtedly of the true Church both in respect of their election to euerlasting life and of the truth of the doctrine they held It is also true that God ordinarily begetteth faith in the hearts of men by the ministers of the true Church But it is not true that such an assent as you speake of cannot be wrought in a man by the ministery of Schismaticks or Hereticks though they be perhaps in neither respect any members of the true Church Did not Arius Macedonius Eutyches Nestorius and many other wretched hereticks assent in generall to the truth of God in Scriptures because they held it to be the very true word of God And might not men by their preaching be brought to the same faith For our parts we make no doubt but that in the middest of ignorance and superstition many came to this faith by the preaching of your Antichristian Priests and so do at this day yea we adde further that we doubt not many haue wee are sure they might and may attaine to the same faith what if I say to iustifying faith too without any preaching by the reading of the Scriptures For since it is partly the matter that must argue the Scripture to be the word of God partly the maiesty which any man may discerne in the manner of writing vnlesse it can be poooued out of the Scripture that the holy Ghost will not worke by these vpō the heart of him that readeth but only of him that heareth a man expound this word vnto him I see no sufficient reason why faith may not be had by reading where Gods ordinance of preaching is onely wanting and not wilfully neglected But you will say the Apostle tyeth faith to hearing First this is little aduantage for you Papists amongst whom til shame emulation draue you to it within these last fiftie or threescore yeares no man could ordinarily heare the word of God in any tongue that he vnderstood and so all your hearing was to no purpose Secondly if hearing be sufficient where there is nothing but reading without any
exposition of that which is read giue me some reason why reading should not be more sufficiēt since he that readeth may easier vnderstand and better weigh that he readeth then he that doth onely heare an other reade But of this point I shall haue occasion to say more hereafter Now for the second point that we cannot heare vnlesse some lawfully sent that is as you vnderstand it vnlesse some sent by the authority of the Church do preach vnto vs first how shal this warrant the Apostles preaching of which S. Paul here speaketh For who knowes not that they were sent immediatly by our Sauiour not by any ordinary course in the Church Secondly it seemes you fortet what is written in the Ecclesiasticall histories of a captiue maid that conuerted the queene of Iberia she the king he his countrey What is recorded of Aedesius Frumentius by whom the Indians were brought to the knowledge of the Gospell How Alexander Bishop of Ierusalem and Theoctistus Bishop of Caesarea defend Origens preaching publickly when as yet he was not allowed by the Church for a minister Which fact of his they maintaine by the like examples of Euelpis Paulinus and Theodorus who had preached without any ordinarie sending And it is verie likely say they that the same hath beene done in other places though we know it not How little care you had of writing plainely any man may guesse by this one sentence wherein this needlesse word infallible is vsed in two diuers senses for certainty of truth where you speake of that we are to beleeue for assurance of beleefe without doubting where you meane faith it selfe A. D. §. 2. Fides saith S. Basile est eorum quae dicta sunt assentiens approbatio sine vlla haesitatione cum animi persuasione de eorum veritate quae Dermunere praedicata sunt Faith is a consenting approbation of those things which are said an vndoubted perswasion of minde of the truth of those things which are preached by the gift of God Fides saith Saint Chrysostome dici non potest nisi circa ea quae non videntur ampliùs quà m circa ea quae videntur certitudinem quis habeat It cannot be called faith vnlesse one be more certaine of those things which are not seene then of those things which are seene The reason whereof the same Saint Chrysostom declareth in an other place saying Superet sensum rationem nostram sermo ipsius Dei nam verbis eius fraudari non possumus sensus verò noster deceptu facillimus est Let Gods word saith he surmount our sense and reason for we can not be deceiued by his words but our sense is most easily deceiued A. W. These testimonies are more for ostentation to shew your learning then for necessitie to confirme a matter not doubted of Yet I must put you in minde that these descriptions and commendations of faith are not brought by the authors to condemne all as cast-awaies that sometimes doubt but to declare what faith is in it owne nature A. D. § 3. Sith therefore our faith is grounded on the word of God reuealed to vs by Iesus Christ our Lord speaking by the mouth of the Church as he saith himselfe Qui vos audit me audit he that heareth you heareth me we ought to receiue the word of faith preached by the true Church not as the word of man but as it is truely the word of God and consequently we must account it a thing most certaine and absolutely infallible A. W. Our Sauiour Christ doth no farther speake by the mouth of the Church then the Church speakes according to the Scripture whom so speaking whosoeuer heareth without doubt he heareth God both because it is the word of God that is spoken and because God hath commaunded vs to heare them that so speake But here againe for a shew the name Church is brought in whereas the testimonie belongs onely to the Apostles if you take it for them that must absolutely be heard without all doubting of that they deliuer and to euery one of them seuerally who doubtlesse is not the Church or else to all Ministers of the gospell from time to time but not without that restraint I mentioned before of speaking agreably to the word If you will stretch the place to other beside the Apostles in that point of being absolutely heard shew some reason why euery Pastor and licensed Preacher may not claime the same priuiledge of being heard and beleeued whatsoeuer he teach But that this is absord it may appeare because our Sauiour Christ foretold that there should come false prophets who alwaies are to be discerned by their doctrine And who is ignorant that the greatest hereticks had many of them lawfull calling in the Churches and yet ranne into monstrous heresies Doth not our Sauiour also will the Iewes to heare the Scribes and Pharisies what absolutely If they will teach their owne deuises saith Austin heare them not do not as they say But what name I Austen Doth not Christ himselfe giue the same charge Take heed and beware of the leuen of the Scribes and Pharises And what is their leuen but their doctrine by the holy Ghosts owne exposition Iansenius Bishop of Gant expounds the place of the Apostles and though he gather from thence the power of the Ecclesiasticall gouernours yet he restraineth it to their inioyning of that which is right Wee are to note saith he how great the authoritie of Ecclesiasticall gouernours is since we must obey them no otherwise then we must Christ when they commaund those things that are right Doe you not see your owne Bishops limitation vpon this verie place you alleage The ancient writers expound the place of the Apostles Your glosse requires deuotion and reuerence to the hearing of Christs Disciples for the reuerence of God whose doctrine principally it is which they deliuer So that they which preach not Christs doctrine cannot looke for so much as reuerence There fore true doctrine is alwaies to be receiued whosoeuer deliuer it whether he be lawfully sent or no and false doctrine neuer though it be preached by a Pope who being no Apostle can shew no charter for his being kept from error though his priue and your flatterie exalt him aboue all saue Peter A. D. CHAP. IIII. That this one infallible faith necessary to saluation must also be entire A. W. Whereas you say obscurely in your title Faith must be entire your meaning is that a Christian must beleeue all things appointed by God propoūded by the Church to be beleeued Wold you not haue said so if you had loued plainnesse What if I should ask you a reason why the title of this Chapter is not set downe in the same forme the rest are Faith is necessary Chap. 1. is one Chap. 2. is infallible Chap. 3. But in this 4. Chap.
must be entire Can you giue me a sufficient reason of this difference A. D. §. 1. This one infallible faith without which we cannot please God must also be entire whole and sound in all points and it is not sufficient to beleeue stedfastly some points misbeleeuing or not beleeuing obstinately other some or any one A. W. There are two things to be considered in your propounding of this questiō concerning the entirenesse of faith in what sense all points must be beleeued and what it is to misbeleeue or obstinately not to beleeue Whatsoeuer is deliuered in Scriptures is a matter of faith because it is the word of God who can neither deceiue nor be deceiued and hath propounded it to men for a truth to be beleeued But yet there is a great difference betwixt things set downe in Scripture and that difference is in 2. respects For neither are all points therein true in the like sense neither is there like necessitie of beleeuing euery particular Concerning the former the generall reason why all things in the Scriptures are true is this because all things therein are recorded deliuered by God for true therfore questionles they are true yet as once before I noted onely so farre forth true as they are intended to be held for true by the holy Ghost the author of the Scripture Whatsoeuer is registred therein by vvay of report as a story is to be taken as true onely in respect of story that we may not doubt whether such or such things were done and said or no. There is no doubt to be made but that the fiue bookes of Moses the bookes of Iosua Iudges Ruth Samuel Kings Chronicles c. containe a true and certaine story of those things whereof they intreate But in these bookes we haue some worthy and holy speeches of godly men some leud and blasphemous words of profane wretches The former are to be acknowledged for the truth of God euery way As for example it is true that Iacob vttered those prophesies of the twelue Patriarks his sonnes and it is also true that those prophesies of his were the very truth of God It is as true that Rabshaketh deliuered those blasphemous threanings against the Lord and his people but it is not true that those words came from God as Iacobs did so Iacobs were to be taken as euery way true Rabshakeths onely as truly reported from his mouth Now that all points are not alike necessary to saluation no man can make any question if he remember that a man may be saued though he haue neuer heard of many things that are recorded in the Scripture which is the case generally of the greatest part both of Protestants and Papists and hath alwayes bene the case of Christians in all ages As for misbeleeuing or not beleeuing obstinately one of these differs a great deale from the other and the latter of the two was needlesse if the former can be proued For if mistaking some point of doctrine be damnable it is out of doubt that obstinate refusing to beleeue the same point must needs make a man much more liable to damnation But indeed misbeleeuing is not in all points so dangerous though of it selfe as a sinne it is subiect to be punished with the eternall wrath of God in hell fire To make plaine that I say A man may misunderstand diuers places of Scripture and thereupon hold that to be true which is false and yet be saued for all this error For example that I may giue instāce in a matter of no small importance How many Christians yea how many great Diuines haue bin deceiued in the vnderstanding of our Sauior Christs genealogie and by their misconceiuing of the Euangelists haue fallen into no smal error that Salomon was the father of the Messiah By which opinion to omit many other things that I may not be too long the truth of a prophesie vttered by Ieremy which makes Ieconiah childlesse hath bin ouerthrown from whom our Sauiour must needs haue descended if he had bene the sonne of Salomon as some erroneously gather out of Saint Mathew and not of Nathan as it is manifest by S. Luke he was Shall I exemplifie this matter in another point The Apostles themselues for a long time euen til after the ascension of our Sauiour into heauen and till the comming of the holy Ghost vpō them looked for the establishing of an earthly kingdome in this world by their Lord and maister Did they not slip into this error by misbeleeuing the prophesies of the old testament concerning the Messiahs kingdome yet were they out of danger of damnation and in the state of grace all that time because they rested on our Sauiour Christ as the spirituall Sauiour of their soules that should tak away their sinnes and bring them to euerlasting life in heauen though they erroneously hoped for a temporall kingdome also The other branch of this distribution which concernes obstinately not beleeuing though it be a farre greater sinne then the former yet it is not such that it doth absolutely cut a man off from saluation This obstinate refusall to beleeue is either of ignorance or of wilfulnesse if a Christian stand stifly in some false opinion which he certainly holdeth to be true in his error the fault of his iudgement may continue without the damnation of his soule If wilfully he refuse to beleeue that truth of God which he discerneth no man can promise him any hope of saluation without true repentance This I speake vpon a supposition that it is possible for a man not to beleeue that which he perceiueth to be true though indeed there is a contradiction implied herein For to beleeue is to assent to the truth which a man cannot chuse but do that sees it that is no man can think the same thing in the same respects true and false But this not beleeuing in such a case is a frowardnesse of the heart not yeelding to acknowledge that he knowes rather then a false opinion in the braine by which a man is misled We are further to obserue that there is a second difference in this point in regard of the matter which is not beleeued If a man in his ignorance deny to beleeue that there is but one God that there are three persons that Iesus is the Messiah that we are redeemed by him that we are iustified by faith without workes or any other fundamentall point of religion he doth thereby shut himselfe out from all possibilitie of saluation as long as he continues in these errors or any of them But other points there are and those many more in number which a man by reason of his ignorance may obstinately refuse to beleeue and yet not be excluded out of heauen for such his error Let the former examples serue for breuities sake I haue bene longer then I would or meant to be but I was desirous to speake plaine
in a matter of such weight The conclusion is that howsoeuer it is indeed a sinne and so in it selfe damnable to misbeleeue or not beleeue all and euery thing which God hath reuealed yet a man may be in the state of grace and saluation though he misbeleeue or through ignorance obstinately not beleeue something so reuealed In a word Not right beleeuing is neuer able to depriue a man of saluation but when that we beleeue amisse is a maine point of saluation obstinately not beleeuing onely then shuts vp heauen against vs when either the points we will not beleeue are fundamentall or our refusing to beleeue is against our owne iudgement and conscience If you had no further reach in this Chapter we were of the same mind with you but in propounding the reason of your assertion you bewray a further matter then at the first a man would imagine A. D. §. 2. The reason of this is because euery point of doctrine yea euery word that almightie God hath reuealed and by his Church propounded vnto vs to be beleeued must vnder paine of damnation be beleeued as we may gather out of Saint Marke where when our Sauiour had giuen charge to his Disciples to preach the Gospell to euery creature the which charge he also gaue in Saint Mathew saying Docete omnes gentes c. docentes eos seruare omnia quaecunque mandaui vobis Teach all nations c. teaching them to obserue all things whatsoeuer I haue commaunded you he pronounceth indefinitely Qui non crediderit condemnabitur He that shall not beleeue shall be condemned not excepting or distinguishing any one point of doctrine as needlesse to be beleeued or which a man might at his pleasure misbeleeue or doubt of without danger A. W. Your first reason lieth thus If euery point and word reuealed by God and propounded by his Church to be beleeued must vnder paine of damnation be beleeued then faith must be entire But euery word so reuealed and propounded must vnder paine of damnation be beleeued Therefore faith must be entire The conclusion of this Syllogisme is acknowledged by vs for a certaine truth Faith must be entire but the premisses seeme liable to iust exception For first the antecedent and the consequent of the proposition are all one and so the proofe and that which is proued differ not What is it to say euery word reuealed by God must be beleeued but to affirme that faith must be entire Indeed if the questiō were of faith as it is a quality then the consequent might be inferred vpon the antecedent but since we speake of the things to be beleeued both are one If euery such word must be beleeued then we must beleeue euery such word It is the same faith by which all and by which some is beleeued but as the obiect or things beleeued make a difference which reacheth not to the faith it selfe within the soule Secondly the Assumption though it be true yet doth it containe something that had need to be warily considered First you so couple the reuealing by God and the propounding of a thing to be beleeued by the church as if the latter were no lesse necessary then the former to make a matter of faith wheras al things that God hath reuealed ought to be beleeued whether the Church propoūd them for such or no. For the reason why they are to be beleeued is that they proceed from God who must needs be credited in whatsoeuer he shal say in respect both of his truth in speaking and his authoritie in commaunding obedience But you Papists make the authoritie of the Church the very foundation of our beleefe The Scripture you say is in it selfe the word of God and so worthy of all credit but to vs it is not so but by the authoritie of the Church vpon the credit whereof we take it for the word of God Yea farther you limit faith in particular points by the determination of the Church so that no man shall be bound to beleeue as a point of faith any doctrine neuer so certainly proued out of Scripture vnlesse the Church haue resolued of it that it is true and whatsoeuer is by the Church concluded for true must be acknowledged for such by faith though it be beside or against the Scripture which as Cardinall Cusan is not ashamed nor afraid to say is fitted for the time and diuersly vnderstood So that it may at one time be expounded one way according to the generall current order of the Church and the same order being changed the Scripture also is changed And why should it not if as another Papist saith the holy Scripture take strength and authoritie from the doctrine of the Church and Bishop of Rome The Apostles saith Pighius haue written certaine things not that their writings should be aboue our faith but that they should be vnder it But what should I stand to recite your blasphemies in this kind which are many and monstrous That which is not to day a point of faith shall be one to morrow if it please the Pope to propound it to be beleeued It is farther to be considered in your Assumption that although whatsoeuer God reuealeth is to be beleeued vpō paine of damnation yet a man may be saued without beleeuing euery thing so reuealed alwayes prouided that he do not against his conscience obstinately refuse to acknowledge any truth If our Sauiour haue said that he which beleeueth not all that his Apostles teach shall be condemned then euery word so reuealed and propounded must be beleeued vnder paine of damnation But our Sauiour hath said so Therefore euery word so propounded must be beleeued vnder paine of damnation This is a proofe of your Assumption wherein for the consequence of your proposition I would haue all men vnderstand that although you craftily imply therein a comparison of equalitie betwixt the charge of beleeuing the Apostles and all other Ministers allowed by you whom you call by the name of the Church to deceiue simple people with so glorious a title yet the truth of that proposition depends not thereupon but onely vpon the necessitie of beleeuing that which God hath reuealed It is a certaine truth that God is to be beleeued in all things he hath reuealed by whom soeuer he propound it in this respect the consequence of your proposition is true That if it were damnable not to beleeue the Apostles deliuering that which God had reuealed it is also damnable not to giue credit to Ministers now when they propound that to be beleeued which God hath reuealed because the reason of beleeuing is that God hath reuealed the things that are deliuered But yet here are two differences to be obserued first that it is lesse sinne to doubt of that which any man besides the Apostles deliuers though it be the word of God then to make question of the same matter vttered by the
of Nice to follow and which they accordingly followed The bookes of the Euangelists and Apostles and the Oracles of the old prophets plainly instruct vs quoth that worthie Emperour what we are to iudge of matters concerning God Therefore laying aside all enemie-like discord let vs debate ad determine the points in question by the testimonies of the Scriptures inspired by God These as we heard before Ierome makes the bounds of the Church within which she must keepe her selfe and Proclus Archbishop of Constantinople confineth faith to the same place Faith saith he must abide within the Euangelicall and Apostolicall bounds Paschasius a Cardinall of your Church as you say many yeares since tied Macedonius the hereticke to the Scriptures equiring him either to shew by euident testimonies of the word of God that we must beleeue in the Church or else to vrge the point no further For as Chrysostome truly affirmeth If there be any thing needfull to be knowen we shall learne it in the Scriptures I mightfil whole sides with testimonies out of the Fathers to this purpose but I let them passe as needlesse especially since your selfe before confessed that the word of God is infallible and therefore in that respect sufficient to be the rule of faith Now to your conclusion The first part of this first conclusion is false in regard of the infallibilitie of Scripture which it should seeme you saw well enough and therefore balkt that matter and deuised an other point concerning our translation to play withall For what is it but trifling when a man leaues the thing in question and busies him selfe about the refuting of that which besides himselfe no man euer dreamed of What English protestant euer affirmed that our translation was infallible that is such as had no error in it or might not be doubted of Or who euer tooke it for the rule of faith You make babies which you beate as you list Against the Scriptures being the rule of faith which we affirme you say nothing Against the infallibilitie of our translation which we grant not to be the rule of faith you discourse at large wherein I intreate the Reader to consider these few things with me That which he speakes in disgrace of our translation makes no more against it then against all other whatsoeuer For neither is any translation the language in which the Scripture was written and no translators euer had any such infallible assistance by the holy Ghost Sure the author of the vulgar Latin translation had not such help as the Hebrew and Greek originals which the translations of all the learned Papists themselues declare Pagnin Vatablus Isidorus Clarius c. As for Gregory Martins cauils they were answered long since by D. Fulke and I maruell that you can name them without blushing seeing neuer a one of you durst vndertake the defence of them for the space of these 23. yeares Nay which is worse you were not ashamed in the second edition of your Rhemish Testament to bleare your blind followers eyes with a table of hereticall corruptions in translating the Scriptures as if you had propounded some new matter whereas they were all taken out of that booke of Martins and had long before bene iustified by D. Fulke without any reply on your parts You demaund how any vnlearned man can be infallibly sure that in those places which do seeme to fauour our sect our translation doth not erre I answer that there are better meanes of assurance for vnlearned Protestants concerning the truth of our translation then any Papist can haue by your imagined authoritie for your vulgar Latin First it is no slender perswasion to any reasonable man that those places you speake of if not wholy yet for the most part are translated with the same sense in other toungs which they haue in ours as in Spanish French Italian Flemish Dutch Secondly it is a great confirmation of the truth that many of those texts which seeme most to fauor vs are the same in your vulgar and Rhemish editions that they are in ours Thirdly the truth of ours is yet more cleare because euery man may see that in bookes of controuersie betwixt vs our translations are seldome denied by the learned of your side though you condemne our expositions Fourthly who may not easily discerne how much more faithfull our translation of those places all others is then yours seeing we are readie to make triall of it by the originals the learned on your sides being iudges you are afraid of nothing more then to haue yours examined by the Hebrew and Greeke Fiftly in the places you speake of our translations deserue the more credit because we labour to make them plaine for euery mans vnderstanding and shew how they agree with the rest of the booke and chapter wheras your Rhemish Testament is so handled that an English man of good vnderstanding can hardly tell what to make of it for the very words themselues in many places as if you auoided nothing more then plainnesse Sixtly we perswade all men as much as we can to labour for the knowledge of the originall tongues that so they may be able to iudge of our translation you do all you can to keepe men in the mist of ignorance because you are afraid to haue your corruptions discouered Seuenthly though we allow not our ministers such an infinite authoritie as you giue your Cleargie yet we teach that it becoms Christian charitie and modestie neither to suspect a translation where the analogie of faith is kept and the plaine meaning of the holy Ghost not manifestly altered nor to rest vpon priuate conceit against the generall iudgement of the learned without very euident proofe of error These amongst other are reasonable grounds for a Christian to build vpon that he may haue some good assurance of the truth of our translation Now let vs examine yours We must say you admit an infallible authoritie in the Church to assure vs that such or such a translation doth not erre in any point First this is more then neeeds For if that authoritie can assure vs that the translation erreth not in any point needfull to saluation in regard of the sense it may be a sufficient ground for vs to build our faith vpon though it should mistake some words in many points and the sense too in matters of lesse importance Secondly though we do admit such an authoritie in the Church yet may we be farre enough from any such assurance For how shall I be sure that the Church hath so affirmed of this or that translation How shal I know what the Church is A company you say of men vpon earth infallibly taught by the holy Ghost what is the true faith in al points Is this teaching cōmon to euery one of this company seuerally or only annexed to them all ioyntly when they are together What if all what if the greater part assemble
therein What art what writing of any man is so bare Are the Scriptures onely that come immediatly from the author of true reason to be barred of that priuiledge which all other writings iustly challenge Is not a necessary consequence according to the rules of logicke and reason to be allowed of in Diuinitie as well as in the Mathematicks where consectaries are as certainly true as the theoremes out of which they are drawne Is it not as certaine by Scripture that there are three persons distinct each from other and all three but one God as if these verie words had bin expresly set downe But we must beare with you in this matter who learned this shift of your great Cardinal Bellarmine We say quoth Bellarmine where he deliuereth the opinion of your Church that the whole doctrine of faith and manners is not expresly contained in the Scriptures Expresly contained To be expressed and to be contained are at the least diuers if not contrary But I pray you who saith otherwise Not the Protestants doubtlesse whose opinion he propoundeth presently after this sort They preach saith Bellarmine speaking of vs that all things necessary to faith and manners are contained in the Scriptures What is become now of expresly For pure shame he was glad to leaue out that word though he had craftily stolen it in before Well this may serue to make good my deniall of your proposition A thing may be determinable by Scripture though the determination be not expresly set downe therein Take not aduantage of my words because I say determinable and you determined For the question is not what is determined that is set downe in plaine words but it is sufficient if the Scripture affoord vs the determination of matters by certain consequēce vpon truth therein deliuered Therefore whereas you adde by onely expresse Scripture onely and expresse are but meere shifts nothing at all against that we affirme who require besides onely expresse words of Scripture the ministery and industry of man to gather and conclude points of doctrine out of that which is written in the Scripture Your assumption is true that there are diuers questions not determinable by expresse Scripture and yet as I haue shewed the Scripture is sufficient for the determining of all points of faith necessary to saluation Concerning the particular question you bring for the proofe of your assumption First you seeme to grant and that grant is as much as we require that it may be gathered out of the Scripture by consequence that those books which we and you acknowledge to be the word of God are so indeed otherwise why say you that we shall not find it expresly set downe in a part of Scripture Secondly I demaund as before who moueth this question Not the Protestants who account it a kind of blasphemie to denie it and of infidelitie to doubt of it Your holy Church of Rome is she that hath buzzed this matter into Christian mens eares so that religion is thereby become a scorne to Atheists while you make no conscience of discrediting the word of God so you may by any meanes increase the reputation of your Apostaticall sea The truth is that this opinion is not a matter now a dayes first set abroach for Atheists such as Iulian haue from time to time obiected it therefore might you haue spared to mention it as a question now a dayes moued But it is new and strange yea almost incredible that Christians and those Diuines yea such as thinke religion resteth on their shoulders as the Poets faine heauen doth vpon Atlas should make a question whether the Scriptures be the word of God or no and so giue men occasion to doubt thereof Thirdly if this matter cannot be resolued of by the Scripture we shall be little the nearer for the infallible authoritie you haue deuised Christians need it not who are already perswaded that the bookes of the old and new Testament are the vndoubted word of God and with Christians onely to speake truly and properly hath the Church to do ordinarily But it falleth out sometimes that amongst those which make profession of Christianitie there are some found who are in doubt of this point If this doubt arise in the heart of a man that maketh conscience of religion he is to be taught that it is but a tentation of Satan and therefore not to be hearkened to Further we must demaund the reasons of his doubting shewing him how absurd and vnreasonable a matter it is to make question of that which generally both Protestants and Papists hold and which hath bene held by the space of 1500. yeares vnlesse he be able to giue very sufficient cause why he may doubt His arguments if he bring any must be answered and the Scriptures auowed by the matter and manner of writing which is such as will certainly if not conuert yet conuince any man in the world that man is not the deuiser of those bookes If he be an Atheist that derideth religion and withall so vnreasonable that the former and many other important proofes will not perswade him what remaines but that the magistrate whom God hath appointed to see true religion established cut off so corrupt a member by lawfull authoritie Where this course is not taken what meanes haue you to helpe the matter Will you tell him of an infallible authoritie in the Church He will laugh at your folly who instead of prouing beg the question I doe not beleeue saith he there is any such Church or authoritie If I doubt of the Scripture you proue it by the Church if I beleeue there is not any such Church or authoritie in the Church you will perswade me by Scripture To say the truth who can be so patient or foolish rather as to suffer himselfe to be led vp downe in a ring as it were a doore turning vpon hinges still in the same place The authoritie of the Church is an argument of such waight as that he is not to be counted either a Christiā or a man of reason that is not much moued therewithall yea so much as that he will not dissent from the continuall iudgement of it vnlesse he be driuen to it by certaine reason but yet this authoritie is not infallible Christ euermore iudgeth truly saith Austin but the Ecclesiasticall iudges as being men are very often deceiued And therefore he saith in another place that he is not bound to giue his consent without libertie to refuse to any thing but the Canonicall Scriptures And in an Epistle to Ierome I haue learned saith he to giue this reuerence and honour onely to those bookes that are called Canonicall that I constantly beleeue that no writer of any of them hath erred But to make an end of this needlesse question where both sides are agreed let vs heare Saint Austin speake to the Manichees If you aske vs saith he how we know that these
be the Apostles writings we make you this short answer Thence we know these to be the Apostles whence you know that Manicheus was the author of yours And in his Confessions he setteth out the matter more at large that when he considered how many things we are faine to beleeue for which we haue no certaine proofe it pleased God at the last to perswade him that they were worthy of iust reproofe which would not giue credit to those bookes of God which he had established almost in all countries with such authoritie and that they were at no hand to be hearkened vnto who would aske him how he knew that those bookes were vouchsafed to mankind by the spirit of the onely true God This as Valentia saith may be knowne by the admirable effect these bookes worke in the hearts of men in stirring them vp to vertue without any such eloquence and perswasions as other writers stuffe their books withall and yet neuer moue vs as these do The like hath Stapleton where he speakes of the meanes which the Church vseth to discerne of the Scriptures It is not our meaning to shut out the holy Ghost who is the teacher of the children of God as in other points so also in this but to stop the mouthes of Atheists and importunate men who obiect so vnreasonably against the iudgement of the whole Christian world without authoritie or reason But of the spirit and teaching thereof hereafter Whatsoeuer you gather vpon the former point it must needs be of smal strength because that hath need of better proof But let vs grant that it is true doth it therefore seeme necessary or reasonable to you that we should admit the interpretatiō of the Church as you speake without any triall because by the authoritie thereof we beleeue that the Scriptures are the word of God What if God gaue the Church no further authoritie but onely to assure vs of the Scripture It doth not follow that we must giue credit to whatsoeuer a man will say because in some one point he must be beleeued We may not in reason doubt but that the records which we find in an office are true because they are auouched so to be by the clearke and maister of the office But what of that may we therefore take them for competent iudges so that we must of necessitie hold that to be the meaning of the record which they deliuer to vs as such I am perswaded no man of any vnderstanding will say so Yet do we acknowledge that Austin speaketh with verie great reason For where should an ignorant man enquire of the sense of the Scripture rather then there where be learned it was scripture He shall not deale either kindly or reasonably if he refuse their iudgement other things being alike for any mans else whatsoeuer and therefore I pray you be not offended if we that liued not in the times of Popish ignorance doe giue credit to our owne Church by which we haue bene perswaded that these are the scriptures of God rather then to your Priests and Cleargie from whom we haue not receiued this perswasion But the case in Saint Austins time was farre otherwise The Manichees against whom he wrote that Treatise would not suffer a man to beleeue any thing though it were writtē in scripture vnlesse it were proued true by reason and yet themselues as Austin sheweth in the chapter you alledge were driuen to allow faith without reason and to lay this for a ground that a man must beleeue Christ that is he must beleeue that there was such a man though he haue no proofe for it but report generally continued a long time which Austin confesseth to haue bene the authoritie that first moued him to beleeue Now the Manichees acknowledging thus much of Christ and that onely vpon beleefe without reason brought in monstrous opinions of their owne which could in no sort agree with the scriptures Therefore being pressed hard by the Diuines of that age with scripture they denied all authoritie thereunto farther then they in their ignorance and heresie could make it serue for their vnreasonable conceits Yea they made small or no reckoning of the scriptures in comparison of their fundamentall Epistle and such other blasphemies written by Manes their founder and some of his followers Had not Austin great reason then to answer as he doth not concerning the sense of scripture to which you falsely apply his words but touching those bookes of theirs wherein they had written horrible and senselesse absurdities against religion and reason Surely saith Austin since by their authoritie I haue bene brought to beleeue that there was such an one as Christ because it was so generally held time out of minde I will neuer runne to a few of yours who learned of them that Christ was to know what I must beleeue of him Why should I not rather beleeue them that the scriptures teach what is to be held of Christ then you that in your writings onely is the truth since in this matter you can bring no reason why I should beleeue you rather then them For since by them saith Austin I haue beleeued being mooued by the authoritie of their generall consent if they should faile and could teach nothing which words you craftily leaue out I should easlier perswade my selfe not to beleeue Christ then to beleeue any thing of him by any mans report but by theirs who first made me beleeue in him Your glosse of beleeuing the scriptures to be his word and what is the meaning of his word agree not eyther with the place you alleadge as may appeare euidently to him that will reade it or with their heresie but of both I haue spoken sufficiently A. D. §. 5. Thus I haue prooued that those English translations whereupon Protestants commonly build their faith cannot be a sufficient rule of true Christian faith First because they are not infallibly free from error Secondly for that all men cannot reade them neither can any by onely reading be sure to attaine the right sense without which to haue the words of Scripture is to haue them as Austin saith ad speciem non ad salutem for a shew but not to saluation Lastly for that all points of doctrine which appertaine to true Christian faith are not expresly set downe in scripture as beside my proofe Saint Austin Saint Basil and Epiphanius do affirme Some of which reasons haue also force to prooue that scripture alone in what language soeuer is not a fit meanes to instruct sufficiently all sorts of men in all matters of faith Wherefore I may absolutely conclude that Scripture alone cannot be that rule of faith which we seeke for A. W. Thus in steed of disputing against the scriptures being the rule of faith which was the matter you propounded you haue made a discourse against our translations hauing fancied to your selfe a conceit which besides your selfe I thinke
no man euer dreamed of viz. that we commonly build our faith vpon our English translation So that the Scripture may well be the rule of faith for ought that you haue said against it concerning the first propertie of certaine truth which it were blasphemie to denie of the scripture For the second that the rule must be easie to vnderstand I haue shewed that there is no necessitie of that condition and that the scripture is easie in matters necessary to saluation In the last point of the scriptures defect touching many things that must needs be beleeued you do both wrong God in making his word writtē so vnperfect and by a foolish craft insteed of proouing that the scripture containeth not all matters of faith needfull to saluation vndertake to shew that which no man denieth that all points of beleefe are not expresly set down and determined by scripture And lest we should forget your shuffling in this point you offer new proofe of a needlesse matter from the authoritie of Austin Basil and Epiphanius whose testimonies I alledged before to prooue the sufficiencie of the scripture in all matters necessarie to saluation The places by you alledged are not of such matters neither speake of things not expresly contained but onely shew that for matters of fact ceremonie the Apostles haue not determined al particulars The Apostles saith Austin haue commaunded nothing touching not rebaptising them which haue bene baptised by hereticks but the custome which was pleaded against Cyprian is to be beleeued to haue had beginning from their tradition as there are many things which the Church euery where holdeth that we wel beleeue therefore to haue beene enioyned by the Apostles though they are not found written What is this to prooue that there are matters necessarie to be beleeued to saluation which are not exprest in the scriptures Basil was not the the author of that Treatise at the least of the latter part of it from about the 17. chapter and so forward That appeareth first by obseruing the difference of style being neither like Basils writing nor in one place like an other as Erasmus hath truly obserued who translated it Secondly by the fond discourse he maketh propounding one thing handling an other and concluding a third which not onely Basil would neuer haue done but no man of any discretion Last of all he bewraieth himselfe to be a counterfeit by speaking of Meletius as one dead long before who liued in his time ouerliued him as it is manifest by the Ecclesiasticall historie But admit the booke were Basils what is there in it to proue that all points of doctrine which appertaine to true Christian faith are not expresly set downe in Scripture This Author saith that we must beleeue oraditions VVhat In matters of doctrine There is no such word in him He speaketh of outward carriage in ceremonies and phrases of speech The question in that part of his Treatise is of the preposition with that is to speake that euery man may vnderstand whether it be lawfull to say in the Church seruice and otherwise Glorie be to the Father and to the Sonne with the holy Ghost or whether we must needs say and to the holy Ghost not with For this speech that author pleades tradition Do we denie any such matter Or do we not acknowledge the libertie and authoritie of the Churches in such matters Who sees not that our custome now is to say Glory be to the Father to the Sonne and to the holy Ghost Not that thereby we condemne the other kind of speech but because in matters left to our libertie we take that which seemeth fittest Epiphanius speaking of praier for the dead which hath no warrant of Scripture is glad to helpe himselfe with the authoritie of tradition telling vs that some things must be held by tradition and not all taken out of the scriptures But Epiphanius doth not say that this is a doctrine or action necessarie to saluation A. D. §. 6. Some obiect against this conclusion that place of S. Paul Omnis Scriptura diuinitùs inspirata vtilis est ad docendum c. vt perfectus sit homo c. But this place prooueth nothing against that which I haue said For it saith not that scripture alone is sufficient to instruct a man to perfection but that it is profitable for this purpose as it is indeed and the rather because it commendeth vnto vs the authoritie of the Church which as I shall afterwards proue is sufficient Now it is certaine that to be profitable and to be of it selfe alone sufficient be farre different things Stones and Timber be profitable to the building of an house yet they alone without a worke-man to square them and set them in order be not sufficient for this purpose A. W. Of this place I haue spoken sufficiently otherwhere and shewed that the Scriptures are able to make vs wise to saluation and therefore sufficient to that purpose Now the Apostle hauing giuen that commendation to the scripture vers 15. proceedeth in the next to exemplifie that in particular which he had before said in generall It is able to make thee wise to saluation it is able to fit thee to teaching reproouing correcting instructing Can any reasonable man thinke that the Apostle deliuering by way of amplification his former commendation of the scripture that he might the rather stirre vp Timothie to the studie of it would say lesse then he had done before But it is a great deale lesse to say no more but the scripture is profitable to such purposes then to commend it as able to make a man wise to saluation Therefore though the word indeed doe not expresly signifie sufficiencie yet it cannot be doubted but the profit mentioned implieth such a sufficiencie especially since he addeth perfection which must arise from this word of God And so as I haue shewed elsewhere do Chrysostome and Theophylact vnderstand it who make the Apostle speake to Timothie to this effect that he being now to be offred vp leaueth the scriptures in his steed of which he may in all things take aduise and counsell as if the Apostle himselfe were present with him But you forsooth would make vs beleeue that the scripture is indeed profitable to this end but not sufficient Is not the knowledge of arts tongues philosophy and history of verie good vse also to this purpose Slender then too slender is the commendation our Apostle giueth the scriptures if it be of no greater excellēcy then these humane furtherances but only in a certain degree of profit To helpe the matter you propound one particular for which the scripture is profitable namely to commend vnto vs the authority of the Church But neither doth it cōmend to vs any such authority as you imagin if that be the rule of the scripture one sentēce had bin as good better then
that which a man deduceth by necessarie and certaine consequence through his wit and learning out of the Scriptures is as strong and sure a foundation of faith as that which is expressed there in plaine termes VVe may see by this it was not for nothing that Bellarmine and you by his example foyst in expressely into the question which is betwixt vs concerning the sufficiencie of the Scriptures to be the rule of faith But of this enough A. D. §. 3. This same reason I confirme yet againe more strongly For the rule of faith must be able to propose to vs vnfallibly not onely the letters and seeming sense but the true sense of Gods word and the sense intended by the holy Spirit of God the author of this word otherwise it cannot be a sufficient meanes to breed in vs an infallible Christian faith and beleefe which is onely grounded vpon the true sense intended by Almightie God the prime or first veritie the speaker of this word But no man nor no companie of men can by their natural wit and learning tel vnfallibly what especially in all points of faith is the true intended sense of Gods word For as S. Paul saith Quis cognouit sensum Domini Who hath knowne to wit by nature art or learning the sense of our Lord Quae Dei sunt saith the same S. Paul nemo cognouit nisi spiritus Dei those things which are of God no man hath knowne but the spirit of God And therefore that knowledge which himselfe had of diuine matters came not from any naturall wit of man but as he plainly affirmeth from the spirit of God Nobis reuelauit Deus per Spiritum suum God hath reuealed vnto vs saith he by his Spirit Therefore we may well conclude That no one man nor no companie of men without the assistance of Gods spirit can either by interpreting Scripture or otherwise be the rule of faith A. W. It seemeth the former reason did not fully satisfie your selfe because you make profession of a more strong confirmation thereof which lieth thus The rule of faith must be able to propose infallibly to vs the true sence of the word of God intended by the holy Ghost But no naturall wit or learning is able to propose infallibly that sence Therefore no naturall wit or learning can be the rule of faith I haue made bold to alter your proposition or maior a little as I perswade my selfe not without reason You make a kind of difference betwixt the true sense of Gods word and the sense intended by the holy Ghost These two in my poore opinion are all one for there is no sense of any peece of Scripture to be accoūted true but that vvhich deliuereth the holy Ghosts meaning in that place The reason is for that the vse of interpretatiō is nothing else but to make vs vnderstand what the Lord meant to teach vs or to say to vs by those words I deny not that a man may deliuer true and sound diuinitie though he misconceiue misinterprete a text of Scriptures but this is that I say that howsoeuer he teach true doctrine by his exposition yet he doth not giue vs the true sense of that word of God if he propound nor the sense which was there intended by the holy Ghost euerie truth of God is not the true sense of euery place of Scripture I will not except against your Syllogisme though you put somewhat more into the Assumption then you propounded in the maior yet let me put you in mind that both naturall wit and learning can shew the true sense of Gods word in very many places and also that by your confession this may be done Whence it will follow that in all likelihood of reason many points of faith are so deliuered in Scripture that there needeth no infallible authoritie of the Church to teach vs what is true in those points what false To answer more directly to the Assumption I see no sufficient reason why a man by wit and learning may not be able to vnderstand and that infallibly what is true according to the letter of the Scripture in matters necessary to saluation I think I may truly say that many a man attaineth to this knowledge without any infallible assistance of the holy Ghost whose principall office it is so to sanctifie direct and preserue the children of God that they neuer fall away by any such opinion as shal make them lose their interest they haue to the kingdome of heauen Your proofe if it be sufficient sheweth your exception especially in all points to haue bin altogether needlesse For if the Apostle in the place alledged speake of vnderstanding the true sense of the Scripture no one place can be vnderstood by any natural wit or learning Who hath knowne the sense of our Lord Is not this speech generall as well of one place as of another But it is euident that the Apostle speaketh not of vnderstanding any or all places of Scripture For the spirituall man he speaketh of attaineth not to that height of knowledge no not in your owne iudgement vnlesse perhaps no man be spirituall but your Pope And yet a man may well doubt whether he be able to vnderstand the meaning of the holy Ghost in euery place or no though it be granted he cannot erre iudicially But Saint Paul thinketh not in that place of interpreting scripture Of what then Surely of acknowledging or assenting to the truth of the Gospell concerning saluation by Iesus Christ The things that God hath prepared for them that loue him viz. the meanes of saluation and glory by Christ are such as eye hath not seen nor eare heard yea such as neuer entred into any mans heart For who was able to haue deuised by any experience and obseruation to which the eye and eare are especiall helpes or by any discourse of reason wherein the heart is exercised that the Sonne of God should take our nature and procure forgiuenesse of sinnes and inheritance of heauen for all them that would beleeue in him This was onely Gods will and counsell which no man was priuie to no man could instruct him in or perswade him to These things God only knew these he reuealed by his spirit to the Patriarks Prophets and Apostles who without such reuelation could neuer haue suspected any such matter Now the question is not in the Apostles course of writing whether a man without reuelation can vnderstand the meaning of the Scripture but whether he could of himselfe know that there must be such a means of saluation or acknowledge the doctrine thereof to be true without the teaching of the holy Ghost The naturall man 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 receiueth not these things for true or if you will perceiueth not that there are such meanes of his saluation As for vnderstanding of Scripture since it is more then manifest that a meere natural man may find the true sense
and writing Further it is false that a priuate spirit agreeing with the Catholicke Church in doctrine can be in that point of agreement the rule of faith For although the doctrine he teacheth be true yet is it not the rule of faith much lesse is he himselfe because of his authoritie but either as you say by reason of the authoritie of the Church or indeed as we truly affirme for that it is agreeable to the word of God in the Scripture called canonical because it is the rule of faith and manners Now for answer to your Syllogisme I say your Assumption is not simply true but onely so farre forth as the receiued doctrine of the Catholicke Church I speake as you do agreeth with the truth in the Scripture reuealed Neither doth Saint Paul speake of whatsoeuer doctrine receiued by your imagined Catholicke Church of Rome but of that which he himselfe or some other of the Apostles had taught the Galatians to whom he writeth that Epistle This it should seeme you saw well enough and therefore in your crastie discretion for bare to translate the Apostles words which for the most part you set downe alwayes as well in English as in Latine The reason lieth thus He that teacheth contrary to the doctrine which the Galatians had receiued of the Apostles is to be accursed for his preaching so But a priuate spirit that teacheth contrary to the receiued doctrine of the Catholicke Church teacheth contrary to the doctrine which the Galatians had receiued by the Apostles Therefore a priuate spirit teaching contrary to the receiued doctrine of the Catholicke Church is to be accursed for his preaching so Who seeth not that the truth of this Assumption dependeth vpon this point that the Catholicke Church hath receiued no other doctrine then that which the Apostles taught the Galatians But this hath as much need of sound proofe as that for the proofe whereof it is brought and therefore to dispute thus against any man that would hold a priuate spirit to be the rule of faith were to giue him occasion to laugh at you for begging the question in stead of prouing it But to make all men see how small force there is in this your reason for the keeping of a priuate spirit from being the rule of faith I will frame two other syllogismes against a publick spirit or Councel and against the Pope 1. He that must be accursed for his teaching cannot be the rule of faith But a publicke spirit or Councell that teacheth contrary to the receiued doctrine of the Catholick Church must be accursed for his teaching Therefore a publicke spirit or Councell that teacheth contrary to the receiued doctrine of the Catholicke Church cannot be the rule of faith 2. He that must be accursed for his teaching cannot be the rule of faith But the Pope that teacheth contrarie to the receiued doctrine of the Catholicke Church must be accursed for his teaching Therefore the Pope that teacheth contrarie to the receiued doctrine of the Catholicke Church cannot be the rule of faith Haue you not spun a faire threed thinke you to choake the Popes and the Councels authoritie withall Call your wits about you and deuise some cleanly shift for the matter or I can tel you all wil be naught For your Religion is no more able to hold vp head if the Popes authoritie be cast downe then a man that hath neuer a leg is able to stand vpright It will go the harder with you in this matter because if I grant that the Pope cannot erre you are neuer a whit the nearer for the answering of my syllogisme as you may perceiue if you will but assay to apply that point for answer to either part thereof There is no other way but to giue ouer this your first reason against a priuate spirit and to make amends for it in the second if you can A. D. §. 3. Secondly the rule of faith must be infallible plainly knowne to all sorts of men and vniuersall that is to say such as may sufficiently instruct all men in all points of faith without danger of errour as hath bene proued before But this priuate spirit is not such For first that man himselfe cannot be vnfallibly sure that he in particular is taught by the holy spirit For neither is there any promise in Scripture to assure him infallibly that he in particular is thus taught neither is there any other sufficient reason to perswade the same For suppose he haue such extraordinarie motions feelings or illustrations which he thinketh cannot come of himselfe but from some spirit yet he cannot in reason straightwayes conclude that he is thus moued and taught by the spirit of God For sure it is that euery spirit is not the Spirit of God As there is the spirit of truth so there is a spirit of errour As there is an Angell of light so there is a Prince of darknesse Yea sometimes Ipse Sathanas transfigurat se in Angelum lucis Sathan himselfe doth transfigure himselfe into an Angell of light Wherefore he had need very carefully to put in practise the aduise of Saint Iohn who saith Nolite credere omni spiritui sed probate spiritus si ex Deo sint Doe not beleeue euerie spirit but prooue and trie them whether they be of God or no. Neither doth it seeme sufficient that a priuate man trie them onely by his owne iudgement or by those motions feelings or illuminations which in his priuate conceit are conformable to Scripture because all this triall is verie vncertaine and subiect to errour by reason that our owne iudgement especially in our own matters is verie easily deceiued and that Sathan can so cunningly couer himselfe vnder the shape of a good Angell and so colour his wicked designements with pretense of good and so gild his darke and grosse errours with the glistering light of the words and seeming sense of scripture that hardly or not at all he shall be perceiued VVherefore the safest way were to trie these spirits by the touchstone of the true Pastours of the Catholicke Church who may say with S. Paul Nō ignoramus cogitationes Satanae we are not ignorant of the cogitations of Sathan and who may also say with S. Iohn Nos ex Deo sumus qui nouit Deum audit nos qui non est ex Deo non audit nos In hoc cognoscimus spiritum veritatis spiritum erroris VVe are of God he that knoweth God heareth vs he that is not of God doth not heare vs. In this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of errour Now if any will not admit this manner of trying discerning the spirit of truth from the spirit of errour but will trust their owne iudgement alone in this matter feare they may iustly nay rather they may be sure as Cassian saith that they shall worship in their thoughts the Angell of darknesse for the Angel of light to
their exceeding great harme And at least how soeuer their priuate affection selfe-loue encline them to think well of themselues and of that spirit which they permit to teach them those singuler points of new strange doctrine yet sure it is that this their perswasion of the goodnesse of their spirit is not infallible as the rule of faith must be sith diuers now adaies perswade themselues in the same manner to be taught by the holy spirit and yet one of them teaching against another it is not possible that all that thus perswade themselues should be taught by this spirit sith this spirit doth neuer teach contrarie to it selfe And therefore some in this their perswasion must needs be deceiued And therefore who hauing no testimonie of euident miracle or some other vndoubted proofe dare arrogantly affirme that he onely is not deceiued especially in such sort as to condemne all other and to propose himselfe to himselfe and others as the onely sufficient rule of faith considering that others who presume perswade themselues altogether in like manner are in this their perswasion deceiued A. W. I must againe put the Reader in minde that no Protestant maintaines that a priuate spirit is the rule of faith neither will I vndertake the defence of any such matter but onely examine his reasons against it as I haue done in the former chapters in the like case His reason is thus to be concluded The rule of faith must be infallible plaine knowne to all sorts of men and vniuersall A priuate spirit is not such Therefore a priuate spirit is not the rule of faith Of the proposition I spake at the sixth chapter and shewed the fault of it in respect of the second propertie which is easinesse to be vnderstood of all men as it is expounded by your selfe All the doubt now is in the assumption of the three points wherin you go about to prooue but only the first of infallibility It should seeme your stomacke is greater against the scripture then against either natural wit learning or priuate spirit For you disprooue the abilitie of these two but in respect of one property namely the first as if for the other two they or either of them were sufficient enough But you allow the Scripture neuer a one of the three you condemne it of obscuritie you accuse it of defect for wanting diuers points necessarie to saluation And although you do not simply denie the infallibilitie of it yet you make all knowledge that can be had out of our English translation verie vncertaine so that none of our people can haue any benefite by the scripture as by the rule of faith or word of God but onely some few that vnderstand Hebrew or Greeke But I perceiue you were more afraid that the scripture would be taken for the rule of faith then you were that either of the other would Let vs see how you proue your assumption since you wil needs put your selfe to more paines then was looked for He say you that cannot assure himselfe and other men that he is taught by the holy Ghost cannot be the rule of faith But a priuate spirit cannot assure himselfe and other men that he is so taught Therefore a priuate spirit cannot be the rule of faith There is some cause to doubt of your maior For it is not necessarie that the rule of faith should know it selfe to be the rule The Pope you thinke is the rule of faith Put case that some Pope should doubt whether himselfe were infallibly directed in all his determinations by the holy Ghost or no should he by reason of this doubting cease to be the rule of faith I dare say you thinke not so Neuer vrge me with the impossibilitie of this matter For both it is possible if he that is no Christian may be Pope of Rome If Iohn the 22 doubted of the immortalitie of the soule if Leo 10. counted the history of our Sauiour Christ a fable and it is all one to my answer whether it may be or no it is enough for me if the Pope may be the rule though he should so doubt You should haue done well if you had kept your former warie course of adding some exception to your assumption It had not bene altogether without need For out of question a priuate spirit may be so assured by reuelation as the Prophets and Apostles were And by such meanes a man may come to assurance for all the subtiltie of Sathan the Lord being able to make the motions of his spirit knowen to whom he please what shift soeuer Sathan vse to the contrarie The Minor therefore without this exception be either expressed or vnderstood is vntrue otherwise it is true As for the triall you propound by the touchstone of the true pastors of the Catholicke Church it is vtterly insufficient in this case It may be and is indeed a meanes of great authoritie and vse to direct a man in finding out and holding the truth but it is no certaine proofe that a man hath found or doth hold the truth in all points because those pastors as in due place shall appeare may all be deceiued without the Popes especiall direction But admit their iudgement or authoritie were in the matter infallible yet could no man thereby be assured that himselfe is taught particularly by the holy Ghost For many men hold the truth of God as the true Church doth and yet haue no such teaching by the spirit since it is certaine a man may deliuer truth and he himselfe not beleeue Of your testimonies out of scripture touching the Pastors of the Church I will say onely thus much by the way that the Pastors can speake neither of those sentences truely of themselues but in a measure They know the deuises of Sathan but in part not wholy He that knoweth God heareth them not simply in all points for he that knoweth God may doubt of some point deliuered by the true Pastors of the Church who also are no farther to be heard then they can shew that they speake to be from God The Apostles euerie one of them seuerally knew all things which the Lord thought fit to make knowen to men and were to be heard without any doubting of that they deliuered with them that priuiledge died and all men now are tied to the triall of their doctrine by the scriptures The conclusion of this discourse concerneth either no man in the world or if any the Pope of Rome your Lord God For the Anabaptists themselues are not so absurd and shamelesse as to make any one of their sect the onely sufficient rule of all mens faith but euerie man claimeth though falsly and lewdly a priuiledge of not erring for himselfe Onely your insolent Pope will haue all men to depend vpon his iudgement and in comparison of himselfe disdaineth all writers and all Councils whatsoeuer What promises he hath
whereupon he beareth himselfe so high and stout I make no doubt but we shal heare of you in this Treatise till when I forbeare to say anie more A. D. §. 4. But suppose one could assure himselfe that he were taught by Gods Spirit immediately what is the true faith in all points in such sort that he could erre in none as it is not the manner of Almightie God to teach men immediately by himselfe alone or by an Angell but rather as the Scripture telleth vs Fides ex auditu Faith is bred in vs by hearing and is to be required ex ore Sacerdotis out of the mouth of the Priest and is to be learned of Pastors and Doctors whom God hath appointed in his Church of purpose to instruct vs and continue vs in the ancient faith But suppose I say that one could assuredly perswade himselfe to be immediatly taught of God what is the truth in all points how should he without testimonie of miracle giue assurance to others that he is thus taught Especially when he teacheth quite contrarie to the Catholicke Church which by plaine promises and testimonies of Scripture we know to be taught of God A. W Hitherto you haue prooued that a man cannot assure himselfe that he is infallibly instructed by the holy Ghost Now you are to shew that howsoeuer the point might be cleere to him yet he hath no meanes to perswade other men thereof but that still there will be cause of doubting whether he be so taught or no. But by the way you tell vs that it is not Gods manner to teach vs immediatly by himselfe alone or by an Angel but rather as the scripture telleth vs faith is bred in vs by hearing For the generall that God teacheth not immediately we are wholy of your opinion and that the ordinarie meanes of faith is preaching but we see no sufficient reason to disable the word of God in the scripture as if it were not of force to bring forth the same effect where Gods ordinance of preaching cannot be had or is not neglected For since the matter deliuered in true preaching and reading the scripture is all one vnlesse it be verie apparent that the holy Ghost wil not giue a blessing to him that readeth hauing not opportunitie to heare out of question faith may come by reading Faith saith Bellarmine cannot arise in the heart but by diuine reuelation which is either immediately from God alone or by the instrument of the word preached or read And whereas the Apostle speaketh in that place of preaching and hearing it is not his purpose to disable the word read but to shew partly as otherwhere that the meanes of saluation were not nor could be deuised by man but proceed wholy from God partly that no man may excuse himselfe by ignorance because God hath sent his seruants into all parts of the world to giue notice of the way of saluation without which commaundement of his no man might haue vndertaken the office of preaching the Gospell either by word of mouth or writing and without the Gospell had bene published no man could haue beleeued For as it is in the same chapter a little before How shall they beleeue in him of whom they haue not heard and how shall they heare without a preacher And how shall they preach except they be sent Faith then is by hearing that is as one rightly expoundeth it by the sense of the scripture truly vnderstood I do not equall reading to preaching nor promise any blessing but rather threaten a curse where men refuse to heare the Pastors and Ministers of the seuerall congregations wherein they liue or any other that by lawfull authoritie preach truly and faithfully but I would haue no man by any conceit weaken the power of God speaking in his word to all that can and will reade and heare Now to your argument He that hath not testimonie of miracles cannot giue assurance to others that he is infallibly taught by the Spirit of God But a priuate spirit hath not testimonie of miracles Therefore he cannot giue assurance to others that he is infallibly so taught First I note two things in the propounding of this reason the one that you adde an exception according to your custome the other that you seeme to giue ouer great force to miracles Your exception is that he can giue no assurance if he teach contrarie to the Catholicke Church why so Because we know that she is taught of God Suppose that to be true yet may he giue assurance to them that know no such thing of the Church and so be to them the rule of faith But it is worth the marking that you preferre miracles before the authoritie of the Church For by them a man in your opinion may haue assurance to others that he is taught by the holy Ghost though he teach quite contrarie to the Catholicke Church But the Apostle hath accursed them that receiue any other doctrine then he taught though it be preached by an Angell from heauen What will become of the faith of such men when Antichrist comes with signes and lying wonders But why should I aske that question Your selfe and the rest of your popish brood haue answered it alreadie For you are made drunke with the cup of fornication of the whore of Babylon and bewitched with the miracles of that great Antichrist the Pope of Rome to beleeue lies against the manifest truth of God in scripture But we haue a most sure word of the Prophets confirmed expounded by the Apostles contrarie to which or without warrant of which we will beleeue nothing as necessarie to saluation for all the miracles that your Antichrist or the Diuel himselfe can worke For mine owne part vnder correction I speake it I am not perswaded that euer any true miracle was or shall be wrought for confirmation of false doctrine how soeuer the Diuel may serue his turne by a shew of such matters But it is all one to the moouing of a man whether the thing done be in truth a miracle or onely such in his opinion Be it neuer so true it may bring no credit to any point of doctrine contrarie to the word of God in the scripture Yet since false shewes will worke the same effect in their hearts whom God hath giuen ouer to the beleeuing of lies that true miracles will me thinkes I see no sufficient cause to imagine that God will employ his infinite power to the countenācing of any vntruth where no such thing is needfull I say then for your proposition that no assurance can be giuen either without or with neuer so many miracles if a mans doctrine be contrarie to the teaching of the Church when the Church teacheth according to the Scripture But in those points wherein the Church shall faile of her dutie the exposition of the word may giue assurance of truth spoken by
well make an end of answering to this treatise because I haue ouerthrowne the maine strength of your discourse and discouered to all men that will not be wilfully blind the weaknesse of your reason but for the better satisfaction of the vnlearned I will follow you from Chapter to Chapter that the truth may the more easily be discerned A. D. CHAP. XI That the Church whose doctrine must be to vs the rule of faith must alwayes continue without interruption from Christ his time till the worlds end A. W. That there alwayes hath bene since the beginning of the world excepting perhaps the time betwixt the fall of our first parents and their faith in the Messiah that there is and alwaies shal be a Church viz. certaine men that are predestinate to life and actually beleeue in Iesus Christ it neuer came into any of our minds to be doubted of that there should be such a companie as you conceipt all the Papists in the world cannot proue A. D. §. 1. Considering what hath bene proued in the former Chapter about the infallible authoritie of the doctrine of the true Church I hope no Christian will deny but that so long as this Church doth continue we haue of it a sure pillar and a firme foundation whereupon we may safely build our beleef For either a man must deny that euer our Sauiour did make any such promise gaue such charge and commission left any such warrant set forth such a commaundement or thundred out any such threats as before is rehearsed which were to denie the Scriptures which scriptures are generally receiued by all Christians no otherwise then as they are the vndoubted word of God or else he must wrest the interpretation thereof both from that which the words of themselues naturally yeeld and also from the common sense and vnderstanding either of all or the most learned and almost of the vnlearned also of the whole Christian world or else he shall be forced to confesse that which not I but Saint Paul hath said Ecclesia est columna firmamentum veritatis the Church is the pillar and ground of truth Onely it may perchance seeme to some of those that doe at this day oppose themselues against the authority of the Church that this was true for Saint Pauls time and perhaps for some three foure fiue or six hundred yeares after but not to be presumed vpon in latter times and namely when Luther began his reformation as they tearme it or now adaies A. W. Considering how weake your proofes haue bene as in the former Chapters so namely in the last about the infallible authoritie of the doctrine of the true Church I hope there is no reasonable man not only no Christian that will build his faith and saluation vpon so tottering a pillar and so slipperie a foundation But because you seeme to dote so much vpon your last Chapter I wil once againe be content to examine the substance of it as it is here repeated by you with some litle alteration Either we must denie that our Sauiour hath so promised charged warranted threatned or we must falsely interprete the scriptures or else we must grant that the authoritie of the Church is a sure pillar and firme foundation whereupon we may safely build our faith But we neither may denie that our Sauiour hath so promised charged warranted commaunded threatned neither may we falsely interpret the Scriptures Therefore we must grant that the authoritie of the Church is a sure pillar and firme foundation whereupon we may safely build our beleefe First in general for your whole syllogisme if the cōclusion you intend were no other thē that you pretēd propoūd that the Church is the pillar groūd of truth as S. Paul saith there would be no question in this matter betwixt vs. For we haue learned to acknowledge the truth of all and euerie part of the scripture But the beginning of this Chapter sheweth that you meane by the Churches being the pillar and ground of truth that we may safely build our beleefe vpon the Churches authority which as I prooued in my answer to that Chapter is no part of the Apostles meaning In this sense must we take your conclusion Secondly in particular I denie your Maior because your disiunction is naught presuming a necessitie where there is none For neither we need to denie that our Sauiour hath so promised charged warranted commanded threatned neither is there any cause why we should falsely interprete the Scriptures and yet we haue no reason to grant that our faith may safely be built vpon the authoritie of the Church No such thing as I haue shewed can follow vpon the words of scripture alledged by you Therefore we need not denie the promises charge warrant commandement or threatning of our Sauiour or else grant the Church such an vnlimited authority Neither will the true sense of those Scriptures either enforce or beare any such illation or conclusion touching the infallible authoritie of the Church And whereas you thinke to face out the matter with naming the common sense and vnderstanding either of all or the most learned and almost of the vnlearned also of the whole Christian world my answer propounding the iudgement of many excellently learned and ancient writers of those places prooueth that to be but a vaine popish brag without all likelihood of truth especially since you that spare not to heape vp testimonies of Fathers when they are needlesse and to quote their bookes and chapters sometimes for a bare phrase alledge not so much as the name of any one author for the proofe of your interpretation of twelue seuerall places of scripture Your proffered seruice in helping vs with this distinction hath more shew of kindnesse then good meaning For it is not brought in to confirme our answer but to giue your selfe occasion of vttering that which you are taught to vrge for proofe of this question But we neither need your aide and haue good cause to suspect your fauours In a word your distinction is such as none of vs euer brought or would bring to answer those places of scripture We confesse that whatsoeuer was promised to the Church in those texts was promised for continuance to the end of the world but we say that the first promise was not concerning the Churches not erring the three last are particular to the Apostles at least for such a measure of teaching But what should I repeat that which was deliuered in the verie last Chapter The thing you harpe vpon though vntunably is that your Romish church or rather the Church of the East West were indeed the pillar and ground of truth for the space of some 600. yeares after Christ but afterwards fell away from that soundnesse of doctrine which before it had cleaued vnto Such a matter there is acknowledged by our Diuines yet no man saith either that the Church erred not in any point during that
surely you must needs according to this first part of your reason haue condemned the innocent and iustified the wicked For the Apostles Church was not one because it had varied from some opinions formerly held by it which the other companie still retained As for your odious manner of propounding the point according to the varietie of times and persons it is but a froth of words and might in regard of the change haue bin charged in like sort vpon the Apostles As for the dissent of learned men one from another neither was the Church euer so happie as to be without it and you acknowledge it among your owne writers though not in matters of faith the contrary whereof I will shew when I come to that place But if by matters of faith you meant such points as are fundamental I could somewhat the rather hearken to you And yet what shall it hinder a Church from being one that the learned men of it make question of such maine matters as long as the Church is not tainted with their priuate errors Did the Churches of Corinth or Galatia cease to be true Churches because some among them and as it should seeme no small number in the former denied the resurrection of the flesh in the other ioyned the workes of the law with faith to iustification yet were both these fundamētall errors the continuance wherin without repentance must needs bring certaine damnation But your matters of faith are all points though neuer so friuolous or false that your Church hath determined by her lawlesse tyrannie whereas many matters of farre greater importance not so decreed are left free for euery man to erre in or to be ignorant of without any danger of damnation or breach of vnitie This last point as you say is the principall matter appertaining to vnitie that there be meanes in the Church to end controuersies But why or how should this be so principall when as the Church may agree in the same points of doctrine though priuate men dissent from each other Indeed to the procuring of an outward peace it is very requisite that particular men be not suffered to preach or write one against another But neither is this peace so much worth as that for it the Church should be corrupted with errors and the chiefe power for the remedying of this inconuenience is in the hands of the chiefe Magistrate whose dutie it is to prouide that his subiects may leade a quiet and a peaceable life in all godlinesse and honestie Therefore neither doth this disagreement among the learned make the Church cease to be one though there be no meanes to end it which yet are not wanting in the true Churches Your minor also is false in euery part of it Variablenesse in points of faith according to the variety of times and persons is when in regard of these two the doctrine of the Church is altered Now who is so shamelesse as to charge vs with hauing altered and dayly altering our iudgements in respect of either of these What necessitie or occasion can varietie of time bring for the change of doctrine But for persons what sect profession church or companie in the world euer was or could be freer from depending on any mans person then we are who absolutely disclaime all mens authority ouer our faith Are not you they that charge vs with leauing the interpretation of Scripture and consequently the beliefe of euerie man to his owne priuate humour And yet you are not ashamed to accuse vs for variablenesse in our doctrine according to the varietie of persons If malice were not blind it were vnpossible you should slaunder vs with so manifest contrarieties You are the men whose faith dependeth vpon the persons of your Popes whom you follow blindfold whither soeuer any of them leadeth you We attribute to our teachers no impossibilitie of erring though we haue a reuerend opinion of their knowledge and faithfulnesse in regard whereof we do not lightly reiect any doctrine or exposition deliuered by them vnlesse it be apparently false Yet doe we not tie our selues to take whatsoeuer they teach as a matter of faith though we are readie to yeeld to any thing which is plainly prooued to vs out of the word of God how contrary soeuer it be to our former opinions For we know that men are subiect to error and that God doth not miraculously reueale all truth at once to any man but as it seemes good to his gracious wisedom peece by peece enlighteneth the vnderstanding of his seruants with the knowledge of his will and word according to their sinceritie in depending on him faith in calling vpon him diligence in searching the Scriptures the only sufficient meanes of instruction The second part of your slander is that our learned men so iarre in matters of faith that it is hard to find three in all points of one opinion Remember what you call matters of faith points of doctrine defined by the Church and forbeare blushing if you can when you reade this your accusation against vs. What other refutation shal I need to vse then the bare naming of the harmonie of our confessions wherein the most partial Reader of your side may discerne your shamelesse hyperbole that I may giue it a cleanlier terme then it deserueth To requite your kindnesse I challenge you to name me if you can any one of your schoole-men that hath not refuted some of his owne fellowes in some points or bene refuted by them I confesse there are many of them that I haue not read but I am so well acquainted with their courses and contradicting of one another that I may venture without aduenture to make this challenge Last of all your minor affirmes that our learned men haue no meanes to end their controuersies If you speake of the euent that our meanes are not sufficient de facto to make them that striue to agree in one opinion or to make all men to be of one mind I graunt that you say to be true but I adde withall that we may haue when we will as good meanes to this purpose as your Church hath For it is no more but to appoint some man to whose iudgement we will stand in all matters of controuersie What hereticall Church may not haue the same meanes of vnitie if it please But if you denie that de iure wee haue meanes sufficient for the ending of all questions I say your minor is vtterly false because we haue the Scriptures appointed and blessed to that end by God himselfe Now as the ministerie of the word is most sufficient for the begetting of faith and sauing of men though it haue not this excellent effect in all so the Scriptures are of absolute sufficiencie to cut off all controuersies howsoeuer men will not alwayes be ruled by them Your minor as we haue seene containes a grieuous accusation of vs in three points of no small importance To
so many Bishops of their faction Vincentius acknowledgeth a succession continued though secretly from Simon Magus to Priscilian Let vs see ' now whether you bring any better reason for your selues then you haue done against vs They are euen much about one That Church which can shew a line all succession of her Bishops without interruption from the Apostle Peter to Cloment now liuing is Apostolicke But the Church of Rome can shew such a succession without interruption Therefore the Church of Rome is Apostolicke Tertullian thought it sufficient to proue the hereticks not to be Apostolicke that their doctrine agreed not with the Apostles And Ambrose truly affirmed that they haue not the inheritance of Peter which haue not the faith of Peter He saith Nazianzen that professeth the same doctrine of faith is partaker of the same throne But he that embraceth contrary doctrine must be thought an aduersary euen in the throne He may haue the name but the other hath the truth of succession Therefore Irenaeus saith plainly that those Bishops onely are to be obeyed who together with succession haue the truth But of this I spake before Chap. 15. Where there is no beginning what continuance or successiō can there be Is not the question whether Peter were euer at Rome or no full of doubt Are you able in any sort to resolue it by Scripture vnlesse perhaps we may say that he neuer came there because it is no where plainly set downe nor probably to be gathered from thēce that euer Saint Peter was at Rome But it is more vnlikely that euer he was Bishop of Rome I might go forward to aske you who was his successor Linus or Clement which is a point not agreed vpon by auncient writers Since that time you haue had 32. schismes in your Church sometimes two sometimes three Popes at once that your succession cannot be so cleare as you would make it To proue your minor you tell vs that the auncient Fathers did much esteeme succession from the Apostles and vsed it as an argument to confound the hereticks and to confirme themselues in the vnitie of the Catholicke Church Who denieth that succession is to be esteemed and that it hath some force to confute and confirme But what succession is it that is of such price force Personall succession alone without truth VVe heard ere while what Tertullian Irenaeus Nazianzen and Ambrose say concerning succession that without truth it deserueth no credit Yea some of your owne writers confesse that an argument from succession doth not hold affirmatiuely as if there were a true Church wheresoeuer there is succession VVherby doth Irenaeus confound heresies by shewing a personall succession of Bishops from the Apostles VVhat could that helpe the matter vnlesse he be also able to proue that the doctrine he maintaines hath come successiuely from the Apostles by them He speaks plaine enough We confound all errors by the doctrine of the Apostles and the faith preached to men by thē Let not the word tradition trouble any man Irenaeus for that expounds himselfe where he saith that the Apostles first preached the Gospell and afterward by the will of God deliuered it to vs in the Scriptures to be the pillar and foundation of our faith The continuance of this doctrine by succession is vsed by Irenaeus as a motiue to perswade men to the liking of that truth which had receiued so good acceptation and was warranted by so good authority as the teaching of the Apostles themselues In a word Irenaeus saith that heresies might then be refuted by shewing that they who had bene ordained Bb. by the Apostles and their successors continued in the doctrine receiued without any approbation of such hereticall fancies Austin you say was held in the Church as himselfe professeth by the succession of Priests from the verie seat of Peter And why should he not be held by that rather thē leaue the Church for the dreames of the Manichees VVe say as Austin did that such a succession is a better proof of the Church then their bare promise of truth especially since as the same Austin sheweth otherwhere they wold haue their word to be takē as you now would haue yours for sufficient proofe But Austin in the verie same place you alledge addeth withall that if they could shew that the truth was on their side he would preferre it before succession and whatsoeuer other reason that made him continue a member of the Church In this sense did those other ancient writers esteeme and vrge succession whose names you muster to small purpose but onely for shew of authoritie Concerning that speech of Athanasius be not so iniurious either to him or your selues as to presse his testimony to so leud a purpose Would you haue men thinke that he which refuted and confounded Arius and his complices by so many and so worthy proofes out of the holy Scriptures would condemne not onely other men but himselfe also for deriuing his faith in that point from the Scriptures But though you care not what become of all the Fathers so your Popery may flourish yet like a reasonable man consider what a terrible blow you giue your owne cause Is there no other marke of the Church but succession Then by Bellarmines iudgement there is none at all who allowes it not as a certaine light to shew vs the Church But what wants it of blasphemy to pronounce men to be hereticks for making the Scriptures the foundation of their faith to which purpose Irenaeus saith that they were left And I pray you answer me directly why it should not be as lawful for me to groūd my faith vpon the beginning of this succession in the Apostles as vpon the continuance of it in other men Yet might Athanasius well say concerning that point of our Sauiour Christs Godhead that he was to be counted an hereticke that should deriue the beginning of his faith from any other ground then the whole succession wherein the Apostles were comprehended and whose doctrine the Churches of Christ till that time in that matter had followed But how will you proue out of this place of Athanasius that this should be a mark to discerne hereticks by alwaies It was then an excellent and admirable argument in that point not of it owne nature but because the truth had successiuely bene held till those times How will you answer Bellarmine who affirmes confidently and truly that truth goes not alwaies with succession For if it did why should not succession be a certaine mark of a true Church But Bellarmine saith it is not You tell vs that otherwise the ordinance of Pastors made by our Sauiour Christ shall be frustrate of the effect intended by him What vnlesse there be truth wheresoeuer there is succession Then can it not come to passe that any Pastor hauing lawfull ordination can erre For if one
sed ascendit aliunde ille fur est latro He that entreth not in by the doore into the sheepfold but ascendeth by some other way he is a theefe and a robber who commeth not to feed the sheepe but to steale kill and destroy them So that we haue not I say to expect any to be sent of God to feed vs with the food of true doctrine of faith but such onely as come in this ordinarie manner as it is certaine that Luther and Caluin when they left their former profession and tooke vpon them to preach this new faith did not come visibly called consecreated and sent for this purpose by any lawful authority according to the ordinary manner or if it should please God to send any one in extraordinary manner it appertaineth to his prouidence to furnish him with the gift of miracles as he did his Sonne our Sauiour Christ or with a miraculous conceptiō with strange and extraordinary sanctity of life as was seene in S. Iohn Baptist or finally with some euident token that it may be plainly knowne that he is assuredly sent of God Otherwise the people should not be bound to beleeue him but might without sinne reiect his doctrine according as our Sauiour said of himselfe Si non facio opera patris mei nolite credere mihi If I do not the works of my Father do not beleeue me And againe Si opera non secissem in eis quae nemo alius fecit peccatum non haberent If I had not done works among them that no other hath done they should not haue sinned to wit in not beleeuing Nay the people should now an ordinary course being by our Sauiour set downe to continue till the worlds end as before hath bene prooued the people I say should now sinne in beleeuing any one that shall come and tell them that he is extraordinarily sent of God if he teach contrarie to that doctrine which by ordinarie Doctors and Pastors of the Catholicke Church is vniuersally taught For although it should happen that the liues of these Pastors should not be so commendable or be sometimes euidently bad yet their doctrine must alwaies be regarded and obserued according to that saying of our Sauiour Super Cathedram Moysisederunt Scribae Pharisaei omnia ergo quae cunque dixerint vobis seruate facite secundū verò opera eorum nolite facere Vpon the chaire of Moses the Scribes and Pharisees haue sitten all things therefore whatsoeuer they say to you obserue ye and do but according to their workes do ye not By which saying we are assured that notwithstanding the Pastors of the Catholicke Church should at any time in their liues be like Scribes and Pharisies yet we may alwaies safely yea we must necessarily follow their doctrine and must not in any wise admit any that shall offer to teach vs a contrarie doctrine according as we are willed by Saint Paule who saith Si quis vobis euangeliz auerit praeter id quod accepistis anathema sit If any shall euangelize or preach vnto you beside or contrarie to that which you haue alreadie receiued be he anathema So that sith the people did once receiue from the ordinarie Pastors that doctrine which hath descended from hand to hand from Christ and his Apostles themselues according to that of Saint Austin Quod inuenerunt in Ecclesia tenuerunt quod didicerunt docuerunt quod à patribus acceperunt hoc filijs tradiderunt That which they found in the Church they held that which they learned they taught that which they receiued from their fathers that they deliuered to their children whosoeuer he be that shall euangelize any thing opposite to this receiued doctrine whether he seeme to be an Apostle or an Angell and much more if he be another to wit one of these new masters who faile very much to say no more from Apostolicall perfection and Angelicall puritie of life according to Saint Paule anathema sit be he anathema Yea such a one that doth not onely not bring this Catholicke or generally receiued doctrine but bringeth in a new and contrary doctrine we should not according to Saint Iohn salute him vnlesse vpon some need or some good respect or say Aue vnto him and much lesse should we giue credit to his words or vse him as a rule of our faith or preferre his teaching before the teaching of the Catholicke Church And surely me thinkes though there were none of these euident proofes which I haue brought out of Scripture yet euen reason it selfe would teach that we ought to giue more credit to the vniuersall companie of Catholickes which haue bene at all times and are now spred ouer all the Christian world then to any particular priuate man or some few his fellowes and followers It is a prouerbe common amongest all men Vox populi vox Dei The voice of the people or whole multitude is the voice of God that which all men say must needs be And on the contrarie part to that particular man or his priuate company which will oppose themselues against this generall voice of all like Ismael of whom it is written Manus eius contra omnes manus omnium contra cum his hands are against all men and the hands of all are against him it may well be obiected that which Luther who was the first in this our age which did so cōfesseth was obiected to himself by his owne conscience or rather principally by the mercy and grace of the Almightie God seeking to reclaime him from his errour while there was any hope Num tu solùm sapis Art thou onely wise Luthers words be these Quoties mihi palpitauit tremulum cor reprehendens obiecit fortissimum illud argumentum Tu solus sapis Totne errant vniuersi Tanta secula ignorauerunt Quid si tu erres tot tecum in errorem trahas damnandos aeternaliter How often did my trembling heart pant and reprehending me did obiect to me that most strong and forcible argument Art thou alone wise haue there so many vniuersally erred haue so many ages bene blinde and liued in ignorance What rather if thou thy selfe erre and drawest so many after thee into errour who therefore shall be damned eternally This did Almightie God obiect to Luther the which might doubtlesse haue done him good but that he presuming vpon his owne vnderstanding of Scripture and preferring his owne iudgement before the iudgement of the Church hardened his heart against such heauenly inspirations which he tearmed Papisticall arguments And this same may well be obiected to any priuate man or any few who leauing the Kings broad street or beaten hye way of the Catholicke Church will seeke out a by-path as being in their conceit a better easier more direct way to heauen To them I say wel may be said Are you only wise are all the rest in former ages fooles haue you onely after so many hundred
if it were the wages of seruants and not the inheritance of children The vniuersal Church as you speake of it is a meere name without any thing answerable to it in nature That which was generally held while the Churches of Christ were not subiect to Antichrist concerning the substance of Religion by which true and false Churches are to be iudged we gladly and constantly maintaine The errors which some men defended and corrupted the Churches withall we refute and reiect But it is no marke of the true Church to hold all that hath bene generally maintained in true Churches but the dutie of it to acknowledge for true whatsoeuer was taught by the Apostles and is recorded in Scripture How far our Church is spread it passeth your skill truly to affirme and we may with good reason perswade our selues that it is in all places where the Gospell is preached and the Scriptures knowne because dayly experience sheweth that it hath some members in those countries where your bloudie and tyrannous butchery of Inquisition doth most rule and vnder the nose of your grand Antichrist in the citie of Rome But it is enough to make it Catholicke that it acknowledgeth it selfe to be common both to Iew and Gentile not tied to any country people or person whatsoeuer as yours is to the Pope and Rome We are not ashamed of Martin Luther whom it pleased God to vse admirably if not miraculously to rake from vnder the ashes the light of the Gospell couered and choked with your errors and superstitions Not as if it had bin al that while out of the world but as one of your owne fellowes speakes of it as being in the eclipse ouershadowed and darkned with the thicke mist of your Popish decrees decretals and schoolmens trickes and other such leud trumpery Our Church that is the true Church of Christ was all that time in the world but not to be seene of euery man though from time to time there were still found some who durst maintaine the truth of Christ against your Antichristian heresies Luthers writings words deeds and manner of death were such as might manifest to all men both his true zeale of the glory of God and Gods especiall fauour to him whatsoeuer such lying sycophants as Prateolus faine If we would stand vpon Apostolicknesse in succession what haue you that we want saue onely that you continue in succession of error longer then we do But it is an idle plea to auouch personall succeeding where there is manifest contrarietie in doctrine by which as we heard out of Tertullian howsoeuer you brag of Apostolicknesse you may be proued not to be Apostolicall We differ not in doctrine touching the fundamentall points of Religion from any true holy Catholicke and Apostolicke Church neither doth your synagogue agree with any such Therfore wheras you demand how we can brag that we haue true faith which is not to be found out of the true Church we answer you as oft we haue done that we are sure the faith we hold is true because it is agreeable to the Scriptures and being so we cannot be out of the true Church as long as we are in the true faith True faith cannot be had by any light or discourse of nature but onely by reuelation from God For neither eye hath seene nor eare hath heard nor the heart of man can imagine what the meanes are whereby God decreed in himselfe to saue those whom he hath chosen to glory Now it was not the purpose of God in these latter times as in the first before the law to reueale his will immediatly from heauen but he sent his Son in the nature of man and that Sonne his Apostles to giue knowledge of those means of saluation both by preaching for that present age wherein they liued and also by writing for that age and all that were to succeed till the end of the world This is all that the Apostle teacheth in the place alledged by you Yet we denie not that the principall ordinary means to bring men to faith is the ministery of man by word of mouth expounding the word wil of God according to the Scriptures First then all men to whom the Scriptures are vouchsafed haue meanes of hearing For in them they may if they will heare men appointed by God speake to their instruction and saluation Secondly the same God hath ordained that besides the former teaching there should be certaine men set apart and deputed for the ministery whose dutie it is to preach in their seuerall charges the word of truth This setting apart deputing is that sending which is now required and is to be performed by such as are shall be authorized to that purpose Thirdly for our particular case we are to vnderstand that Luther and these other worthies by whose ministery it pleased God to reuiue the knowledge of the Gospell decayed were authorized to preach by your congregation which was at that time in apparence the true Church of God Therefore were they sent if your church haue any sending and according to their calling they labored in opening the truth of God as it is reuealed in the Scriptures Thus by the gracious mercie of God it came to passe that they teaching the word of truth found diuers both men and women whose hearts the Lord by his spirit opened so that they embraced the loue of the truth deliuered by them and accepted them for their pastors and submitted themselues to become their flockes By this meanes they had both a generall authoritie to preach from that companie which by profession was the Church and also a particular charge of those who were now become indeed in regard of their professed faith a true Church of God We haue then in our Churches for the late reforming of them first your calling such as it was and secondly the approbation of true Christians of which true Churches consist Therefore by your owne rule since we haue some amongst vs that are sent we may also haue faith and true faith though we abhor your Antichristian heresies To what purpose is this idle discourse but to shew your owne errors We neither looke for nor allow any opinion of extraordinary sending from God because we haue no warrant for any such in the Scriptures But wee say the restorers of the Gospell in this last age had ordinary allowance of that Church which bare the shew of the true Church and professed the beleeuing of the Gospell which is the foundation of the Church But you require peculiar consecration because it pleased God to appoint such a course for the Priesthood of the Law Do you not know that the consecrating and annointing of Aaron was a part of the ceremoniall law signifying the annointing of the spirit which our Sauiour was to receiue to whom according to those shewes the Lord gaue the spirit without measure The consecration that now remaines is nothing but the setting a part
A TRIAL OF THE ROMISH CLERGIES TITLE TO THE CHVRCH By way of answer to a Popish Pamphlet written by one A. D. and entituled A Treatise of Faith wherein is briefly and plainly shewed a direct way by which euery man may resolue and settle his mind in all doubts questions and controuersies concerning matters of Faith By ANTONIE WOTTON In the end you haue three Tables one of the texts of Scripture expounded or alledged in this booke another of the Testimonies of ancient and later Writers with a Chronologie of the times in which they liued a third of the chiefe matters contained in the Treatise and Answer A. D. Esai 30. Haec est via ambulate in ea This is the way walke in it A. W. 2. Tim. 3. 15. The holy Scriptures are able to make thee wise to saluation LONDON Printed for Elizabeth Burby Widow and are to be sold at the signe of the Swan in Pauls Churchyard 1608. TO THE CHRISTIAN READER IT standeth not either with my occasions or my liking to make a long preface to that discourse which of it selfe seemeth to me ouerlong Onely giue me leaue to informe the vnlearned of some few things which may further him in the vnderstanding of it The manner of my answer is such as I haue vsed in my former writings First I set downe the Papists Treatise word forword then I draw it into a right forme of reasoning that the truth may more euidently appeare Lastly I frame as direct and plaine an answer to it as conueniently I can with shortnesse If thou desire fully to conceiue the whole course of this kind of answering I must intreate thee to haue recourse to the Preface which I set before my answer to the 12 Articles where the matter is deliuered largely and plainly enough For the vnderstanding of this present answer it may suffice thee to know what is the meaning of certaine words of Art as we call them which I am inforced to vse very often First then a Syllogisme is a certaine forme of reasoning which consisteth of three sentences whereof the second is drawne out of the first and the third ariseth as a conclusion from them both The first of these three is called the Proposition or Maior the second the Assumption or Minor both of them ioyntly together are named the Antecedent the third is termed the Consequent or Conclusion Therefore if I denie the Antecedent of a Syllogisme I meane to signifie that both the Proposition and the Assumption are false so must you conceiue seuerally that which soeuer of the three sentences I deny that I take to be false The consequence is the dependance of one vpon another so that when I say I deny the Consequence my meaning is that the latter part doth not follow vpon the former for example pag. 47. you haue this Syllogisme Antecedent Propos If faith cannot be one vnlesse it be entire then it must be entire Antecedent Assūp But faith cannot be one vnlesse it be entire Consequent Concl. Therefore it must be entire My answer to this Syllogisme is I deny the consequence of your Proposition that is I say it doth not follow that faith must be entire if it cannot be one vnlesse it be entire There is also another forme of reasoning called an Enthymeme which indeed is nothing else but an vnperfect Syllogisme consisting of either part of the Antecedent and of the Consequent To this I answer by denying either the Antecedent or the Consequence For example pag. 177. Our Sauiour himselfe citeth some words out of that Chapter and expoundeth them to be fulfilled in himselfe Therefore that Chapter is to be vnderstood of our Sauiour Christ and his Church To this Enthymeme I answer thus this Consequent doth not follow vpon that Antecedent which is all one as if I should haue said I deny the Consequence that is I say that Chapter is not therefore to be vnderstood of our Sauiour Christ and his Church because our Sauiour citeth some words out of it and expoundeth them to be fulfilled in himselfe An example where the Antecedent is denied though the Enthymeme be not plainly set downe you haue pag. 327. The Pope is Peters successor Therefore he cannot erre Here I deny the Antecedent that is I say it is false that the Pope is Peters successor And this may serue for sufficient instruction to the vnlearned that they may be able to vnderstand and iudge both of the reasons and the answers to them It remaineth that I cōmend thee Christian Reader whosoeuer thou art that vnfainedly desirest the aduancing of Gods glorie by thine owne saluation to the gracious direction of the holy Spirit that he may teach thee to vnderstand and beleeue to the praise of his name and thy present and euerlasting comfort through Iesus Christ our onely Lord and Sauiour Amen From my house on the Tower hill Ianuary 20. 1607. Thine assured in the Lord Iesus Antony Wotton A. D. §. 1. A TREATISE OF FAITH WHEREIN IS BRIEFLY AND PLAINLY SHEWED A DIRECT WAY by which euery man may resolue settle his mind in all doubts questions or controuersies concerning matters of Faith A. W. THis Title is like the Apothecaries boxes pots which promise goodly matters by the inscriptions but within haue either nothing or some ordinarie drugs A treatise of faith shewing a direct way by which euery man may resolue and settle his mind in all doubts questions or controuersies concerning matters of faith makes shew of instructing him that shall reade it what faith is what kinds of faith there are and aboue all what a iustifying faith is how to be attained vnto how vsed to the obtaining of euerlasting life These principally and many more like these are required in a Treatise of faith of neuer a one whereof there is any one Chapter or peece of a Chapter in this whole Discourse Neither hath he done that litle he hath done either briefly as the heaping vp of vnnecessarie testimonies in matters not doubtfull in the verie first Chapter euidently proues or plainly because though in his Preface he sets down what he meanes to proue yet it is verie hard for a man to apply his seuerall Chapters to the generall matter propounded by him as the handling of them will shew A. D. §. 2. A Table or briefe summary of the whole treatise Chap. 1. That faith is absolutely necessary to saluation Chap. 2. That this faith is but one Chap. 3. That this one faith must be infallible Chap. 4. That this one infallible faith must be entire Chap. 5. That Almighty God hath prouided some sufficient meanes whereby all sorts of men may at all times learne this one infallible and entire faith Chap. 6. What conditions or properties are requisite in this rule or meanes prouided by Almighty God Chap. 7. That Scripture alone cannot be this rule or meanes Chap. 8. That no naturall wit of man or humane learning either by interpreting Scripture or otherwise can be this
this world but the whole societie of the faithful from time to time But these gay shewes of Catholike Church Vniuersalitie antiquitie vnitie succession and such like are fit to deceiue the ignorant for which purpose your discourses are written with whō they preuaile by the iust iudgement of God who sends them strong delusions that they may beleeue lyes because they haue not embraced the loue of the truth that they might be saued A. D. §. 6. First because it is very briefe and compendious and consequently such as euery one might haue leysure and should not be much weary to reade it A. W. You deale in your corrupt writings as leud men do in slanderous reports who speake anie thing at aduenture though neuer so vntrue or vnlikely It is hard but some men will either beleeue or make doubt of it at the least So all men reade your writings you care not Though they that are of knowledge and iudgement discerne your falshood yet it is twentie to one but some ignorant fellow will light on them that may be seduced And this practise you follow the rather because you are for the most part out of feare of being shamed by confutation for that you are vnknowne and know well inough that our answers to you are commonly and many times must be so large that one amongst manie can hardly find leisure to reade them Whereas if the authors of your treatises were knowne amongst vs and our answers applied shortly and plainely to the verie point of the argument that being disrobed of the idle ornaments you cloath it withall and laid naked to the view of true reason we should haue as few of your discourses as we haue now of your replies to our refutations of your treatises which are so few that in many yeares it is rare to haue anie second charge by you vnlesse it be in such a fight as requires no more but a brauado without coming to handie blowes A. D. §. 7. Secondly because it standing onely vpon few but most certaine conclusions and grounds is free from many cauils of the captious which more ample discourses are subiect vnto A. W. To speake truly and properly there is but one conclusion in your whole Treatise as I haue shewed out of this your Preface Against which we also oppose one as briefe and more certaine then yours Your conclusion is That the faith and beliefe which the authority of the Romane Church doth commend vnto vs ought without doubt to be holden for the true faith Ours That the faith which the Scripture teacheth vs is the onely true faith If you speake of the seuerall cōclusions belonging to the proofe of the generall there are at the least as many as there are Chapters But if you meane the three grounds which you signifie before and repeate afterwards they are so farre from being certaine that there is neuer a one of them true as you vnderstand them A. D. §. 8. Thirdly because the matter handled in it is not very high nor hard but common easie and plaine and such as may be vnderstood of any who hauing but a reasonable wit or vnderstanding wil carefully read it as the importance of the matter requireth with iudgement deliberation and which is chiefe with prayer to God and a resolute good will to follow that which he shall find to be right A. W. The matter is as hard by your handling of it as sophistrie can well make it as high as the deepe foundation of religion Yet I denie not but it may be vnderstood by a man of such parts and paines as you require and adde farther that the like may be auowed of the true grounds of religion as they are contained in the Scripture to the reading and meditation whereof the Lord himself hath promised such a blessing as your treatises if they were neuer so true could not looke for Is not the fountaine better then the chanell A. D. §. 9. Fourthly because these fewe plaine points which are here set downe include all other and whosoeuer shall by the helpe of Gods grace and the force of these or other reasons yeeld assent to the points proued in this discourse must by consequence without further disputing or difficultie yeeld to all particular points which the aforesaid Church commendeth for points of faith and will be moued to settle himselfe in the stedfast beliefe of all For if he once admit that there is a Church or company of men on earth infallibly taught by the holy Ghost what is the true faith in all points and that this Church is by Gods appointment to teach all men in all matters of faith which is the infallible truth and further that this Church which is thus taught and must teach vs is no other but that visible company which professeth the Romane faith then he shall not need to straine his wits in studying or to wast words in wrangling about particular points of controuersies or to vse any such troublesome and vncertaine meanes to find out the truth but may easily and most certainly be instructed in all by onely enquiring and finding out which all sorts of men may easily do what is generally holdē by the Church for truth in all particular points whereof they doubt A. W. If these few points be so conuenient because in thē all other are included why should not our doctrine of the Scripture be as conuenient by the same reason Let vs compare our assertions together The first of yours is That a man must admit that there is a company of men on earth infallibly taught by the holy Ghost what is the true faith in all points The first of ours That a man must beleeue that there is a written word of God wherein the holy Ghost hath certainely taught whatsoeuer is needfull to be knowne to saluation Your second is That this company of men is by Gods appointment to teach all men in all matters of faith which is the infallible truth Our second That this written word of God is appointed by him to teach all men in all matters of faith what is true what false Your third That this company of men is no other but the visible company which professeth the Romane faith Our third That this written word is no other but the bookes of the old and new Testament The proofe of your positions and the exceptions you take against ours shal be handled if it please God in their due places in the meane time if any mā be troubled with those ordinarie doubts which you haue buzzed into the common peoples eares concerning the vncertainty and hardnesse of the Scriptures let me intreat him to stay himselfe a while vpon these considerations First that the bookes of the old and new Testament acknowledged by vs are also confessed by you to be the verie word of God in the penning whereof the penners were so directed by the holy Ghost that they could not erre Therefore whatsoeuer the meanes
be whereby we come to assurance that these bookes are the word of God let it suffice all men that both we and you agree they are so But I pray tell me Are the determinations of the Church any more certaine What ground haue I but the word of some men that the Church hath so determined It is not a matter so agreed vpon betwixt vs as the bookes of Scripture are Out of question the ods is on our side It is doubtfull whether you Romanistes are the Church or no it is out of doubt these bookes are the infallible word of God But you will say the Scriptures are hard to be vnderstood as well because they are written in Hebrew and Greeke as also for the kind of writing Are not all the Decrees of your Councels and determinations of your Popes Consistorie written either in Greeke or Latin or in the Italian language in none of which one man among ten thousand hath any skill And is there not as great reason to thinke the Scriptures are rightly translated as your Decrees Decretals and Determinations Especially when as we commonly alledge the interpretations of the ancient Fathers and learned Papists for the auowing of our translations But the Scriptures are hard to be vnderstood though a man be skilfull in the tongues And are the Decrees of your Councels so easie that euery man may vnderstād them who knowes the language they are written in Doth not Bellarmine condemne and confute our writers Caluin Chemnitius and other for not vnderstanding the Decrees of your Councell of Trent written in Latine which language they were as skilfull in as himselfe If they be so easie how chance Bishop Catharin and Frier Soto that were both present at the Councell and heard the debating of matters can not agree about the doctrine of it concerning assurance of saluation which as Soto affirmes was the longest and most troublesome disputation of all in the Councell and therefore should haue bene best vnderstood and plainliest deliuered Yet is it so propounded by the holy fathers the authors of it that Catharin saith boldly he foresaw that most men would vnderstand the words of the Decree otherwise then the holy Synod meant them Was there not great contention within these very few yeares betwixt Archbishop Christophor de Capite fontium and many other Diuines about the meanes of transsubstantiating the bread though in his iudgement the Councel of Trent makes manifestly for him I forbeare to say that some points seeme to haue bene craftily set downe of purpose like the oracles of Apollo that which way soeuer they be taken the Church may not seeme to haue erred Neither will I adde that diuerse matters are deliuered by Councels not as points of faith but as probable coniectures which yet may be and are taken by some of your owne learned writers as if they were resolutely determined for certaine truth These things considered I see no sufficient reason why it should not be as fit and safe to learne of the Scripture which is the infallible truth as of any companie of men whatsoeuer But you labour to commend to vs this resting on the authoritie of the Romish Church by some especiall commodities that shall ensue thereupon The first wherof is ease the 2. certaintie of knowledge He shall not need say you to straine his wits in studying c. If ease were not too much delighted in by men of your profession there would not be such swarms of idle Monks Fryers Nuns nonresident Bishops and Priests amongst you But true Christians vnderstand that it was not Gods purpose to prouide so much for their ease by giuing them leaue to beleeue at aduenture hand ouer head whatsoeuer it should please men to enioyne thē but that it is his good pleasure that all men should carefully and painfully exercise themselues night and day in reading and meditating of the Scriptures He is too nice and dainty a professor of religion that is loth to straine his wits to the vttermost in the study of any thing reuealed by God in Scripture What shall I say of him that cals conference and disputation about euen the greatest points of faith and iustification wasting of words in wrangling Nec se magnanimo maledicere sentit Achilli It is strange you should not haue the wit to perceiue that by this censure you condemne Lombard Thomas and all your schoole men yea the Pope and generall councels who are bound to vse such meanes for the finding out of the truth and as Sotus saith did vse them in a long and troublesome disputation yet forsooth neither the one nor the other at least both together cannot erre No man then ought to refuse study or disputation of controuersies in diuinitie because they are troublesome Therefore to mend the matter you adde that they are also vncertaine what can be certain but only reuelation if the true vse of reason can breed nothing but vncertainty How idly and vainly did your schoolemen imploy themselues if all their study and labour must end in vncertainty What vse is there of Councels for finding out of the truth since the helpe to be had of them is debating of matters by reasoning Do we not find in daily experience that as flint and steele stricken together bring forth fire so truth is as it were beaten out by disputation It is reported you make great shewes of desiring a disputation I maruaile to what end If when all comes to all your auditors shall still remaine vncertaine what is true Shall I go yet farther You tell vs the Church cannot erre we beleeue you not you alledge some places of Scripture to proue it to vs we say they proue no such matter what course will you take It is in vaine to dispute of it that is as you say to wast words in wrangling about it For that is but an vncertaine meanes to find-out the truth Haue you not brought matters to a good passe thinke you when you professe that there is no meanes to discern certainlie whether the Church can erre or no but onely to take her own word for it Yea no meanes left to know that she is the Church For if you will againe fly to the Scriptures you run into the former difficulties and end as before in vncertainty Who would haue to do with such vnreasonable men But that you may not seeme to leaue vs in vncertainty you tel vs that we may most certainly be instructed in all particular points of controuersies by onely enquiring and finding out what is holden generally by the Church for truth c. You send vs to the faith of the Church and namely of the Church of Rome Which say we is onely so farre forth to be yeelded vnto as it is agreeable to the Scriptures Neither do we say so onely but Ambrose long before our time hath said the like We are commanded saith
the truth to flie to the Scriptures And Tertullian reiects that which is brought if it be not in the Scriptures Origen saith Christ is no where to be sought but in the mountaines of the law and the Prophets Yea Ierome makes the Scriptures the bounds of the church beyond which she may not go Are you able to shew this authority in all particuler points of Controuersie whereof a man may doubt Are you not faine in many particulars to deny the sufficiency of the Scriptures and to run a madding after traditions What talke you then of shewing sufficient authority The bestauthority you can alleadge for many matters is the Popes will who cannot erre as you ridiculously imagine And this authoritie is all the reason you haue in diuers points except such stuffe as Durād brings in his Rationale diuinorum officiorum wherof many of your own men are ashamed I had thought your Friers vow of obedience to their superiours or at least the Iesuits special vow of blind fold obedience head bene the height of all perfection in this life but I perceiue now that there is a greater opinion of holinesse in these vowes then there is cause why For you tye the obedience of euery Christian in such sort to the authoritie of the Church and indeed of his particular pastor yea of euery Priest or Iesuite that comes licenced by Blackwell or some new Garnet that be must beleeue without enquiring any reasō whatsoeuer such a fellow shall deliuer to him for truth This is the obedience one of your Cardinals speakes of Obedience without reason saith Cusan is full and perfit obedience namely when a man yeelds obedience without requiring any reason as a beast horse or other obeies his maister So doth your Popish Clergie vse the people as men do their Asses make them beare and do what they list yea euen to the attempting of most horrible and incredible treasons against their Soueraigne and countrey I will not now dispute what agreement there is betwixt faith and reason nor whether of them is the former nor in what case a man may require reason onely that no man may conceiue amisse of our doctrine concerning our demanding of proofe for that we are enioyned to beleeue he is to vnderstand that we aske no farther proofe but to be perswaded that the point deliuered to vs is warranted by Scripture Let it be neuer so much in seeming contrary to reason if it be agreeable to Scripture we hold our selues bound in conscience to take it for truth though we be no way able to answer such reasons as we know are brought against it Neither yet do we rest satisfied as soone as some place of Scripture is alledged in a doubtfull matter but here indeed we hearken after reason Yet not to prooue that true which we find affirmed in Scripture but to make vs perceiue that such and such is the meaning of the Scripture Whatsoeuer the Scripture saith we acknowledge to be absolutely true so farre as it is deliuered for true by the holy Ghost But what the sense of the Scripture is we thinke it must be prooued by the true vse of reason according to the certain principles of diuinitie and such helps as obseruation of circūstances vnderstanding of the tongs conference of like places logical discourse with such other helps reasonably affoord vs. But why should you find fault with demanding reason or not be most willing ready to ioyne it to your authority since as Cusan saith faith is not abased by reason but exalted euen as water in a vessell supports and lifts vp oyle As for your proofe that therfore we may not demand a reason nor so much as enquire whether the points that are taught vs be sutable to the Scripture or no because Christian beliefe must onely be grounded vpon the authority of God speaking by the mouth of the Church we say that you auouch that which is not true For Christian faith must be grounded vpon the authoritie of God speaking by the pens of his Apostles and Prophets in the Scripture not vpon the authoritie of any company of men liuing from time to time in the world The Church you dreame of will I doubt not in another part of my answer be shewed to be nothing but a fancy and a gay word to deceiue the simple when as by it you meane no more but your clergie or perhaps your Bb. onely assembled in a Councell or the Pope himselfe alone who can with no more reason be called the Church then the head may be tearmed the body or the whole man if I should grant you that he is the head which is both false and absurd The Lord vseth not the authoritie of men to enioyne what they list for a matter of faith but their ministery to beget faith by declaring what he hath reuealed in the Scripture through euidence of truth and power of exhortation testified and made effectuall by the mightie grace of the holy Ghost in the hearts of them that shall be saued A. D. §. 11 The which briefe and compendious resolution of faith whosoeuer will as euery one may securely and as in the discourse following shall be declared must necessarily embrace beside the ease he shall also reape this commoditie that cutting off all occasions of needlesse and fruitlesse doubts questions and disputes concerning matters of faith wherin vnsettled minds spend their time and spirit he shall haue good leisure and better liking then ordinarily such vnquiet mindes can haue to employ his endeuours more fruitfully otherwayes to wit in building vpon the firme foundation of stedfast faith the gold and pretious stones of Gods loue and other vertues in practise whereof consisteth that good life which maketh a man become the liuing temple of almightie God the which temple Gods spirit will not onely visite with holy inspirations and blessings oftentimes in this life but he wil also inhabite and dwell continually in it both by grace here and by glory in the other most happy and euerlasting life A. W. The securitie that ariseth from resting vpon the authoritie of the Church is freenesse not from danger but frō care This latter I confesse will easily be wrought by this perswasion in the heart of a carelesse worldling or a man superstitiously ignorant if he can be senslesly obstinate inough in keeping his eyes and eares from seeing and hearing the truth of God in the Scripture for to such men God sends strong delusions to beleeue lyes that they may be damned which haue not receiued the loue of the truth that they might be saued But alas what shall this ease aduantage them but onely that they may go laughing to destruction as a foole doth to the stocks and whip What necessitie can there then be of embracing such a dāgerous resolution Besides the ease you tell vs now of another commodity that may be reapt by embracing that
Leo faith that is true is a strong bulwarke to which faith nothing may be added by any man from which nothing may be taken because vnlesse it be one it is not faith sith the Apostle saith one Lord one faith one baptisme Is it not euident that he speakes of the points of faith that are to be beleeued For to them may a man adde I speake of power not of lawfulnesse from them may he take wheras the qualitie of faith seated in the soule is free from all such danger The learned father had found by experience that hereticks from time to time tooke vpon them to diminish and augment the faith of the Church that is the articles of religion and therefore denieth them to haue any faith that hold not firmly and onely the truth of doctrine according to the faith of the Church agreeable to Scripture A. D. §. 3. Omni studio saith S. Hierome Laborandum est primùm ocurrere in fidei vnitatem We must labour with all diligence first to meete in the vnitie of faith A. W. Ieroms testimonie wherein either the printer or you reade vnitatem for vnitate which is also the word in the text is to the same purpose that Leos was There are saith Ierome many winds of doctrine and by their blast when the waues are raised men are caried hither and thither in an vncertaine course and with diuers errors then follow the words you alledge Therefore we must labour with all diligence first to meete in the vnitie of faith then in the same vnitie to haue the knowledge of the sonne of God Which last point is added because of Sabellius who denied the distinction of the persons and against whom Ierome speaketh professedly in that chapter as also against Arius Macedonius and Eunomius about the holy Ghost and our Sauiour Christ A. D. §. 4. Hanc fidem saith Irenaeus ecclesia in vniuersum mundum disseminata diligenter custodit quasi vnam domum inhabitans similiter credit ijs quasi vnam animam habens vnum cor consonanter haec praedicat docet cradit quasi vnum possidens os Nam quamuis in mundo dissimiles sint loquelae tamen virtus traditionis vna eadem est This faith the Church spread ouer the whole world doth diligently keepe as dwelling in one house and doth belieue in one like manner those things to wit which are proposed for points of faith as hauing one soule and one heart and doth preach and teach and deliuer by tradition those things after one vniforme manner as possessing one mouth For although there be diuers and different languages in the world yet the vertue of tradition is One and the same Thus saith this Father By whose words we may vnderstand not onely that there is but one faith but also how it is said to be one which might seeme not to be one considering there are so many points or articles which we beleeue by our faith and so many seuerall men who haue in them this faith yet One saith this Father it is because the whole Church doth beleeue those points in one like manner That is to say because the beliefe of one man is in all points like and nothing different from the beliefe of another or because euery faithfull man beleeueth euery point or article for one and the like cause or for mall reason to wit because God hath reuealed it and deliuered it to vs by his Catholicke Church to be beleeued For which reason euery one should beleeue whatsoeuer he beleeueth as a point of Christian faith A. W. Irenaeus as the two former speaketh of the articles of religion many wherof he had recited in the next chapter before whereupon he infers the words you set downe The Church saith he hauing receiued this doctrine or preaching of this faith though it be spread ouer the whole world keepes it diligently c. And this your selfe acknowledge in these words To wit which are proposed for points of faith whereby you expound that which Irenaeus said The Church beleeues those things which is all one with his former words in sense This faith the Church holds So doth Feuardentius one of your learnedst Fryers vnderstand Irenaeus telling vs that he sets the consent of all Churches as a brasen wall that cannot be ouerthrowne against hereticks Of the same things saith Feuardentius they thinke beleeue write and teach the same By this place it is manifest that you take faith as it is a qualitie because you distinguish the points we beleeue from our faith by which we beleeue and so speaking of faith in that sense neuer a one of your proofes is either plaine or certaine But let vs see how you interprete Irenaeus He saith The whole Church doth beleeue alike meaning that all beleeue the same things not that the habit by which they beleeue is of like force like strength in euery particular Church or man which neither belongs to his purpose nor is true The intention or inward strength euen of the Catholick faith may be greater in one mā saith Domingo à Soto then in another and according to that increase our faith Therefore your former reason which you giue why faith is said to be one namely because the beleefe of one man is in all points like the beleefe of another must be vnderstood of likenesse in regard of the articles they beleeue not of any equalitie in the habit or qualitie it selfe and in that sense onely doth Irenaeus say that faith is one Which saith he no man by his eloquence maketh greater no man by his weaknes in speaking of it lesse We see saith Feuardentius that Irenaeus vehemently vrgeth the vnitie of doctrine and consent of faith which we affirmed to be one of the notes of the true Church Therefore whereas you said of Irenaeus that he affirmes faith to be one because the whole Church doth beleeue those things points of faith in one like manner you mistake his meaning and auow that which is vntrue It is great pitie but that such as you are coming in the name and by the authority of the Church should haue absolute credit giuen to that you teach without doubting or examining it at all Your second reason why faith is said to be one neither agrees with Irenaeus meaning as appeares by that which hath bene alreadie said and in the latter part is false too for both it is a fansie of yours that God hath deliuered it to vs by the Catholicke Church since the Prophets Apostles and Ministers are not the Catholicke Church but members of it the last all of them seuerally and ioyntly subiect to many errors though not fundamentall And the reason of beleeuing is simply and onely the authoritie and will of God made knowne to vs by the ministerie of men the holy Ghost enlightening our vnderstanding and enclining our hearts to beleeue But
Apostles because they spake immediatly by the direction of the spirit and therefore could not possibly erre in any point whereas all other men are subiect to error and their doctrine to examination ere it need be credited Secondly we must remember it doth not follow that if our Sauiour said whosoeuer beleeued not the Apostles should be damned then he that beleeues not the Ministers now in all they propound to be beleeued should be therefore liable to condemnatiō I haue stood the more vpon this proposition because the consequence being true may breed an error in the conceit of many if the reason of it be not truly vnderstood Your Assumption or minor is thus to be limited according to that which I before deliuered He that beleeues the Apostles spake immediatly by the inspiration of the spirit of God and yet doubts of the truth of some things they preached cannot without reforming this error be saued because he holds that the holy Ghost may inspire an vntruth No more can he that doth not beleeue they spake by such inspiration For of them our Sauiour hath absolutely said He that despiseth you despiseth me The second limitation is about the things themselues The ignorance of some points deliuered by the Apostles vtterly excludes a man out of heauen some other again may be vnknowne and a man notwithstanding that his ignorance be saued Therefore though our Sauiour except no point nor distinguish betwixt matters of doctrine yet the not beleeuing of some is no farther damnable then a man doth wilfully refuse to beleeue that which he confesseth to be truth in his heart or at the least in which he thinkes the Apostles were deceiued or which he despiseth as needlesse and so condemnes the wisedome of God in propounding it to be beleeued A. D. §. 3. And this not without reason for not to beleeue any one point whatsoeuer which God by reuealing it doth testifie to bee true and which by his Church he hath commaunded vs to beleeue must needs be damnable as being a notable iniurie to Gods veritie and a great disobedience to his will But all points of faith are thus testified by God and commaunded to be beleeued otherwise they be not points of faith but of opinion or some other kinde of knowledge Therefore all points of faith must vnder paine of damnation be beleeued beleeued I say eyther expresly and actually as learned men may doe or implicite and virtually as vnlearned Catholicks commonly doe who beleeuing expresly those articles which euerie one is bound particularly to know doe not in the rest obstinately doubt or hold some errour against the Church but haue a minde prepared to submit themselues in all things to the authoritie of the Church which they are sure is taught and directed by the spirit of God and doe in generall hold for vndoubted truth whatsoeuer the Catholicke or vniuersall Church doth beleeue A. W. Now followeth the second proofe of your assumption in this manner Euerie notable iniurie to Gods veritie and disobedience to his will is damnable But misbeleeuing or absolutely not beleeuing any one point reuealed by God and propounded by his Church to be beleeued is a notable iniurie to Gods veritie and a great disobedience to his will Therefore misbeleeuing or obstinately not beleeuing any one point reuealed by God and propounded by his Church to be beleeued is damnable To let passe this craftie conueyance whereby you still shuffle in the Church whereas without it the matter is as true and the proposition as perfect I answer to your assumption that all misbeleeuing or obstinately not beleeuing is not a notable iniurie to Gods truth nor a great disobedience to his will where it proceeds simply of ignorance and not of wilfulnesse except in such cases as I shewed in the end of the last section which I speake not to excuse any man as if he did not sinne in misbeleeuing or as if there were some sinne not deadly according to your erroneous conceit but onely to distinguish notable iniuries and great disobedience from some kinde of misbeleeuing The conclusion is thus to be conceiued That misbeleeuing is in it selfe damnable not that no man can be saued which misbeleeueth This distinction of beleeuing expresly and implicitly as you terme it confirmes part of that which I haue hitherto said for by your confession there are some points to the beleefe whereof a general faith will not serue the turne but a man must know the particulars and assent actually to the truth of them For example it is not enough for a man to beleeue in grosse that he must be saued by such meanes onely as God hath reuealed and the Church hath propounded to be beleeued but it is absolutely necessarie to saluation that he know what the Church holdeth in this case concerning redemption by our Sauiour Christ and in his heart acknowledge the truth thereof Againe there are many other points which so a man neglect not the meanes to know them may be vnknowne and beleeued onely in generall without danger of damnation by reason of such ignorance Now this generall beleefe is not as you falsely say to be folded vp in the faith of the Church but to be tied to the Scripture all things wherein I acknowledge to be most true and beleeue all points whatsoeuer as they are eyther expressed or contained in Scripture howsoeuer I be ignorant what is true touching perhaps very many particulars To the authoritie of the Church I willingly submit my selfe thus farre as that I hold it a sinfull presumption for me or any man eyther to compare my priuate opinion with the generall iudgement of other Christians especially Ministers or to condemne or suspect that of falshood which they deliuer vnlesse I haue apparent proofe for the one and great likelihood for the other In which cases I set not my owne conceit against the doctrine of the Church but preferre the truth of God before the opinions of men As for any infallible authoritie in the Church vpon supposall of such a certaine direction by the spirit of God I hold it neither for true nor probable as shall appeare hereafter In the meane while I desire the Reader to consider these few testimonies cōcerning the authority of men Other writers saith Austin I reade with this prouiso that be their learning or holinesse neuer so great I will not thinke a matter true because they haue thought so but because they haue bene able to perswade me eyther by other Canonicall writers or by some likely reason In an other place We may not consent to Bishops though they be Catholicke if at any time they be deceiued so that they iudge contrarie to the Canonicall Scripture of God Of necessitie saith Origen must we call for the testimonie of the Scriptures for our senses and declarations without them as witnesses haue no credit And this charge Basil layeth vpon vs that when we heare we examine
the points that are deliuered by our teachers and receiue those that are agreeable to the Scriptures and reiect those that are diuers from them Other things that men inuent of their owne head saith Ierome as it were by Apostolicall tradition without the authoritie and witnesse of the Scriptures the word of God smiteth A. D. §. 4. Secondly that man which beleeuing some points should denie others cannot while he doth thus haue one and the same faith which other Christians haue Sith he doth not as Irenaeus requireth to the vnitie of faith beleeeue the points of faith in a like but in a different manner from other Christians That is to say Neither doth he beleeue all the points which they doe neither doth he beleeue those points wherein he doth agree with them for the same reason that they doe that is to say He doth not beleeue those points which he seemeth to beleeue precisely for that God hath reuealed them and by his Church propounded them for if he did sith this reason is common to all points of faith he should assoone beleeue all as any one He hath not therefore I say one and the same faith which other Christians haue who notwithstanding haue the true faith And sith as S. Leo said Nisi vna est fides non est If it be not one faith it is no faith at all It followeth that he that beleeueth not entirely all points of faith hath no faith at all and consequently sith one that hath no faith can no way be saued it is euident that he that beleeuing some articles doth obstinately denie others cannot be saued A. W. Your second reason to prooue that faith must be entire is thus to be framed If faith cannot be one vnlesse it be entire then it must be entire But faith cannot be one vnlesse it be entire Therefore faith must be entire I denie the consequence of your proposition For it is not absolutely necessarie to saluation that faith should be one in such sort as you imagine There is indeed an absolute necessitie that all men should agree in the beleefe of certaine points without the beleefe whereof there can possibly be no saluation But that there should be such an agreement in all points though it be necessarie positiuely to speake as you doe because Gods truth is in euery particular to be beleeued yet it is not required as a meanes without which a man cannot be saued as I haue already shewed I grant the assumption in that sense you vnderstand being one otherwise I denie it Faith may be one in all points necessary to saluation and yet not entire in beleeuing all things that God hath reuealed To your allegation out of Irenaeus I answered before the exposition you make of it as I then signified in regard of the latter part thereof cannot be drawne out of Irenaeus who speakes not a word of the reason whereupon men beleeue but onely of the principall articles of faith euery where beleeued in regard whereof there was as he saith an vnitie of beleefe Neither is your proofe sufficient if we grant your exposition For a man may beleeue that which he doth beleeue because God hath reuealed it and in that respect haue one faith with other Christians and yet doubt of or denie some other points which are commonly held because he cannot perswade himselfe that they are reuealed by God though it be generally so beleeued I may say the like of matters propounded also by the Church because the decrees thereof are not so plaine but that they may admit diuers senses But I respect not that clause as being a point foisted in by you without any warrant of Scripture or reason Though it be no great matter what you build vpon so slipperie a foundation because it cannot long stand yet perhaps it is not amisse to push it downe presently that it may not continue to make a shew Thus you build He that hath no faith at all cannot be saued But he that beleeues not entirely all points of faith hath no faith at all Therefore he that beleeuing some articles doth obstinately denie any others cannot be saued I denie your assumption A man may doubt of and denie many points as I haue shewed and yet both haue faith and be saued Your proofe to the contrarie out of Leo was answered before Your conclusion is not so large as it should be For you restraine it to obstinately not beleeuing which cannot barre a man from saluation but in those points alone which are necessarie as meanes to bring him to euerlasting life A. D. §. 5. Thirdly to beleeue some points of faith and to denie others or any one is heresie as to denie all is absolute Infidelitie But it is sure euen out of Scripture that Heretickes shall not be saued no more then Infidels For as it is said Qâ—i non credit iam indicatus est he that beleeueth not is alreadie iudged so the Aposile Saint Paule reckoneth heresies among the works of the flesh of all which he doth pronounce Qui talia agunt regnum Dei non consequentur Those which doe such like things shall not attaine the kingdome of God A. W. Hereticall faith is liable to damnation That faith which is not entire is hereticall Therefore that faith which is not entire is liable to damnation I must intreate the Reader to call to minde what I answered before in generall concerning this point about liablenesse to damnation There is no heresie nor error in matter of Religion but it is a sinne and being so makes the partie that doth erre liable to damnation But yet many errors and heresies are of so small moment in comparison of other that hee which holdeth them may notwithstanding such his error or heresie be saued I gaue examples before and will not stand to repeate them So then the proposition is thus farre true and no farther Hereticall faith in matters necessarie to saluation is simply damnable so that he which continueth in such an estate cannot possibly be saued Againe Hereticall faith in any point of Gods truth whatsoeuer of it selfe deserueth damnation yet he that doth erre in some points may be saued else I thinke there are fewe men liuing or euer haue bene that could haue come or shall come to heauen As for the authoritie of the Church it is not of force to make that simply damnable which in it selfe is not so though it much increase the sinne whensoeuer it determineth truly of any point in question You will say Saint Paule reckoneth heresie amongst the works of the flesh So doth he contentions c. yet may a man in ignorance be contentious thinking he doth well and contends for the true faith as he ought to do and for all this contention not depriue himselfe of the interest he hath to the kingdome of heauen in Iesus Christ I deny your assumption A man may be
excused in your iudgement by ignorance concerning any positiue commaundement of God but out of doubt there are many points of truth reuealed by God onely as positiue not as such meanes to saluation that without the beleefe of them a man cannot be saued Adde hereunto that a Christian may be ignorant of many points held by the Church and that by negatiue ignorance because he could neuer come where he might heare that the Church beleeued such and such things It is therefore an vnreasonable thing to condemne all ignorance for heresie and a most vncharitable conceit to cast all into hell fire that beleeue not in euery point as the Church generally doth yea though they know what the Church mainteines be of a contrarie mind Your proofe which is a comparison of likenesse or equality betwixt infidelitie in denying all Christian religion and heresie in not beleeuing some points of it is a great deale too weake Similitudes argue indeed but rather by way of illustration then proofe And there is no equalitie betwixt denying all and doubting of some The former absolutely ouerthrowes true religion the latter onely misconceiues some points leauing the grounds of truth vntouched and beleeuing them as most certaine A. D. § 6. Fourthly I may confirme the same with the testimonie of the ancient Fathers First of S. Athanasius in his creed which is commonly knowne and approoued of all Quicunque saith he vult saluus esse ante omnia opus est vt teneat Catholicam fidem quam nisi quisque integram inuiolatamque seruauerit absque dubio in aeternum peribit Whosoeuer will be saued before all things it is needfull that he hold the Catholicke faith which vnlesse euerie one doe keepe entire and vnviolate without doubt he shall perish euerlastingly A. W. If the ancient writers should affirme a thing so vnreasonable there were good reason for a man to looke for some proofe of it out of the Scriptures But no doubt we shall finde your citations of their writings as much to the purpose as we haue done your former arguments The first you alleadge is Athanasius in his Creed to which I answer that Athanasius speaks not of all points reuealed by God but of those substantiall matters which are there set downe by him and namely of the Trinitie of persons and Godhead of our Sauiour Iesus Christ This appeares by the last verse of the same Creed where he thus concludeth This is the Catholicke faith which except a man beleeue faithfully he cannot be saued But Athanâ—siuâ— hath not comprehended all points of religion in that Creed for he leaueth out the buriall of our Sauiour Christ vnlesse you will say he put his going downe into hell for it neither doth he require in that place any other point as necessary to be beleeued to saluation but those onely that he there reciteth which must be kept entire and vnuiolate of euery man that will be saued A. D. §. 7. Qui sunt in sacris literis eruditi saith Saint Basil ne vnam quidem sillabam diuinorum dogmatum prodi sinunt sed pro istius defensione si opus est nullum non mortis genus libenter amplectuntur Those that are well instructed in holy Writ doe not suffer one sillable of diuine doctrine to be betraied or yeelded vp but for the defence thereof if need be doe willingly embrace any kinde of death A. W. That of Basil is lesse to the purpose For first he saith nothing of any doctrine propounded by the Church or of your vnwritten traditioÌ„s but only of the Scriptures And how makes this for the beleeuing whatsoeuer the Church wil deliuer without which in your iudgement faith cannot be one or entire Secondly he speakes not of all ignorant men whose faith vpon paine of damnation you will haue entire concerning euery point but of those onely that are learned in the holy Scriptures or at the most so farre as they are learned in them I astly what saith he of these but that which we alwaies require that a christian should not suffer any sillable of true doctrine to be betraied This makes against you who rest wholly vpon Popes and Councils and by that meanes oftentimes betray the truth of God manifested in the Scripture yea so farre are you from mainteining euery sillable of it with hazard of your liues that you doe what you can for shame to destroy it all You Papists depriue the people of them altogether at least for their priuate reading howsoeuer your Pope Pius 4. makes a shew of permitting it You haue thrust out the Authenticall copies of Hebrew and Greeke and in steed of them authorised a corrupt Latine translation which no man may refuse vpon any pretence though it haue 8000 places as Isidorus Clarius a great learned man of your owne affirmeth in which the sense of the holy Ghost is changed yea Cardinal Hosius blusheth not to write That it were better for the Church if there were no written Gospell extant I omit your blasphemies against the Scriptures whereof I haue spoken otherwhere A. D. §. 8. Nihil periculosius saith Nazianzen his haereticis esse potest qui cum integrè per omnia decurrant vno tamen verbo quasi veneni gutta veram illam ac simplicem fidem dominicam inficiunt Nothing can be more perilous then these heretickes who when they runne vprightly through all the rest yet with one word as with a drop of poyson doe infect that true and sincere faith of our Lord. A. W. What if Gregorie Nazianzen complaine that heretickes which held most points soundly according to truth as Arius Eutyches Macedonius Nestorius and diuers other did were very pernitious to the Church because they did more easily and secretly poyson the truth of doctrine by their heresies Will it follow hereupon that therefore a man cannot be saued vnlesse he beleeue euerie point of truth reuealed by God or that a man hath no faith because his beleefe agrees not in euery small matter with other Christians Remember I pray you we denie not that faith should be entire but that it cannot be auaileable to saluation if in any one point it misbeleeue Thus haue I examined the first part of this your Treatise of Faith which I know not how I should apply to your maine syllogisme implied in your preface when you shew the vse of it in any part thereof I will giue you answer accordingly A. D. CHAP. V. That there must be some means prouided by almighty God by which all sorts of men may learne this faith which is so necessary to saluatioÌ„ A. W. The title of this Chapter is so propounded that your meaning may easily be mistaken There must be say you some meanes prouided May not a man gather by these words that as yet there are no such meanes prouided where as you would haue vs beleeue that God hath already made prouision of fit meanes to that
purpose A. D. §. 1. As this one infallible and entire faith is necessary to saluation to all sorts of men as well vnlearned as learned so we must say that almightie God Qui vult omnes homines saluos fieri ad agnitionem veritatis venire who would haue all men to be saued and to come to the knowledge of truth hath for proofe that this of his part is a true will prouided some rule or means whereby euery man learned and vnlearned may sufficiently in all points questions or doubts of faith be infallibly instructed what is to be holden for the true faith and that the onely cause why any man misseth of the true faith is either because he doth not seeke out and find this rule and meanes or hauing found it he will not vse it and in all points submitting his owne sense selfe opinion and proper iudgement obediently yeeld assent vnto it as the nature of diuine faith and the dutie of euery Christian bindeth him to do This is proued because if Almightie God hath a true will of his part to leade all men to this happie end of eternall saluation as it may be plainly proued that he hath out of Scripture and Fathers he must needs prouide them sufficient meanes by which it may at least be possible for them to attaine that end For we neuer say that God hath a will to do any thing vnlesse he do either absolutely worke the thing or at least prouide meanes sufficient by which it is possible to be done But vnlesse there be such a rule or meanes prouided by which euery one learned and vnlearned may attaine to this one infallible and entire faith of which I haue spoken before there are not sufficient meanes prouided by which it is possible for all men to come to saluation sith as I proued without that faith it is vnpossible for any one to come to saluation Therefore we must needs say that Almightie God hath prouided this rule or meanes by which euery man euen the most vnlearned may sufficiently be instructed in matters of faith A. W. Whether your comparison by which you propound this point be of likenesse or equalitie I see not what agreement the one part can haue with the other But to let that passe because it is of no great moment I am now earnestly to request all men Protestants and Papists who will vouchsafe to reade my answer that they would giue me leaue to examine this treatise by the light of true reason and themselues take a little paines more then ordinary in the vnderstanding of it We are then first of all to remember that the summe of this treatise was propounded by the author himselfe in his preface to this effect That the faith which the authoritie of the true Catholick Church commendeth to vs is without doubt to be holden for the true faith and that the faith which the authoritie of the Church of Rome commendeth to vs is that faith Now then these two points being proued that which was intended is dispatched and either of these failing the matter is still in question For proofe of the former proposition or sentence he disputeth on this maner That we must needs admit an infallible authoritie in the Catholicke Church by reason whereof euery one must learne of it onely what is the true faith Now he addresseth himselfe to the proofe of this last proposition which as I shewed in my answer to the Preface is the assumption of his second Syllogisme and thus he reasoneth If God haue not prouided some rule or means whereby euery man learned and vnlearned may sufficiently in all points questions or doubts of faith be infallibly instructed what is to be holden for the true faith vnlesse we admit such an authority then we must needs admit it But God hath not prouided any rule or meanes vnlesse we admit such an authoritie Therefore we must needs admit such an authoritie in the Catholicke Church The ground of the proposition or maior is this that God will haue all as well vnlearned as learned to be saued Which being vnderstood I answer concerning the consequence of the proposition that it is false I will be as plaine as I can that euery one may vnderstand me If his meaning be that we must admit such an authoritie in the Catholicke Church because without it there are no sufficient meanes of saluation for euery particular learned and vnlearned man I deny the consequence of his proposition For neither is it necessary to saluation that a man should be infallibly instructed in all points questions doubts of faith and God neuer had any purpose that euery particular man should be affoorded that meanes of saluation I will not spend time nor labor in this point it may be proued sufficiently by this his argument For these means he imagineth of a visible Church alwayes continuing are not such but that before the comming of our Sauiour and since also many thousands haue liued and died which could neuer haue any suspition or thought of such a Church Till it pleased our Sauiour to send his Apostles with a generall commission the knowledge of him was shut vp within the land of Iewry or at the most was heard of but in the countries neare adioyning After the commission giuen it asked some time for the Apostles to disperse themselues ouer the world and in that time many thousands must needs die without the knowledge of our Sauiour Christ But what speake I of the beginnings of the Gospell How many countries are there in which no steps of the Gospell haue bene to which no little sound of it hath come for many hundred yeares Austin sayth that in his time there were many nations to whom the Gospell had not then bene preached yea it was commonly held amongst the auncient writers that the day of iudgement should speedily ensue after the Gospell had bene preached in all the world If you vrge that place of Timothie that God wil haue all men to be saued you shall be answered by one of your owne side that all signifies all kind of men not euery man of euery kind of euery kind many They are called all saith Fulgentius because God saueth them out of euery nation condition age out of euery prouince of euery language So doth Austin expound that text in diuers places though hee bring also some other interpretations but all against the conceits of men that would haue all taken for euery one The like exposition he giueth of that in the Gospell I wil draw all to me All kinds of men in all languages in all ages in all degrees of honor in all diuersities of dispositions and wits in all professions of arts lawful and profitable c. Holkot not the meanest of your school-men maketh this sense of those words God will haue all men to be saued that is saith he God hath made all men capable
of saluation and giuen commandements which if all men should obserue they should be saued But what need I be long in this matter when as your selfe as it should seeme so vnderstood it In the title you say All sorts of men in the Chapter you repeate those same words and adde two sorts learned and vnlearned which also you do afterward It may therefore seeme strange perhaps to some man that I trouble my self and the reader with this exception against your proposition But I do it not without iust cause For although both title and chapter make profession as it were of that meaning yet within halfe a dozē lines after you giue me occasiō to suspect the other sense where you say God hath prouided meanes whereby euery man learned and vnlearned may sufficiently be instructed And indeed whereto else tendeth that discourse of the visibilitie of the Church so much magnified and vrged by you In that sense then I denie the consequence of the proposition But if you vnderstand it according to the plaine words not of euery man but of all sorts of men I still denie the consequence For though it be out of doubt that God hath appointed as wel vnlearned as learned to euerlasting life yet it is false that there needeth any such rule or meanes as of necessitie to saluation I denie your assumption For God hath prouided a rule whereby a man may be instructed in all points and questions of faith Let them that would attaine to saluation saith Chrysostom bestow their time in the Scriptures And againe If we search the Scriptures diligently we shall attaine to saluation We are not commaunded saith Iustin the martyr by Christ to giue credit to the doctrines of men but to those which the holy Prophets haue published and Christ hath taught Therefore doth Tertullian call Hermogenes to the Scripture and adore the sufficiency thereof By which onely as one saith after heresie once hath possest the Churches the true Church of Christ is to be found A little after He that would know which is the true Church of Christ how shall he know it but only by the Scriptures From and in which only assurance of faith is to be had as he saith presently after God hath a true will which also certainly taketh effect that some mē of al sorts shold be saued but not that euery particular man should as I proued before by your reason because he hath not vouchsafed euery one the means Cōcerning the first place alledged by you the Apostles owne interpretation seemeth to allow that which I brought before out of Austin of the diuers conditions and sorts of men For so himselfe speaketh I will that prayers supplications and intercessions be made for all men for Kings and for all that are in authoritie He sheweth in these last words what he meaneth by all men All sorts of men The reason why he nameth Kings and magistrates is because they were at that time not onely heathen but also enemies and persecutors so that no such doctrine can be certainly and necessarily concluded out of this text that God would haue euery particular man to be saued For the auowing of the former exposition we must vnderstand that the word all is often vsed in Scripture for euery kind Iesus healed euery sicknesse and euery disease not euery particular but all kind of diseases Euery sinne and blasphemy shal be forgiuen not euery particular sinne but euery kind of sin saue onely that against the holy Ghost We heard before that of Iohn I wil draw all to me and Saint Austins iudgement thereupon And if it were true that God had as you speak a true wil that all men should be saued how can that be true which not we onely but the learnedst of your Papists hold according to the Scriptures that he appointed some to damnation as wel as other some to saluation and that there can be no reason giuē why this man in particular is vouchsafed faith and saluation that man is not but onely the wil of God As it is euidently proued by Thomas of Aquin Rom. 9. and long before him by S. Austin in many places Ad Simplician lib. 1. q. 2. de praedest grat cap. 46. Enchir. ad Laurent cap. 32. 99. Epist 105 ad Sixtū you therfore do Austin wrong who alledge him in your margin as if he thought that God wold haue euery particular mā to be saued against which his doctrine in so many places is direct and which as I shewed before he purposely refuteth Prosper also is of the same opinion as hauing defended that doctrine of Austin against his aduersaries which also is the title matter of a whole chapter in one of his bookes That the saying of the Apostle God wil haue all men to be saued is meant of all kind of men Therfore the place you bring must be vnderstood according to the course of Prospers writings in the same treatise that God hath not barred any nation nor kept back any man from hearing beleeuing the Gospel And farther hath by his general prouidence and benesiles affoorded meanes to stir vp all to seeke God as himself speakes in two of the places you bring and in some other In one place when he had said that many infants are dead who certainly haue no part in the citie of God he addeth And where is that which by some that vnderstand it not is obiected to vs as contrary hereunto that God wil haue all men to be saued and come to the knowledge of his truth Are not they to be reckoned among those All men who heretofore from time to time haue perished without the knowledge of God This might serue for answer to you in this point concerning Gods will to haue all men saued But for your better satisfactiō or if that will not be for the closer stopping of your mouth I will adde that solution which your great Cardinall Bellarmine giues to these three places of Scripture that you alledge though in another question These places saith Bellarmine only signifie that God hindereth no man from saluation yea that he hath appointed remedies and helps in common and that he would haue the preaching of the word and the sacraments to be common to all In the same sense is God said to be the Sauiour of all because by his generall prouidence he hath care of all and hath left no man vntoucht but either by the Gospell or by the law or by nature it selfe hath moued him to seeke after God as Prosper saith yea hath affoorded meanes whereby euery man may be saued This place as Bellarmine saith can hardly haue any other exposition then that latter Your Glosse expoundeth it of Gods goodnes to all men in respect of outward blessings who makes his Sun to shine saith it vpon good and bad The other place of
setting downe what cōditions or properties this rule of faith must haue afterwards by proouing particularly that neither Scripture alone not any natural wit or humane lerning nor priuat spirit can be this rule of faith And finally that this rule which all mē may safely must necessarily follow can be no other but the teaching of the Catholicke Church A. W. It is onely thus farre agreed betwixt vs that there must needs be meanes appointed by Almightie God whereby all sorts of men may come to such a measure of knowledge and faith as is necessarie to saluation not wherby euery man may be infalliblie instructed in all points of religion that he need neuer make more question in any matter of faith though we grant that there is such a meanes prouided by God howsoeuer we in our weaknesse cannot make such vse of it But that we may vnderstand matters aright as we go forward I must intreate the Reader to remember that if all things to come in this your Treatise be sufficiently prooued yet you faile much of your maine purpose For this last Syllogisme is the foundation of all yet behinde concerning one of the principall points which you propoūded in the beginning viz. That it was necessarie to admit such an infallible authoritie in the Catholicke Church Now the proposition of this Syllogisme I haue denied and refuted Therefore if the assumption therof were most certainly true as it is vndoubtedly false yet could your conclusion be nothing sure because the syllogisme failes in the proposition but let vs see how you prooue the assumtion If neither the Scripture alone nor naturall wit or learning nor a priuate spirit can be such a rule then God hath prouided no such rule vnlesse we admit an infallible authority in the Catholicke Church But neither the Scripture alone nor naturall wit or learning nor a priuate spirit can be such a rule Therefore God hath prouided no such rule vnlesse we admit an infallible authority in the Catholicke Church This proposition is not set downe by you in plaine termes but necessarily and certainly gathered out of the course you hold in the fiue next chapters wherein the assumption and conclusion are manifestly contained that in the foure former this in the tenth The consequence of your proposition is verie weake For what if none of these seuerally be such a rule may not all these together be Sure there is nothing brought by you to the contrary But if all these faile what can you say to the contrarie why a generall Councell without the Popes authority should not be such a rule Or to goe farther doe you not thinke that the Pope alone may serue the turne And yet in your opinion neither the Councell nor the Pope seuerally considered are the Church Therefore it seemes there may be such a rule though there be no companie of men that hath any such authoritie as you speake of Secondly your consequence is but feeble in an other respect For it presumeth that if there be such an authoritie there is such a rule Whereas many thousands in the world may be vtterly without meanes of knowing that there is such an authoritie and so the meanes as in regard of them insufficient Adde hereunto that although it were possible and easie for euery man to know and see the Church yet the meanes might be insufficient because there is no certaine reason to perswade them that they must beleeue this Church in all things so that still according to your doctrine the Lord must needs haue failed much in his prouidence though he haue giuen this authority to the Church because he hath prouided no meanes whereby euery man may certainly be perswaded that the Church hath such authoritie Will you say He hath appointed that all men should beleeue the Church What can that helpe when he hath not prouided meanes for all men to know that they must beleeue her Must we not come now to a priuate spirit that is to the teaching of Gods spirit in the hearts of particular men And if this must needs be in this one case how prooue you it may not be so in other To answer we must beleeue the Church is to beg the question against all reason A. D. CHAP. VI. VVhat conditions or properties must be found in the rule of Faith THis rule which Almightie God hath prouided as a sufficient meanes to direct men to the knowledge of true faith necessarie to saluation must haue three conditions or properties First it must be certaine and infallible for otherwise it cannot be a sufficient foundation whereupon to build faith which as is proued before is absolutely infallible Secondly it must be such as may be certainly and plainly knowne of all sorts of men For if to any sort it could not be knowen or not certainly knowen it could not be to them a rule or meanes whereby they might direct themselues to the certaine knowledge of the true faith Thirdly it must be vniuersall that it may not onely make vs know certainly what is the true faith in some one or two or moe points but absolutely in all points of faith For otherwise it were not a sufficient meanes whereby we may attaine to an entire faith which integritie of faith is necessarie to saluation in such wise as hath bene declared and prooued before A. W. Your assumption had three points and as it were parts making three seueral sentences or propositions which for the more plainnesse I will handle seuerally as you haue done First of the Scripture The rule of faith must be certaine and infallible certainly and plainly knowen and vniuersall The Scripture alone is not so Therefore the Scripture alone is not the rule of faith Ere I come to answer your Syllogisme giue me leaue to shew how obscurely and doubtfully these properties are deliuered by you First infallible is taken in two diuers senses Faith must be infallible The rule must be infallible In the former we must needs expound infallible not being deceiued by holding any errour or nor doubting of that which it beleeueth In the latter what can infallible signifie but either that which is certainly true or that which may not be doubted of Is it plaine dealing to speake so doubtfully Or is it a good kinde of reasoning to runne the ring and to dispute in a circle as they speake in the Schooles Before you would prooue the infallibility of faith by the infallibility of the word of God which it must beleeue now you conclude the infallibility of the rule from the infallibility of faith Is not this to trifle rather then to reason Would you not laugh at vs if we should dispute thus The elect cannot fall away because the holy Ghost that vpholds them is true God The holy Ghost is true God because the elect whom he vpholds cannot fall away View your selfe in this glasse Secondly what would a reasonable man conceiue by these words The rule must be
certainly and plainly knowen but that euerie man must be able to perceiue that this or that is the rule What is your meaning That the rule must not be hard to be vnderstood Thirdly your terme of vniuersalitie is not so plaine as it might haue bene because it is commonly I thinke euery where in this Treatise saue in this one chapter taken for that which belongs to all persons times and places no where for all points of doctrine no not there where you speake of the entirenesse of faith And I pray you tell me why as you apply infallibilitie to faith and the rule you do not in like sort deale with entirenesse and say that the rule must be entire because faith must be entire I come now to your proposition which I denie because it is not necessarie that the rule of faith should be such as may be certainly and plainly knowen that is vnderstood in euery point It is sufficient if it may be vnderstood in those points that are necessarie to saluatiō Who would say that he which is to measure out timber in length had not a perfect rule to that purpose hauing an ordinarie Carpenters rule because there are vpon the rule some figures circles triangles squares and such like the vse wherof he vnderstandeth not If you runne backe to the entirenesse of faith I will follow you for a refutation of my answer thereunto and a founder proofe of that your conceit A. D. CHAP. VII That Scripture alone cannot be this rule of Faith A. W. The title of this chapter as it shall appeare by and by agreeth not with the discourse in the chapter and besides propoundeth very craftily a matter which is no way in question betwixt vs and the Papists For there is no Protestant diuine that thinks the Scripture alone that is without the ministerie of man a sufficient meanes for the saluation or instruction of all men to which the fond example of this Author tendeth where he talketh of locking vp an vnlearned man that cannot read alone without any helpe but a Bible A. D. §. 1. Out of these former grounds foure conclusions The first conclusion is that Scripture alone especially as it is by Protestants translated into the English tongue cannot be this rule of faith This I prooue First for that these translations faile in the first condition that is to say they are not infallible as the rule of faith must be for neither were the Scriptures written in this language immediately by the holy Ghost neither were the translators assisted by the same holy Ghost infallibly Infallibly I say that is in such sort as it were vnpossible that they should erre in any point Sith therefore the translators as being but men may erre To say nothing of that which by Gregory Martin is prooued and by the often changes of new and variable translations is shewed that some haue erred how can a man and especially an vnlearned man who hath not sufficient meanes learning nor leisure to compare the translations with the prime authenticall originall how can I say such a man be infallibly sure that this particular translation which he hath doth not erre And if in some places it erre how can he be infallibly sure that in those places which do seeme to fauour that sect which he followeth it doth not erre vnlesse he wil admit an vnfallible authoritie in the Church to assure vs that such or such a translation doth not erre in any point of which authoritie I shall speake more hereafter A. W. The Scripture is in it selfe such a rule or meanes and no doubt so made effectuall to some by reading without any other outward helpe of man but this is not the ordinarie course that God hath appointed for the instruction of the people in the knowledge of his truth Therefore if at any time we say that the Scripture alone is the rule of faith by Alone we seuer it from the traditions and authoritie of men not from their ministerie and ascribe vnto it sufficiencie in respect of the matter to be beleeued not simply of the meanes to bring men to beleefe The assumption which you should prooue as also the title of your chapter professeth is this That the scripture alone cannot be the rule of faith By what reason do you prooue it Truly by none at all but leauing the question you dispute against the English translation Wherefore I take it for granted that in your conscience you acknowledge the sufficiency of the Scripture to direct vs in all matters and questions of faith And thereupon I inferre that the infallible authoritie which you would tie to the Church is needlesse because without it there is a sufficient rule of faith prouided by Almightie God whereby euerie man learned and vnlearned may be instructed in all points of faith what is to be holden for true Hence it followeth that the first of your maine points set downe in the preface is false and so your whole Treatise void vntrue You tell vs indeed afterward that some of your reasons against the English translation haue also force to prooue that the Scripture alone in what language soeuer is no sufficient meanes but you neither shew vs which those reasons are nor are there any of sufficient weight to that purpose Let them iudge that will read my answer But first I will propound certaine testimonies of the Fathers concerning the infallibility sufficiency of the Scriptures VVhen heresie saith one hath once gotten footing in the Church there can be no refuge for Christians which desire to know the true faith but onely to the Scriptures And afterward Christ commaunds that they that desire to haue certaintie of faith flie to no other thing but to the Scriptures In the same place three seuerall times in one halfe page he assureth all men that in the most dangerous daies of Antichrist there will be no way to know the true Church of Christ but onely by the Scriptures If certaintie of faith knowledge of the true Church may be had from the Scriptures in time of heresie cannot else where be had out of doubt the Scripture is certaine and infallible and so consequently the rule of faith Irenaeus tels vs that the Gospell is left to vs in the Scriptures to be the foundation and pillar of our faith Tertullian cals to Hermogenes for proofe of that he said out of the Scriptures and warneth him and his complices to beware of the woe that is threatned against them which adde to or take from the Scriptures If they bring any doctrine that is not written therein Origen is ours euery where in this question allowing not any expositions or senses but those that are warranted by the Scriptures requiring of vs to bring not our owne but the sayings of the holy Ghost when we teach This was the rule which Constantine the Emperour enioyned the Fathers of that first famous Councell
take away lothing But as he addeth in those places which are plaine in the Scriptures all those matters are found which containe faith and good manners that is hope and charitie This is that which Marsilius of Padua aboue 800 years since disputed against the Pope That the Gospel was very sufficient perfect cleare of it self that by it we may be directed immediatly concerning and in all things which belong to a mans obteyning of euerlasting life and auoiding miserie As in the former propertie hauing propounded your matter against the Scripture you reason only against the English translation so in this that one may be some what sutable to the other being to speake of the obscuritie of the Scripture you shew that it is hard to one kinde onely viz vnlearned men though you helpe the matter a little afterward by auouching the hardnesse of it euen to the learned also The Scriptures say you are not the rule of faith Why so Because they are hard to be vnderstood of those vnlearned mē that cannot reade them Is not the teaching of the Church whereto you ascribe so much vnpossible to be vnderstood by them that cannot heare Is it therefore no sufficient rule But the Scripture is not so hard as you imagine no not to them that cannot reade as long as they may heare it read and haue care to vnderstand and remember what they heare Yea there are many in England that know neuer a letter on the booke who notwithstanding are able to giue a better sense of many places of Scripture then some of your Masse-priests that can read their whole Portuise Seruice booke Idle therefore and ridiculous is your example of a man lockt vp with a Bible since by hearing it read though himselfe cannot read he may attaine to more knowledge then many of your blinde guides haue who for all their skill in reading vnderstand neuer a word of their Epistles Gospels which they daily say at Masse like prating parrots Now for your conclusions inferred hereupon the first as I haue shewed is false that any such entire and infallible faith is necessarie so that without it a man cannot be saued the second of the meanes without which such a faith cannot be had is ordinarily true the third which denies the Scripture alone to be such a meanes is either false and not prooued by you or nothing to the purpose Can any man truely say that God hath not prouided sufficient meanes for euerie mans saluation because some men are vnable to reade the Scriptures which are those meanes Hath not God done his part in making all men capable to reade though many neglect to learne Therefore if the Scripture be sufficient for all mens instruction as I haue prooued it to be for all your supposed obscurity God cannot be charged with want of care because men are carelesse to vse the meanes of their owne saluation But if by Scripture alone you meane Scripture without any helpe of man all you say is besides the matter For no man euer was so foolish as to make Scripture alone in that sense either the rule of faith or a meanes of any good whatsoeuer vnlesse perhaps you Papists according to the rest of your superstition in Agnus Deis hallowed Granes and such like may haue a conceit as those priests of whom an ancient writer speaketh had that a part of the Gospell hung about ones necke may be a preseruatiue against I know not what bodily or ghostly danger You haue vndertaken to prooue that the scriptures are not the rule of faith because they are hard to be vnderstood Their hardnesse in respect of the ignorant was auowed by you onely against those that cannot reade Now for the learned you tel vs that they cannot by onely reading the Scriptures be infallibly sure that they rightly vnderstand them What then Therefore can they not at all be sure Because reading onely will not assure them therefore is there no meanes whereby they may be assured Call to minde what I alledged before out of Ambrose Origen Chrysostome and Austin who doubt not to assure men that they may come to the vnderstanding of the Scripture if they will vse the meanes of praier and diligence Whom shall we beleeue These worthies of the Church speaking also vpon manifold experience or you whom we know not so much as by sight or name If you can so farre bewitch any of your owne poore ignorant soules yet sure ther is no man of any indifferent good iudgment that will be carried away with this your simple authoritie against the ioynt consent of those famous Diuines But you will adde reason to your authoritie let vs heare it It may be say you they ought to be vnderstood otherwise Therefore they cannot be sure they rightly vnderstand Tell me I pray you for my better instruction whether you make this doubt of all places of scripture or of some onely It will not sinke into my head that you doe so much condemne the scripture of obscuritie that you thinke no one place of it can be certainely vnderstood Nay it is vnpossible you should so despise the iudgment of those I named er while or condemne your owne capacitie as to denie that many texts of scripture are so euident that a childe cannot mistake the meaning of them Then that antecedent It may be they ought to vnderstand otherwise in some places of scripture can haue no place Let vs limit it that the truth may appeare Some places of scripture are so hard that a man may vnderstand them otherwise then in truth they are to be vnderstood This proposition is out of all question what wil you conclude hereupon That men cannot be sure they rightly vnderstand these places I grant this too Therefore these doubtfull places are not to be made the foundation of our faith but as Austin saith We must rest vpon those places of scripture which are verie manifest that by them the harder may be expounded But admit there were diuers texts of scripture which can by no meanes be certainly vnderstood which yet for my part sauing other mens better iudgement I do not thinke to be true because God hath appointed euerie syllable of the scripture for our instruction in this life but admit I say there were such places yet would it not follow hereupon that because those texts cannot be vnderstood therefore the scripture is so obscure that it cannot be the rule of faith For there may be sufficient means of saluation plainly discouered in the scriptures though these places be not vnderstood yea it may be and it is verie likely that the verie same things which in these places are signified are otherwhere in scripture apparently set downe You will say this prooueth that the scripture is obscure in some places VVho euer denied it But this doth not prooue that it is hard to be vnderstood in those points that are necessary to saluation Remember I denied
that second property of your rule when I answered to your proposition A man may be saued though he vnderstand not the true sense of euery verse in the Bible so he do not acknowledge it to be the word of God and withall denie it to be true But if it be so hard to vnderstand the Scripture aright is it good dealing in you to vrge the expositions of men with such perē ptorinesse as if it were an hainous sinne not to giue credit to euery interpretation of the Fathers We acknowledge their learning and pietie but we remember they are men and therefore may be deceiued Where they bring reason for their expositions we consider of it with reuerence to them where they bring none we trie whether we can bring any proofe of their interpretation If we finde none we labour to expound the text so as true reason so farre as we can iudge shewes that we ought to doe Where our weakenesse affoords no proofe for our interpretation nor against theirs we are willing and readie to giue more credit to them then to our selues But it is no disgrace to them that processe of time by Gods blessing vpon mens endeauours should bring somewhat to light now which in former ages hath not bene vnderstood It cannot be hidden from any man saith your Bishop of Rochester that many things are now more cleerely beaten out and vnderstood as well in other things as in the Gospell then heretofore because the ancient writers had not the Ice broken before them neither did their time suffice to sound the deepth of Scripture in all places VVe may adde hereunto another reason obserued by Stella that though of our selues we were but Pigmees or dwarfes yet being carried vpon the shoulders of them as it were vpon Giants we may see farther then they could VVhich is the reason why an other of your writers doubts not to affirme that the latter doctrines or expositions are the quicker sighted But diuers men you say expound diuersly and thereupon you demaund how any man can be sure he expounds truly hauing nothing to assure him but the seeming of his owne sense and reason VVhen I read this obiection me thought I saw one of the old Academicks or Scepticks sweating to prooue that there is no truth in any thing to be knowen but that we must be content to rest vpon likelihood I pray you answer me in good earnest Are you perswaded of your selfe I speake to a Scholler that you vnderstand not the true meaning of any one place in Aristotles Physicks with the commentaries vpon him expounding diuersly Surely if your ignorance had bene so great I presume neither Rome Rhemes Doway nor any other Vniuersitie or Colledge would haue vouchsafed you the degree of a Batcheler in Arts. And yet Aristotle himselfe professeth of that booke that he set it out as if he had not set it out because no bodie for sooth could vnderstand it but he that had or should heare him teach by word of mouth as you speake of the preaching of the Church If then it be possible to vnderstand Aristotles meaning and that certainly for all the diuers interpretations of his expositors and his owne intended obscuritie giue vs leaue to thinke that the Lord God purposing to reueale his will by the scriptures hath written in such sort that man his creature to whom as Gregorie saith he writ them may without any iust cause of doubting vnderstand so much at the least as is necessarie for his saluation which was Gods end in writing But euerie interpreter thinks that himselfe hath attained to the right sense What of that Therefore is there no meanes to discerne which interpretation is true which false Doth not this doubt accompanie the writings of the Philosophers as well as the scriptures Neuer go about to perswade vs to such an iniurious and vnthankfull conceit towards God as to imagine that he hath vouchsafed vs the vse of reason and the treasure of his word to so little purpose If it be vnpossible to know whē we haue the true sense of the scripture it had bene farre better that no scripture had bene written but all left to the direction of your Pope frō time to time Such blasphemies as I haue shewed some of your side vtter but a true Christiā is so throughly perswaded of Gods wisdom that by his giuing the scripture he seeth al these your cauils shifts refuted Now in the last place you tell vs that there be many things required to the perfect vnderstanding of scripture which are found in very few If by perfect vnderstanding you meane an exact knowledge of all places that you say is true but not much to the purpose For there is no such knowledge necessary but that the scripture may be the rule of faith though euery text in it cannot be certainly vnderstood But consider a little that if there be means of attaining to a perfect vnderstāding of scripture thogh they be many yet by your confession they may be had else are they in vaine if neither any man nor all men can attaine vnto them some to one some to more as it pleaseth God to bestow his gifts seuerally If you meane that many things are required to a perfect vnderstanding of points necessarie to saluation see how much you differ from the iudgement of the ancient Fathers The truth is not hid saith Chrysostom but from thē that will not seeke it And in an other place The Scripture expoundeth it selfe suffereth no man to erre Let him that hath an heart saith Austin read those things that go before and those that follow and he shall finde the sense For as Ierome truly saith the Lord hath spoken by his Gospell not that a few should vnderstand him but that all should Austin gaue vs the reason before why he speakes plaine in some places and not in all To feed our hunger and to keepe our queasie stomacks from loathing our meate But you require I know not what infallible assurance that they which haue these gifts may be sure they neuer erre in any of their priuate expositions What assurance looke you for No reuelation I hope They may be sure not to erre if they deliuer no expositions but such as they can euidently prooue to be true For other places where the sense is hard let them vse all the diligence they can and if it prooue not verie plaine and certaine let thē leaue it y vncertain til it please God some other man may finde the true meaning of it and so make it knowen to men for the rule of faith in that point it concerneth as it is alwaies in it selfe Are youe afraid lest it should come to passe hereby that many matters of faith should be vnknowen The ignorance of these things cannot hinder a mans saluation and this inconuenience followeth the preaching of your Church as well as the reading of
ei credidissem discendum What a madnesse is this in thee to say beleeue them to wit the Catholickes that we must beleeue Christ and the Scriptures to be his word yet learne of vs what Christ said that is to say what is the meaning of his word I should saith S. Austin much more easily perswade my self that I ought not to beleeue Christ at all then that I must learne any thing concerning him of any except of those of whom I haue already learned to beleeue in him A. W. I denie your principall Assumption wherein you denie the sufficiencie of the Scripture for the determining of all matters of faith For if the Scripture were not sufficient to this purpose it might be lawfull for men to adde to the word of God that which is wanting but that God hath precisely forbiddē all mē Ye shall put nothing to the word which I command you neither shall you take any thing from it out of which Cardinall Caietane saith we may gather that the law of God is perfect But of this place I haue said more other where and our Diuines are large and plentifull in this argument The Apostle Paul affirmeth of him selfe that he preached nothing but that which had bin spoken by Moses and the Prophets yea our Sauiour euery where auoucheth his doctrine by the writings of the old Testament Indeed of whom should we know the will of God but of God himselfe who doubtlesse hath not deliuered it so sparingly in so many seuerall bookes but that it containeth whatsoeuer is needfull to saluation All things indeed that our Lord did are not written but those saith Cyril that the writers thought to be sufficient for manners and doctrine I could ouerwhelme you with testimonies of the Fathers in this matter A few shall serue The Canonicall Scripture saith Austin is the rule of all The letters of Bb. are reprehended by some other of grauer authoritie Generall Councels correct prouinciall and the former are amended by the latter Let the Scripture be iudge saith another and let those doctrines be held for true that agree with it For the law of God or Scripture as Chrysostom saith is a most exact ballance square and rule Therefore let vs passe by that which he or he thinkes and let vs enquire all things of the Scriptures The holy Scriptures inspired by God are sufficient to shew the truth And therfore as Hilary saith wisely and religiously It were well we would content our selues with those things that are written If we will not this is Basils censure of vs that we are without faith and proud It is a manifest argument of infidelitie saith Basil and a certaine signe of pride if any man reiect ought that is written or attempt to bring in any thing that is not written Therefore Damascen saith that the Church receiueth acknowledgeth and reuerenceth all things that are deliuered by the law the Prophets the Apostles and Euangelists and further seeketh not for any thing I pray you shew me some reason if you can why the Lord that doth not omit necessary matters repeateth those that are lesse needful to be known should fil so many bookes of Scripture with the same histories and points of doctrine oftentimes rehearsed and quite leaue out many things of farre greater importance then some of those are which he hath caused to be written Without the knowledge of many things recorded in the Scriptures a man may be saued but you denie saluation to all men that beleeue not whatsoeuer you teach them and there is no end of your deuices though it haue no warrant in any part of Scripture Is it not better then to rest only vpon that which both you and we acknowledge to be the word of God then to giue an infinite libertie to men of deuising what they wil to lay a grieuous burthē vpon our selues to beleeue vnder pain of damnation whatsoeuer they wil father vpō I know not what impossibilitie of erring Let him that hath eyes see though the blind delight in blindnesse The weaknesse of your principall Assumption concerning the insufficiencie of the Scriptures you striue to fortifie with this slender reason If there be diuers questions moued now a dayes touching substantiall matters which are not expresly set downe nor determined by onely expresse Scripture then the Scripture is not able to resolue all such doubts But there are diuers such questions Therefore the Scripture is not able to resolue all such doubts Ere I answer directly to your syllogisme I must note two things in the propounding of it First by whom the questions you speake of are moued If by Papists it is the shame and sinne of your Church to suffer idle and needlesse questions to be moued of which there can be no determination but by a Councel to be held no man knoweth how many yeares hence euer or neuer If you say these questions are set on foote by vs all the world may discerne your vntruth For we are certainly perswaded that it is not lawfull to accept any doctrine as a point of faith which cannot be proued by the Scriptures But you will say We thinke they are determinable by Scripture though indeed they be not At the least then answer the proofes we bring out of Scripture and on our part the controuersie is ended You wil reply that we will not be answered but interprete Scripture as we list Who sees not that this is a meere slander since we stand not vpon any priuate reuelations but on those rules of interpretation which the fathers according to the light of true reason haue left vs as it were by legacy But this reply is also otherwise insufficient For whereas you yeeld as appeares by this reason that some things may be determined by Scripture this obiection denies that any point of doctrine whatsoeuer can be resolued of by it because if that you say be true we wil in all cases interprete Scripture as we please Secondly I obserue another point in respect of the time If the questions you meane be such as were neuer moued till now and the Scripture neuer failed in any former doubts which seems to be implied in that speech Now a dayes me thinkes there is no shew of reason to imagine that so many and so capitall heresies for the space of 1500 years should be refuted and ouerthrowne by Scriptures and now at the last matters of lesse importance and yet as you say very substantiall should haue no meanes of satisfaction by the like course Doubtlesse if the Scripture hath hitherto bene sufficient it is no small wrong to suspect and accuse it now of insufficiencie especially in very substantiall matters necessary to be beleeued Now concerning your syllogisme I denie the consequence of your propositiō What is the Scripture so poore and weake that it can determine nothing which is not expresly set downe
the whole volume of the Bible which to say were no lesse thē blasphemy But I am afraid the scriptures that Paul there speaks of which were the books of the old Testamēt are rather vnprofitable thē profitable to that purpose For they often amplify magnify the word of God written in so plaine termes that eueuery man may vnderstand them as for the authority you fancy to your selfe they speake either nothing or little and that very obscurely thereof But we shall see in the rest of your Treatise what proofe you can finde of this authoritie in Moses and the Prophets and the writers of the olde Testament Now at the last you remember your selfe againe and returne to your old shift of Scripture alone Which you deuised of your owne head that you might haue somewhat to confute It is not all one say you to be profitable and to be of it selfe alone sufficient And you tel vs This is certaine Who euer denied it Or who but he that wanted matter to replie against would cast such doubts Especially who would haue wasted time and paper to prooue or declare a thing so certaine and cleare by a needlesse comparison The scripture without any doctrines of men call them what you will imagine what assistance of the spirit you list is sufficient to teach all men the true certaine way to saluation This is that we affirme not as you ridiculously slander vs that there needs no ministerie of man for the instructing of any one in the vnderstanding of any place of scripture or knowledge of any point of religion These are your owne fancies or mōsters rather with which like bugbeares you scare your poore seduced followers and bleare the eies of the ignorant that they may not enquire what we teach indeed but hate our doctrine before they any way vnderstand it But they that haue any care of their owne saluation will not suffer themselues to be led by you hoodwinkt to destruction if any man will needs be wilfully ignorant the Lord shall require his blood at his owne hands we haue done our duetie in teaching and proouing the truth A. D. CHAP. VIII That no naturall wit or learning can be the rule of faith A. W. If you had bestowed that paines and time in confirming your proposition which you waste needlesly in proouing that which no man denieth you might perhaps haue spoken somewhat more to the purpose but it is lost labour to go about the refutatiō of that which besides your selfe no body euer thought on That naturall wit or learning should be the rule of faith is a conceit amongst Christians neuer heard of yet this haue you propounded for to exercise your strength vpon A. D. §. 1. The second conclusion is that no one mans naturall wit and learning neither any company of men neuer so learned onely as they are learned men not infallibly assisted by the holy Spirit of God can either by interpreting Scripture or otherwise be this rule of faith A. W. Here you set out the former proposition more at large in respect of the Antecedent or first part of it Neither any one mans naturall wit nor many mens ioyned together whatsoeuer their learning be or what course soeuer they take as naturall men can be the rule of faith either for any doctrine they shal deliuer or for any interpretation they shall make of Scripture But what needeth all this adoe you do but fight with your owne shadow yet let vs se how you haue bestirred your selfe A. D. §. 2. This I prooue Because all this wit and learning be it neuer so exquisite or rare is humane naturall and fallible and therefore it cannot be a sufficient foundation whereupon to build a diuine supernaturall and infallible faith This reason I confirme Because whatsoeuer a man neuer so wittie and learned propoundeth to others to be beleeued vpon the onely credit of his word wit or humane studie and learning it can haue no more certaintie then is this his word wit and learning But these being all naturall and humane are subiect to errour and deceit For Omnis homo mendax there is no man but he may both deceiue and be deceiued and may if he haue no other helpe but of nature and industrie both be deceiued in thinking that to be Gods word which is not or that to be the true meaning and sense of Gods word which is not and may also deceiue others whilest being too confident of his wit and learning he presumeth to teach others these his erroneous opinions Therefore the beleefe which shall be built vpon such a mans word and teaching is or may be a false beleefe and alwaies is vncertaine and fallible and therefore can neuer be a true Diuine and Christian faith which alwaies is most certaine and infallible And this which I haue said of the wit and learning of one particular man may also be applied to prooue against the wit and learning of any companie of men hauing no assistance but their owne naturall gifts and industrie of studie or reading A. W. No humane naturall and fallible thing can be the rule of faith Naturall wit and learning though neuer so exquisite are humane naturall and fallible Therefore no humane wit nor learning can be the rule of faith I grant this reason and conclusion to be sound and true onely in the confirmation of it I finde some occasion to note one thing for the better vnderstanding of the matter we haue in hand If any man would speake for naturall wit and learning in this question he would not say as the matter is here propounded that any mans wit or learning were the rule of faith but that the wit and learning of man might finde out somewhat at least in the Scripture whereupon faith might safely be grounded For example as I said once before though it be not written any where in the Scripture that there are three persons distinct each from other and all these three but one God yet may a man by naturall wit and learning gather this out of the Scripture and confirme it thence so plainely and certainly that any Christian may holde those points as Articles of faith Not that they are to be taken for such vpon the onely credit of his word which is a second thing wherein you mistake the matter but because though euerie man be a lier yet a man may see and shew a truth which cannot nor may be suspected of falshood or errour And a beleefe builded vpon Doctrine so taught shall be free from possibilitie of erring and as you speake infallible This I thought good to obserue by occasion of your confirmation where you suppose that a man deliuereth matters to be beleeued vpon the bare credit of his word by reason of his wit and learning In this sense it is out of all question that no naturall wit or learning of any many or all the men in the world can be the rule of faith but
intēded by the holy Ghost at the least in many places it cannot be the Apostles meaning that no man knoweth the sense of our Lord in the Scripture But the more you mistake the sense of the holy Ghost in Scripture the better you proue your opinion that no naturall wit or learning can bring a man to the vnderstanding thereof onely you must take heed of ouerweening your owne wit and learning and so of erring by drawing a generall conclusion against all men from your owne defect which also perhaps is not so much for want of wit or learning as for lacke of paines taking and because of a preiudicate conceit against the truth A. D. §. 4. Hence I inferre that those who for matters of faith relie wholy either vpon their owne priuate opinion or iudgement of the sense and meaning of Scripture or vpon the learning and iudgement of others who are but men not infallibly assisted by the holy Ghost nor by him vnfallibly preserued from errour as many or rather all Protestants do those I say cannot haue diuine and Christian faith but onely fallible opinion and humane faith As before I granted your conclusion that naturall wit and learning cannot be the rule of faith so I now acknowledge the truth of your illation which you bring in thereupon that he which relieth wholly vpon his owne priuate opinion or any other mans iudgement can haue no true faith Yet must I again remember that to rely vpon such opinion or iudgement is to take that for truth which is taught barely vpon the credit of the teacher For otherwise a man may haue a true faith that is a certain and infallible assent to the truth though he beleeue vpon euident reason those points interpretations which are proued to him by men without any infallible authoritie of the Church But whereas you charge many or rather all Protestants to rely so vpon the iudgement of men I hope you do it without the authoritie of your Church that cannot erre for I am sure you do it without any shew of truth No Protestant of any discretion not onely not all beleeueth the doctrine of the Gospell in generall or any one particular interpretation as a matter of faith vpon any mans credit whatsoeuer This reuerence indeed we giue to our teachers that we rather trust their iudgement then our owne and dare not dissent from them but where we haue great likelihood of reason at least to the contrary Howsoeuer we ground no point of faith vpon any interpretation which is not plaine and euident to any man that will take paines to examine it according to true reason A. D. CHAP. IX That a priuate spirit cannot be the rule of faith A. W. A man may easily perceiue that you chuse to say any thing rather then nothing and therefore you make your selfe worke Chapter after Chapter I shall not need to repeate that which I haue noted before this Chapter giueth sufficient euidence of that I say What a strange kind of speech is this that a priuate spirit is the rule of faith No spirit neither priuate nor publick is ordinarily the rule of faith no not the most holy spirit of God but onely as he speaketh in the Scripture who alwayes teacheth one and the same truth publickly and priuately A. D. §. 1. The third conclusion is that no priuate man who perswadeth himselfe to be singularly instructed by the spirit can be this rule of faith especially so farre forth as he beleeueth or teacheth contrary to the receiued doctrine of the Catholicke Church A. W. This is the interpretation of the title of your Chapter No priuate spirit that is no priuate man who perswadeth himselfe to be singularly instructed by the spirit c. I cannot tel whether I shold thinke you haue forgotten to speake English or purposely affect as strange doctrine so strange speech also To be singularly instructed with vs plaine Englishmen is to be taught in rare and excellent sort not to be apart or seuerally alone instructed which is your meaning I grant mens priuat opinions are called singular and the men themselues that haue such conceits are also so termed but he that professeth plainnesse to teach all kind of men should labour to speake so that all might vnderstand him But to the matter Whose opinion is it that any such man as you conceit or any man at all can be the rule of faith Sure not ours who as it hath often bene said giue this honour only to the word of God If any man hold that opinion vnlesse perhaps the senslesse Anabaptists with whom we haue nothing to do you are they who as it seemeth by the exception you adde grant that with limitation a man may be the rule of faith For you say he cannot be the rule of faith especially so farre forth as he beleeueth or teacheth contrary to the receiued doctrine of the Catholicke Church Do you not imply in this speech that so farre forth as he agreeth with the doctrine of the Catholick Church he may be the rule of faith But I obserue one rare thing in your course of disputing that you ordinarily propound your matter in such sort that you are faine presently after to make one exception or other Scripture alone say you cannot be the rule of faith is this all you meane No a limitation followeth Especially as it is translated by Protestants into English No naturall wit or learning can be the rule of faith What by no meanes except they be infallibly assisted by the holy spirit of God In this Chapter we haue the like course held by you But leaue we this and be take our selues to consider your proofe A. D. §. 2. This I proue first because Saint Paul saith Si quis vobis euangelizauerit praeter id quod accepistis Anathemasit pronouncing generally that whosoeuer teacheth or preacheth contrary to the receiued doctrine of the Catholicke Church should be held Anathematized or accursed A. W. Your reason is thus to be framed He that must be accursed for his teaching cannot be the rule of faith But a priuate spirit that teacheth contrary to the receiued doctrine of the Catholicke Church must be accursed for his teaching Therefore a priuate spirit that teacheth contrary to the receiued doctrine of the Catholicke Church cannot be the rule of faith First I desire all men to obserue that this argument of yours doth not proue that a priuate spirit cannot be the rule of faith but onely so farre forth as he doth disagree from the doctrine of the Church otherwise for all this reason he may be Wherein you speake absurdly and falsly Absurdly in propounding such a question to refute as neither we whom you professe to refute nor any reasonable man would euer once imagne viz. that a priuate spirit teaching an vntruth might be the rule of faith For how can that be but an vntruth which is contrary to that the Apostle deliuered by his preaching
to learne but is vnprofitable to his own soule as it is written The Scribes and Pharisies sit in Moses chaire do that they say but do not that they do For they say do not to which he addeth that to the Philippians as in the other place But yet Austin was so farre from tying either the Iewes because of our Sauiours speech or any men vpon any pretence to beleeue whatsoeuer should be taught them though by men lawfully authorised that he forbids all to heare when men preach their owne deuises By sitting on Moses chaire saith he they teach the Law of God therefore God teacheth by them But if they will teach their owne sayings obserue that Austin thinks it is possible they should heare them not do not An euill man saith the same author out of the euill treasure of his heart bringeth forth euill things But when he preacheth the word of God when he ministreth the Sacraments he preacheth not nor ministreth not of his owne if he be a wicked man but is to be counted among them of whom it is said do that they say but do not that they do For as we heard before out of Theophylact he that exhorteth to euill life speaketh neither from Moses chaire nor from the Law Therefore as it followeth in him they that teach the Law of God are to be heard though they do it not So doth Chrysostome vnderstand and apply this text What then will some men say shall we obey our Prelates when they are euill How meane you euill If it be in a point of faith slie and auoid him not onely if he be a man but if an Angel come downe from heauen But if you meane that he is euill in his behauiour be not curious Neither speake I this of my selfe but of the Scripture For Christ saith the Scribes and Pharisies sit on Moses Chaire And when first he had recited many euil things of them then he faith They sit vpon Moses chaire All things that they say vnto you do but do not as they do They are to be reuerenced saith he though they be of a wicked life but heed you not their liuing but their preaching For concerning their manners no man can be hurt by thē How so Because that they do is manifest to all and though they should come to the height of iniquitie they could not teach other men that their euill But when a point of faith is in question neither doth euerie bodie perceiue manifestly that which is spoken neither will a lewde fellow be afraid to teach contrarie to truth For whereas as it is faid Iudge not that ye be not iudged that is spoken of life not of faith This is Chrysostomes iudgement and that where he expoundeth one of the principall places which you bring to support your vnreasonable authoritie The Scribes and Pharises saith another sit on Moses chaire that is there are many Priests and few priests many in name few in deed Take heed therefore how you sit vpon that seate for the seate maketh not the priest but the priest the seate the place sanctifieth not the man but the man the place Your owne writers are of the same opiniō cōcerning this place Two things saith Iansenius are here signified first that obedience is due to thē which teach and command by authoritie not in respect of their life but of their authority which they haue and because of God whose Embassadors they are Secondly that we must not obey them if they commaund or teach any thing wickedly For if they are to be obeied because they sit in Moses chaire thē are they not to be obeied when they teach or commaund any thing against that chaire The Lord saith absolutely All and whatsoeuer that he might shew that they must be perfectly obeied but yet with such an obediēce as layeth this for a ground that we must obey God rather thē man as the Apostle Paul saith Children obey your parēts in all things Christ saith Arias Montanus taught his Disciples to obserue and doe whatsoeuer the Scribes and Pharisies commaunded by the prescript of the Law that is out of Moses chaire Christ did not meane saith Ferus that they should obserue all the decrees of the Pharisies but so farre forth as they agreed with the Law As farre as they teach those things which Moses taught in the chaire they are to be beard otherwise to be taken heed of as saith Stella The Lord saith one of your famous Iesuits by the chaire of Moses doth not vnderstand the doctrine of the Pharisies but the doctrine of Moses Law For it is all one as if he had said All that the Law and Moses say to you Christ saith Cassander commaundeth vs to heare the Pharisies yet so that we must take heede of the leauen of the Pharisies that is corruptions of their life and doctrine But you will say Austin telleth vs that it should nothing haue hurt the Church and innocent Christians if some traitor had crept into that sea What else haue we shewed all this while but that the wickednesse of euill Prelates must not make their doctrine as long as it is true lesse regarded Austin in that Epistle answers a certaine Donatists letter who bragged of succession from Donatus the author of that sect against whose brag he setteth that Catalogue of the Bishops of Rome amongst whom there was neuer a Donatist but if there had bene yet should not that haue preiudiced the Church or the innocent Christians as if the doctrine they held were not true because some lewd or hereticall reacher had sometime bene Bishop of that Citie We know it was vsuall with the Donatists to crie out against the true Catholicke Bishops for their conuersation which they also slaundered therefore had Austin good reason to speake as he did that no man might be caried away from the truth of then doctrine by the supposed wickednes of their liues I haue bene somewhat the longer in this point because as I signified it is the onely proofe of this controuersie Now I leaue the consideration of it to all reasonable men that they bethinke themselues whether it be not meere simplicitie or rather wilfull ignorance to be drawne away from the truth of the Gospell vpon a pretence of hearing the Church when there is not a syllable nor a letter in the scripture to tie a man to such blind obedience whereupon nothing can ensue but destruction A. D. §. 8. The threats we may gather first out of Saint Luke when our Sauiour saith Qui vos spernit me spernit He that despiseth you despiseth me Signifying that looke what sinne it were not to heare but to despise our Sauiour Christ himselfe that we should account it the same to despise and not to giue eare and credit to the Catholicke Church Insinuating thereby that the like punishment is to he expected for the said
the Church is of infallible and vndoubted truth and that the way not to be deceiued in an obscure question is to aske and follow the iudgement of the Church Wherefore worthily also do we all say Credo Ecclesiam Catholicam I beleeue the Catholicke Church and worthily also may I conclude that neither Scripture alone nor naturall wit and learning nor priuate spirit nor any other thing but onely the teaching of the true Church of Christ is that ordinarie meanes which Almightie God hath prouided whereby all men may learne that one infallible entire faith which I proued to be necessarie to saluation A. W. Saint Paul doth worthily call the Church the pillar and ground of truth but not as you would haue vs beleeue because it is the rule of faith The Greeke Scholiast taketh that speech of the Apostle to be vttered by way of comparison betwixt the Church of Christ and the Iewish Temple Not as the Iewish Temple saith Oecumenius but the pillar and ground of truth for the Temple was the ground of the shadowes of the truth Out of which we may gather that as the Iewish synagogue was the pillar and ground of those shadowes of the truth so is the Church of Christ the pillar and ground of the truth it selfe But that synagogue was not the rule of faith in that point because whatsoeuer it taught was to be held for infallible truth but for that to it were committed the oracles of God and the knowledge and vse of those ceremonies so hath the Church of Christ the truth of doctrine in the scripture and the exercises of Gods worship and religion Therfore is it called the pillar and ground of it because it constantly maintaineth that truth preaching and professing it in despight of all the practises and power of Satan and tyrants of the world As the thighs saith an ancient writer sustaine and beare vp the weight of the whole bodie so also the Apostles like pilars valiantly carry the vniuersall Church of Christians ouer the whole world being for the value of their inuincible courage and stedfastnesse of their holy purpose called marble pillars And a litle after They preached the Gospell with such wisedome and constancie that as if they had bene of marble or adamant they were afraid of no violence nor aduersitie but always continuing firme and inuincible against all the forces of men and diuels shining as it were in the darke by that light of their wisedome by preaching admonishing teaching and glistering with miracles at the last they most happily became conquerors To this effect speake your Glosses The ground of the truth of the Gospell which the Church constantly maintained euen in the greatest persecutions Well vpholding the truth in it self saith another Glosse That it may not fall to the ground though it be afflicted saith Lombard But let vs bring your reason into due frame The pillar and ground of truth is the rule of faith The Church is the pillar and ground of truth Therefore the Church is the rule of faith Your proposition or maior is false vnlesse you restraine it as I haue often said to the truth and then it is so far the rule of faith as it is the pillar and ground of truth Whatsoeuer it holdeth truly according to the scripture is the rule of faith for those points not because of the Churches authoritie but for the truth of the doctrine Yet may it easily come to passe that a Church maintaining the generall truth of the Gospell and all particulars necessary to soluation may faile in many other points of great importance and for all that continue both a true Church and the pillar and ground of truth though not the rule of faith Your minor also as you vnderstand it is vntrue First because the Apostle speaketh not of any such companie as you imagine Pope Bishop Councell but either of the Church of Ephesus in which Timothie to whom he writeth then abode or indefinitely of any and euery Church whatsoeuer where the true Religion of our Sauiour is or shall be professed according to the Gospell If Timothie were as you will not denie Bishop of Ephesus then it is apparent that the Apostle calleth the Church of Ephesus wherein Timothy liued taught and gouerned the pillar and ground of truth yet was it not the rule of faith for then had the rule of faith perished long since with that Church of Ephesus If he speake to him as to an Euangelist who was to follow him from place to place and to establish the Churches which the Apostle had planted then must euery one of those Churches wherein Timothy was to behaue himselfe as he had done in Ephesus be vnderstood to be the pillar and ground of truth and yet neither any nor all of them were the rule of faith which else must haue bene lost with them What remaines then Shall we expound it of all beleeuers in generall I grant it reacheth to all the faithfull but as to them considered in their seuerall Churches because among them so disposed of was Timothy to performe that dutie which the Apostle there enioyneth him But let vs so conceiue of the Church What shall it auaile you or endamage vs All beleeuers are not the companie you pleade for but onely the Pope and your Bishops whom you would haue taken for the rule of faith Secondly I denie your minor in respect of the sense you giue of those words the pillar and ground of truth For you so vnderstand them as if the truth of God depended vpon the verdict of the Church so that nothing may be held for truth but what the Church deliuereth for such and whatsoeuer she so propoundeth must so be receiued vpon paine of certaine damnation How contrary are you in this interpretation and doctrine to the auncient fathers The Apostles saith Irenaeus left vs the Scriptures to be the pillar and ground of our faith Nay say you they left vs the Church to be the pillar and ground of the Scriptures The Gospell and spirit of life saith the same father in the same booke is the pillar and ground of the Church Nay by your leaue reply you the Church is the pillar and ground of the Gospell But Chrysostome handling this place of the Apostle is not afraid to affirme that the truth is the pillar and ground of the Church not as if he would denie that which the Apostle saith for the Church indeed is the vpholder of the truth but to shew that although the Church maintaine and auow the truth yet it is built and founded vpon the truth which as Ierome saith vpholds the building Therfore to make short whē the Apostle saith that the Church is the pillar and ground of truth his meaning is that amongst Christians and among no other sort of men the truth is to be found and amongst and by them it is constantly and worthily
maintained The Philosophers indeed as Thomas saith had a kind of notion of some points thereof but they had no certaintie as well because they were corrupted with errors as for that very few of them are found to haue agreed in the same truth But in the Church is certaine knowledge and truth Which as Caietan saith is vpheld aloft in it because it is auowed reuerenced and honored aboue all things and it is so founded in the Church that out of it it is not to be found This is the reason as they truly say why the Church is called a pillar Thomas addeth that it is termed the ground in respect of others because men cannot be confirmed in the truth but by the sacraments of the Church This testimonie of Austine is alledged by you otherwise then it was written by him For whereas he spake of that which had then alreadie bene resolued of by the whole Church you make him speake indefinitely of any thing that pleaseth the Church turning iam placuit into placet But we must vnderstand that he writing in that place concerning the rebaptizing of heretickes which question had bene agreed vpon as he saith in the former chapter before the hatching of Donatus heresie saith that the iudgement of the Church in that case is to be held as agreeable to the Scripture This might the Reader haue seene in his words if you had not changed the tense in placet and left out etiam in hac re in the beginning of the sentence The truth of the Scriptures saith Austin is held by vs euen in this thing If you reply farther that the reason which Austin vseth is generall for all questions whatsoeuer namely the authoritie of the Church commended by the Scriptures which cannot erre I answer you first that we haue seene Austins iudgement directly to the contrary viz. that whatsoeuer is of necessitie to saluation is plainly deliuered in the Scriptures and that the authoritie of men without Scripture is insufficient to propound any doctrine as a matter of faith and therefore if he should write otherwise in this place we might with good reason make question of his authoritie Secondly I answer that Austine speaketh here of those points onely which are not determinable by Scripture such as he taketh the question of rebaptizing heretickes to be as it appeareth in the words immediatly before those you alledge being also a peece of the sentence by you omitted Although saith Austin there be no example to be brought out of the Scriptures concerning this matter yet the truth of the same Scriptures is euen in this matter also held by vs when we do that which hath now alreadie pleased the whole Church c. Now in such cases as cannot by Scripture be decided who would or may be so presumptuous as to withstand or mislike the practise of the church in all places Surely the authoritie of the church is so far commended in the Scriptures that it ought in all things of such nature to ouerweigh our iudgement and incline our affection to the liking of that which is agreed on by so generall a consent of so many churches in all nations Therefore that which you gather out of Austins words of following the iudgement of the church in an obscure question is to be restrained to such questions as cannot be determined by the Scriptures and those are few or none of any importance of necessitie to saluation none at all or else your consequence will be nothing worth Austin saith that in questions not determinable by Scripture we must follow the iudgement of the church Therefore we must follow it in all obscure questions whatsoeuer Austins foundation will not beare your building Is it a good reason to say In cases not prouided for by law custome must beare sway therfore it must be followed in all cases So and so weakly do you dispute It is not enough for you to teach vs new diuinitie but you will driue vs to learne new Latin too Caesar could make men free of Rome but not words Credere Ecclesiam Catholicam to beleeue the Catholicke Church in ordinary Latin is to beleeue that there is a Catholicke Church Credo esse I beleeue there is but you would make the ignorant beleeue that credo Ecclesiam and credo Ecclesiae is all one For how else can this sentence reasonably depend vpon the former We must follow the iudgement of the Church Therfore worthily also do we all say Credo Ecclesiam Catholicam What can you meane by this but I beleeue that is I giue credit to the Catholick Church that is I beleeue that to be true which the Catholicke Church teacheth But the article of the Creed hath no such sense as it may appeare by the other that follow all being alike in respect of our beleefe I beleeue the communion of Saints the forgiuenesse of sinnes the resurrection of the bodie and life euerlasting To which of these foure dowe giue any such credit But we beleeue that there is a Church of Christ to which all these priuiledges belong He that translated Epiphanius into Latin more curiously then truly made a difference betwixt beleeuing the church and the other articles We beleeue saith he one holy Catholicke and Apostolicke Church we confesse one baptisme for the forgiuenesse of sinnes and looke for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come But the Greeke which Epiph. reciteth out of the Nicene creed is alike in all the articles in the Church in the baptisme of repentance in the resurrection of the dead And Paschasius doubteth not to say that the ignorance of some drew the preposition in from the former sentence concerning beleefe in the holy Ghost into the article of the church yet as he sheweth credere Deum in Deum greatly differ That there is a God the Apostle saith the diuel beleeueth but no mā is held to beleeue in God but he that religiously puts his trust in him Cyril also reciteth the articles after the same manner without any difference in the particulars yet with In to euerie one of them and in that sense in which we take them Ruffin as Paschasius before denieth that the Creed saith In the holy Church in the forgiuenesse of sinnes in the resurrection of the flesh Because that were to equall our beleefe of these points with our beleeuing in the Father the Son and the holy Ghost But of these articles we are to beleeue that they are true that there is a Church gathered vnto God that there is a remission of sinnes that there is a resurrection of the flesh So doth Austin if those Sermons be his read and vnderstand it I beleeue the Catholicke Church c. We must beleeue that God will vouchsafe the resurrection of bodies and the forgiuenesse of sinnes And whereas in an other Sermon he saith in the Church so doth he
ouer all Satans forces I thinke saith Ierome the gates of hell are vices and sinnes or surely the doctrines of heretickes by which men being entised are led to hell Doth any of these writers expound this place of such a companie as you dreame of Nay doth not our Sauiour himself restraine it to the elect and yet apply it to euery one of them For who beside them is built vpon the rocke or which of them in his due time is not so built All that the Father giueth me shall come vnto me and him that commeth to me I cast not away And againe This is the Fathers will that sent me that of all which he hath giuen me I should lose nothing but should raise it vp againe at the last day Secondly the consequence of your maior is yet more weake because you misinterprete the text as if our Sauiour meant to promise a perpetual continuance of his Church vpon earth by saying that the gates of hell shall not preuaile against it For hereby it must needs be granted that the gates of hell do preuaile against all such Christians as by persecution or any violence are taken out of the world Yea Peter himselfe and his fellow Apostles to whom this promise was first made found not the true performance of it in their owne persons but were ouercome by the gates of hell Do you magnifie our Sauiours promises that make them faile so notoriously euen to the Apostles themselues The gates of hell saith Theophylact are temporall persecutors who endeuor to send Christians to hell Heretickes also are gates leading to hell The Church therefore hath preuailed against many heretickes and persecutors The gates of hell saith your Glosse shall not separate the Church from my loue and faith Persecutions of tyrants saith Lyra assaults and tentations of wicked spirits shall not preuaile by subuerting the Church from the true faith Brugensis speaketh yet more plainly The gates of hell shal not preuaile saith he so that the Church shal be ouerthrowne that is separated from Christ or fall away from saluation by Christ or faile of it The Apostles and other holy Martyrs and Christians were ouercome in regard of their continuance vpō earth but not separated frō Christ nay rather they are more nearly ioyned to him It is one thing to say the Church that is they that truly beleeue in Christ shall by no power of Satan and his instruments either inward or outward be seuered from Christ or faile of saluation by him another to affirme that there shall alwayes be some on earth that shall beleeue and make profession of the Gospell Bellarmine applies this text one while to the generall Councels approued by the Pope which as he saith by reason of this promise cannot erre either in beleeuing or in teaching another while to the vniuersall Church and to the sea of Rome which absurdly and falsly he maketh the rocke vpon which the vniuersal Church is built so that by the Church according to Bellarmine Rome or Peters seate as he calleth it must be meant first and principally from which at the second hand the vniuersall Church must haue her perpetuall stabilitie But what should I stand any longer vpon this place hauing shewed that the promise is not of the Churches continuance without interruption but of the certaintie of their saluation that beleeue truly in our Sauiour Christ and so being built vpon the rocke cannot be shaken downe or ouerthrowne by any storme In this sense I grant the minor our Sauiour hath made a promise that no one member of his shall perish though the gates of hell send out and employ all their forces against him He that confesseth and beleeueth with Saint Peter shall be saued with Saint Peter But I denie the minor according to the sense you make of it concerning the perpetuall continuance of a certaine companie without interruption or error and yet I beleeue the Catholicke Church and that at all times there are some true members thereof vpon earth chosen to life and iustified by faith in Christ A. D. §. 4. Thirdly I may confirme the same out of other Scriptures where the perpetuitie of the church is either affirmed or promised of which kind of testimonies being very many I wil onely rehearse some few Of the Church if we wil beleeue S. Austin his exposition it is said Deus fundauit eam in aeternum God hath established it for euer And of it signified by the name of the kingdome of Christ the Prophet Daniel saith Suscitabit Deus coeli regnum quod in aeternum non dissipabitur The God of heauen shal raise vp a kingdom which shal not be broken in peeces for euer As is also said in S. Luke Regni eius non erit finis there shall be no end of his kingdome A. W. These few are more then need for the proofe of that wherof no man doubteth but if they were twice as many their weight would be too small for the matter you vndertake to proue by them as it wil appeare by the weighing of them in the ballance of true reason That say you which God hath established for euer so that there shal be no end of it must alwayes continue without interruption till the worlds end But God hath so established the Church that there shal be no end of it Therefore the Church must alwayes continue without interruption till the worlds end That the Church shall continue in all times and ages as I haue often said we grant and maintaine that such a Church as you fancie to your selues either shall be alwayes or euer was in the world since the Apostles we vtterly denie Farther I say your proposition is false because the continuance of the church dependeth not vpon her being in the world but vpon her being ioyned to Christ And if the Church shal remaine euen after this world is ended and then especially flourish what folly is it to thinke it continueth not vnlesse it be vpon the earth May I not certainly conclude that it shall continue after this world because it is established for euer How then doe you gather hereupon that it ceaseth to be if it be not in this world at all times without interruption Was not this spoken of the Church of the Iewes also Is not the like affirmed of the ceremonies And yet neither of these hath continued nor did continue without interruption while they stood before the time of their abolishing That the Psalme was written either wholy or principally of Ierusalem and of the Church of the Iewes belonging thereunto both the course of it manifestly sheweth and he that considereth the expositions of it by Ierome and Austine and what ado they haue to fit the seuerall verses thereof to the Church of Christ will easily be perswaded But what Church meane they thinke you Such a companie of men as you talke of
of our Sauiour faile if the Church at some time be not apparent to all men Take heed we giue not the Atheists of the world occasion to say that his promise was neuer fulfilled because the Church was neuer knowen to all men liuing at any one time The Lord by this prophecie foretelleth the enlarging of the Church amongst the Gentiles not the visiblenesse of it at all times to all men But the couenant y you will say is perpetuall True that is saith your glosse not as the old Testament to which the new hath succeeded and therefore he expoundeth the perpetuall couenant to be the eternall Gospell which shall neuer be abolished for anie other as the ceremoniall Law was by the sacrifice of our Sauiour Christ An other of your Glosses calleth it a perpetuall couenant because it shall be certainly performed applying to that purpose the place of Matthew Heauen and Earth shall passe but one iot or title of the Law shall not passe till all things be fulfilled The other clause is as little to your purpose The Prophet saith not that all men at all times shall or may see the Church but that all which shall see it shall know it Neither is that sight an outward beholding of those men that are members of the Church but a discerning spirit giuen by God to them whom he hath appointed to euerlasting life by faith in Christ For if we strictly presse the words who seeth not that this promise hath failed since there haue bene many in all ages yea in our Sauiours owne daies who for all his powerfull miracles diuine doctrine and vnspotted conuersation acknowledged neither his Church nor himselfe Say not they might haue done For that is not the question The Propher saith All that see them shall know them not may know them Your ordinarie glosse applieth this to the Apostles and their followers or those that imitate their workes So doth Vatablus expound them their workes And Lyra more particularly sheweth what works are meant They saith Lyra that shal see them distinguished from other men by their miraculous and powerfull works wherein the Apostles and other their successors excelled the common people and yet excell them in many things Now the Apostles themselues for all their many and strange miracles might haue bene and had bene vnknowen I will not say to many men but to many nations and the farre greatest part of the world if they had not according to their commission trauelled from place to place and so into diuers countries brought the first tidings of themselues How can it be then that at all times since the death of the Apostles the Church hath bene visible to all men seeing there hath bene neither charge nor warrant nor practise of any such vniuersall ministerie If any man had rather vnderstand this Prophecie of the knowledge that the vnbeleeuers haue of the Church the meaning is that the Lord will bestow such graces of Sanctification vpon his children that euen their verie enemies amongst whom they liue shall be driuen to acknowledge them for the people of God But what is this to the visiblenesse of the Church to all men at all times A. D. §. 3. Secondly our Sauiour hath ordained this his Church to be the light of the world according as he saith Vos estis lux mundi you are the light of the world and to be a rule or meanes by which all men at all times may come to the knowledge of that One infallible entire faith which is necessarie to saluation as hath bene prooued But how can it be the light of the world if it selfe be inuisible Nemo accendit lucernam ponit eam sub modio No man lighteth a candle and when he hath done setteth it vnder a bushell where it cannot be seene And how can it be a meanes by which at all times the infallible truth may be made knowen to all sorts of men if it selfe at any time could not be knowen of men Or if you say that sometimes it could neither be knowen it selfe nor be a meanes by which the true faith might be made knowen then sith that I prooued that it is a necessarie meanes and so necessarie that without it according to the ordinarie course there is not sufficient meanes prouided by Almightie God to instruct all men infallibly in all points of faith Then I say men that liued at that time wanted necessarie meanes whereby they might attaine to the knowledge of true faith and consequenly whereby they might come to saluation Which if it were so how is it vniuersally true which is vniuersally said in Scripture Deus vult omnes homines saluos fieri ad agnitionem veritatis venire God would haue men to be saued and to come to the knowledge of the truth For how can he be said to haue a true will to saue all men If he haue not at all times prouided meanes sufficient wherby all men may come to the knowledge of true faith and thereby by degrees to saluation Sith especially he hath power to prouide these meanes and knoweth that without these means prouided it is vnpossible for men to attaine true faith and eternall saluation For knowing it vnpossible he cannot be said to will it sith no wise man willeth that which he knoweth perfectly to be altogether vnpossible and much lesse may Almightie God be said to will any thing which is absolutely vnpossible considering that his wisedome is infinite and that his will is alwaies ioyned with some worke or effect by which worke or effect that which he willeth at least is made possible to be done VVherefore to verifie that Almightie God would haue all men saued we must needs say that he hath prouided for all men these meanes which be necessarie and without which it is vnpossible for them to come to the knowledge of true faith and thereby to saluation One of which meanes is a visible Church of which they must heare and learne the true faith which is the first and a necessarie step to saluation The Church therefore must needs be alwaies visible This your second reason is thus to be framed If the Church be not visible to all men at all times then it is not ordained by our Sauiour to be the light of the world and a rule or means by which all men at all times may come to faith and saluation But it is ordained by our Sauiour to be such a light and such a rule or meanes Therefore it is visible to all men at all times That I may be the more easily vnderstood by the ordinarie Reader I wil apply my answer to the course that you haue takē in setting downe your reason where in the first place we haue your minor and one proofe of it another followeth after your proposition and there shall be examined Concerning your Assumption I say it is false The Church
Ierome before Poperie was hatched shall alwaies be open to them that desire to be saued that entrance may not be denied either in prosperitie or aduersity to them that will beleeue Thus this place of Esay will not prooue the visibilitie of the Church to all men at all times A. D. §. 7. Sixtly the onely reason and ground by which heretickes hold the Church to be inuisible is because they imagine the Church to consist onely of the elect or onely of the good But this is a false ground as appeareth by the name of Church in Greeke Ecclesia which euen by the Etymology of the word doth signifie the companie of men called now sure it is that moe are called then elected as our Sauiour saith Multi vocati pauci electi Againe this ground is shewed to be false by those parables in which the Church is compared to a floare wherein wheat and chaffe are mixed And to a mariage to which came good and bad And to a net wherein are gathered all sorts of fishes good and bad And to ten Virgins wherof fiue were foolish and excluded from the celestiall mariage This ground is also shewed to be false out of Saint Paule who commaundeth the Corinthians to expell an incestuous person out of the Church Ergo before this expulsion there was such a person in the Church and therefore the Church doth not consist onely of those that be good A. W. Because your owne reasons are not strong enough to proue the point in question you thinke to helpe the matter by ouerthrowing the ground whereupon onely as you confidently auouch we build our deniall of the Churches visibility at all times But neither is that our onely ground and if it were you are not able to shake it Concerning the former we denie the visibilitie of the Church as it is vnderstood in those places where our Sauiour promiseth spirituall graces to it and as it is taken in the Creed because that Church is the mysticall bodie of Christ and therefore can consist of none but those that are truly iustified and sanctified as none but the elect are But we farther denie the same visibilitie because you would haue vs beleeue that the Catholicke Church is visible To which we answer that this Catholicknesse let the Church be what it will maketh it inuisible because that which is Catholicke is generall consisting of many particulars and we haue learned that vniuersals are not subiect to sense but onely to be conceiued by the minde as hauing no outward shape which can be seene or knowen by any of the fiue senses Moreouer if we take the question in the most reasonable sort that may be and so it is verie seldome handled by you Whether there must alwaies be some one or other companie of men that may be famously knowen of all the world to be a true Church of Christ Still we continue in denying that visibilitie First as it is propounded by you for an Article of Faith and an essentiall propertie of the or a true Church Secondly because we are taught in the Scriptures that the true Church that is the professours of Christs true Religion shall be faine to flie into the wildernesse and so must needes be out of the sight of at least the greatest part of the world I am loth to repeate these things so often but you driue me to it my helpe is to do it as shortly as I can All the forces you bring to ouerturne the ground vpon which our denial of the Churches visibilitie stādeth are diuided by you into two bands with the former whereof thus you set vpon vs. The companie of men called consisteth not of the elect onely The Church is the companie of men called Therefore the Church consisteth not of the elect onely I denie your Minor many men are called that are not of the Church which consisteth of such onely as being called are also elect It is true that the word Church is sometimes so generally taken that it compriseth all such as make profession of faith in Christ but this is not the Church of which the Creed speaketh and to which our Sauiours promises apppertaine yea besides this Church there is the true Church of Christ whereof he is head whose bodie hath neuer a rotten or dead member such as ouer many perhaps the greatest part of them that make profession of beleefe commonly are In a word the whole course of your Treatise failes in this point that whereas the word Church is diuersly taken you apply that to it in the generall meaning of the word which was spoken of it by our Sauiour the Prophets and Apostles in that speciall signification by which it containeth none but the elect To your proofe I answer farther First that the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the verie nature of it doth not signifie The companie that is any certaine companie called but generally a company that is any such companie whatsoeuer Secondly I adde that the word is also sometimes taken for a companie whether called or not called as I haue hated the companie of the wicked Where the Prophet speaketh not of any companie called together but absolutely of the wicked howsoeuer assembled or not assembled Thirdly I say it is enough in respect of the nature and Etymology of the word that the Church be a companie of men called neither can it any way be enforced from the signification of it in Greeke that the Church must needs comprehend all that are in any sort called Indeed the elect onely may truly be said to be called in an especiall manner because they haue besides the outward sound of the preacher the inward voice of the spirit and are not onely called to beleeue the truth of the Gospell but also to beleeue truly in Iesus Christ to saluation This is your rereward with which you charge vs afresh and that as it were both with foote and horse First you throng together many places of Scripture as if your confidence were greater in your number then in vour valour Let vs encounter you That which is compared to a floare wherein wheat and chaffe are mixed To a mariage to which come good and bad To a net wherein are gathered all sorts of fishes good and bad To ten virgins whereof fiue were foolish and shut out from the coelestiall mariage consisteth not of the elect onely The Church is compared to such a floare marriage net virgins Therefore the Church consisteth not of the elect onely A verie hot assault but your bullets fall a great way short of the marke you do or should aime at For all you prooue by this reason is onely this that the Church taken for the whole companie of them that make profession of the Gospell consisteth not onely of the elect Who euer dreamed it did You are so farre from ouerturning our ground that you neuer once come neare it for all this braue shew
not perceiue those things which are of the Spirit of God For sith none by the onely power of naturall wit which in vnderstanding vseth the helpe of outward senses can obtaine the supernaturall knowledge of diuine mysteries which we beleeue by our faith neither doth the Spirit of God who as the principall cause infuseth this gift of faith into our soules ordinarily instruct any man in the knowledge of true faith immediatly by himselfe alone or by an Angell sent from heauen we must needs if we will haue true faith seeke first for that which it pleaseth Almightie God to vse as the ordinarie instrument and as a necessary meanes by which men may learne true faith the which is no other but the preaching and teaching of the true church according to that saying of S. Paul Quomodo credent ei quem non audierint quomodo audient sine praedicante quomodo praedicabunt nisi mittantur How shall they beleeue him whom they haue not heard how shall they heare without a Preacher how shall they preach vnlesse they be sent Therefore the true Church which only hath preachers truly sent of God must first be found out that by it we may heare and know which is the true faith Therefore of the two the true Church is rather a mark whereby we may know the true preaching and consequently the true doctrine of faith then contrarie that as heretickes say the doctrine should be a marke whereby all men must know which is the true Church A. W. Belike as you had good cause you suspected your abilitie to proue simply that the true preaching of the word in all matters fundamentall and the right administration of the sacraments are not a good marke of a true Church And therefore you rather chose to proue by way of comparison that the true church is rather a marke to know true doctrine then true doctrine a marke to know the true Church by For so runs your conclusion directly If the end of seeking the true Church say you be principally that we may by it as a necessarie and infallible meanes learne true doctrine in all points to which otherwise we cannot attaine then the true Church is rather a marke to know true doctrine then true doctrine a marke to know the true Church by But the end of seeking the true Church is principally that we may by it as a necessarie and infallible meanes learne true doctrine in all points which otherwise wee cannot attaine to Therefore the true Church is rather a marke to know true doctrine then true doctrine a marke to know the Church by Though the conclusion as I said be not directly to the question which is not comparatiue but simple whether true doctrine be a good mark to discerne a true Church by or no yet I will take it as it is and answer to the parts of it Your maior in the antecedent may haue a double meaning First that we cannot in any point learne true doctrine but by the Church and then I denie the consequence For true doctrine in the fundamentall points of Religion may be a good marke of the true Church though we seeke the true Church because there are many points which we cannot learne without it But howsoeuer you vnderstand the maior the minor is euidently false First because the principall end of seeking the true Church is that we may truly worship God in the assembly of his children to his greater glorie and our farther assurance of his loue to vs as we may see euery where in the booke of the Psalmes Secondly because we are not to learne of the true Church as a necessarie and infallible meanes but of the ministers thereof who are appointed by God to giue vs knowledge of the meanes of saluation by expounding the word of God to vs not to binde vs to beleefe by their authoritie Your minor you offer to proue in this maner If no man without faith can obtaine the supernaturall knowledge of diuine mysteries and faith be not to be had but by the teaching of the true Church then the end of seeking the true Church is principally that we may learne by it as a necessarie and infallible meanes true doctrine in all points to which otherwise we cannot attaine But no man without faith can obtaine the supernaturall knowledge of diuine mysteries nor faith be had but by the teaching of the true Church Therefore the end of seeking the true Church is principally that we may by it as a necessary and infallible meanes learne the true faith in all points to which otherwise we cannot attaine The consequence of your maior is naught It doth not follow that we seeke the true Church to learne of it as a necessary and infallible meanes because we cannot know the mysteries of Religion without faith which commeth by the teaching of the true Church For there may well be teaching and learning without any such authoritie in the Church that teacheth Your minor is very doubtfull as I will shew in answering seuerally to the parts of it First then whereas you say that no man without faith can obtaine the supernaturall knowledge of diuine mysteries if you meane that a man cannot acknowledge the truth of such mysteries without faith your minor in that part is true but if your meaning be that a man cannot vnderstand what the meanes of saluation appointed by God are without faith I take your minor to be false For though those meanes be indeed such as no discourse of man euer could deuise or thinke on being vtterly supernaturall yet it is possible for a meere naturall man to learne what they are out of the Scriptures and that without faith because the Scriptures may be vnderstood by such helpes of the tongues and arts as humane learning doth affoord vs though to the sauing knowledge thereof the especiall grace of God be absolutely necessarie The other point that faith cannot be found but by the teaching of the true Church may also haue a double sense The first that faith cannot be wrought in any mans heart but by the preaching of some man authorized to that purpose by the true Church and this as I shewed before is not alwayes true for faith may be and hath bene begotten in some by the reading of the Scriptures where the ministery of the word was not to be had and by the teaching of ordinarie Christians not set apart to preach the Gospell The other meaning is this that faith cannot be attained to but by our hearkning to the voyce of such a Preacher as we alreadie know to be sent by the true Church And this indeed specially fits your purpose but hath no likelihood of truth in it For they that came to faith by the Apostles preaching did not beleeue them as men autorized for their instruction by the true church but as being conuinced in their consciences by the euidence of the truth they deliuered without
or happinesse This done thou shalt be sure to find by the euidence of truth manifested in those bookes that they are sent from God and not deuised by man If thou liue in such a place as affoordeth the interpretation of these bookes by the ministery of men vse that singular blessing of God with reuerence and care to vnderstand and thou shalt by the mercifull teaching of God acknowledge these books to be the word of God ordained for the saluation of thy selfe and other This will some man say may perhaps breed a perswasion that these bookes are from God but how shall we come to be infallibly sure of it How else but by the worke of the spirit of God in thy heart What say you must we runne to reuelations Who knowes the secrets of God but the spirit of God The truth it selfe discerned by that light which the spirit kindleth in our hearts worketh assurance of beleefe to which the testimonie of the spirit is added for our further confirmation Neither is this any other reuelation then you Papists require in this case For according to your doctrine no man can be perswaded infallibly of the truth of the Scripture either for the text or the interpretation but by the especiall teaching of the spirit otherwise he hath not faith but opinion of these matters Onely herein stands the difference betwixt vs that you say the argument whereby the spirit perswades vs to acknowledge the Scripture is the authoritie of the Church we affirme it is the euidence of truth which he makes vs to discerne by our vnderstanding enlightened and to approue by our will thereto inclined through his mightie and gracious worke vpon our soules The second part of your minor is that we could not haue knowne the Gospels of the foure Euangelists to be canonicall Scripture rather then those of Nicodemus and Thomas if we had not the testimonie of the Church Of the falsnesse of which opinion I shall need to say little because it is refuted in my answer to the former part For this knowledge is not bred in vs by resting vpon the Churches authoritie but by yeelding to the euidence of the truth discouered to our hearts by the teaching of the holy Ghost Concerning the authoritie of the Church in this point it were a presumptuous and vnreasonable thing for any man without very good proof or great likelihood of reason to deny or doubt of that which hath bin auouched so many yeares by the whole Christian world But to make question of the bookes of Scripture whether they be the word of God or no and to denie that there is any meanes to know them for such but the authoritie of the Church is the next way to open a gap to Atheisme to lay open Religion to the scorne of the world Can I not know the Scripture to be of God but by the authoritie of the Church How shal I then know it at all since it is not reasonable to beleeue there is any Church that hath such authoritie but by the warrant of the Scripture They do all they can to turne reasonable creatures into beasts who teach vs that we must beleeue the Church cannot erre because the Scripture saith so and yet denie that we can know there is any Scripture but by beleeuing it because the Church saith so This is to dance in a circle as if a man were coniured that he could not get out of it How shall I know there is a Church by the Scripture How shall I know there are any Scriptures by the Church Would your proud Clergie thus make fooles of Christian men if they did not despise them as voyd of all reason I wonder how your Pope Cardinals Bishops and the rest of your Cleargie can for beare laughing when they looke one vpon another and remember how they cosen and if I may vse the word in a matter of such importance gull the world with such palpable fooleries But your strumpet of Babylon hath made the Kings of the earth and all nations drunke with the cup of her fornications exalting her selfe aboue all that is called God and making her selfe the God of her slauish vassals But the Lord is iust who according to the Apostles prophefie hath sent the world strong delusions that they should beleeue lies that all they might be damned which beleeued not the truth but had pleasure in vnrighteousnesse And certainly if there were not a great measure of 12. blindnesse and sottishnesse in the hearts of men that Gods purpose might take effect it were vnpossible that reasonable men should so be lead by the nose to errour and destruction A. D. §. 5. Fourthly if the true doctrine of faith in all particular points must be foreknowne as a marke whereby to know the true Church then contrarie to that which hath bin proued the authoritie of the Church should not be a necessarie meanes whereby men must come to the knowledge of the true faith For if before we come to know which is the true Church we must by an other meanes haue knowne which is the true faith what need then is there for getting true faith already had to seeke or bring in the authoritie of the same Church A. W. This fourth reason and the next labour to proue that part of your first assumptiō in this Chapter which we deny not that the true doctrine of faith in euery particular point is not a good marke of the Church It would therefore be but lost labour to spend much time in the examining of them yet somewhat I must say and first to the former If the true doctrine of faith in all particular points must be foreknowne as a marke to know the true Church by then is not the autoritie of the true Church a necessary meanes to know the true doctrine of faith by But the authoritie of the true Church is a necessary meanes to know the true faith by Therefore the true doctrine of faith must not be foreknowne in all particular points as a marke to know the true Church by Your conclusion is no more then we grant the consequence of your maior about which you take some paines needs not your helpe for the proofe of it Your minor is false That which you brought before to prooue it before was answered A. D. §. 6. Fiftly if before we giue absolute and vndoubted credit to the true Church we must examine and iudge whether euery particular point of doctrine which it holdeth be the truth with authoritie to accept that onely which we like or which seemeth in our conceit right and conformable to Scripture and to reiect whatsoeuer we mislike or which in our priuate iudgement seemeth not so right and conformable then we make our selues examiners and iudges ouer the church and consequently we preferre our liking or disliking our iudgement and censure of the interpretation and sense of Scripture before the iudgement and censure of the
Church of God But it is absurd both in reason and religion to preferre the iudgement of any priuate man be he neuer so wittie and learned or neuer so strongly perswaded in his owne minde that he is taught by the Spirit before the iudgement and definitiue sentence of the Church of God the which is a companie of men many of which both are and alwayes haue bene vertuous wise and learned and which is chiefe is such a companie as according to the absolute and infallible promises of our Sauiour hath vndoubtedly the holy spirit among them guiding them and teaching them all truth and not permitting them to erre as before hath bin proued A. W. There is the same fault in this fift argument which was in the former that it is brought to proue a proposition which we denie not If before we giue absolute credit to the Church we must iudge whether euery particular point it holdeth be true or no then we may make our selues iudges ouer the true Church But we may not make our selues iudges ouer the true Church Therefore we must not iudge whether euery particular point the Church holdeth be true or no before we giue absolute credit to the Church This conclusion supposeth that which can neuer be proued that we are first or last to giue absolute credit to the Church whereof in this Chapter there is no question The point you vndertake to disproue is that the true doctrine of faith in euery particular point is a good marke of a true Church This therfore you should haue concluded though indeed it make nothing against our opinion who require not for a marke of the true Church truth of doctrine in euery point but in all points fundamentall Your proposition is deceitfully propounded as if we granted a companie to be the true Church and yet would take vpon vs to receiue and reiect what we list whereas we hold that we cannot acknowledge any true Church but we must withall yeeld that it maintaineth all substantiall points of Religion from which we may not vary Secondly for a man to make himselfe iudge ouer the Church is to take authoritie vpon him to censure reproue and condemne the Church wheras all that we desire is that it may be free for vs to discerne that the doctrine held by this or that Church is agreeable to the Scriptures before we acknowledge it to be a true Church It is meere absurd and vnreasonable to prefer any priuate mans iudgement before the definitiue sentence of the church of God But it is agreeable both to reason and Religion that euery priuate man whose saluation lieth vpon his true or false beleeuing should consider whether that which he is enioyned by men to beleeue be warrantable by the word of God or no. The Scribes and Pharises were the leaders of the people in the matters of Religion yet were they blinde guides and the blind people by depending vpon their iudgement were caried headlong into the same pit of destruction with them Were not the men of Beroea commended by the holy Ghost for searching the Scriptures that they might see whether the doctrine deliuered by Paul were agreeable thereto or no And yet shall it be a fault in vs to enquire of the same Scripture concerning the doctrine of your Apostaticall synagogue I say farther it is against reason and Religion to prefer any one mans iudgement before the definitiue sentence of many wise vertuous and learned men such as the Church hath vsually some amongst the members thereof But it is most reasonable and religious to prefer the truth of God manifested by one simple man before the contrary determination of all that euer haue bin or shal be of the Church though neuer so wise vertuous and learned This is that which we teach concerning this matter First that no man is bound to take any thing for a matter of faith but that which is proued to him by the Scriptures the rule of faith Secondly that no man is to condemne any thing held by the Church vnlesse he haue euident proofe on his side out of the Scriptures Thirdly that euery man in matters not determinable by Scripture none of which are necessarie to saluation should yeeld to the iudgement of the Church whereof he is a member and euery Church to the iudgement of the Christian Churches other where vnlesse there be some good reason to the contrary It is very possible for wise vertuous and learned men to erre for your priuiledge of not erring hath bin found to be counterfait who oftentimes follow the opinion of some one man whose learning and pietie they cannot chuse but admire Domingo à Soto affoords vs an example of this matter where hauing alledged a sentence out of Austin he addeth these words By reason of this saying of Austin quoth Soto all the Fathers afterward and the whole multitude of Diuines haue by good right deliuered it as a truth that the glorious Virgin neuer committed any actuall sinne though Chrysostome auncienter then he were of another opinion Let it be then vnlawfull as it is for a priuate man to prefer his owne opinion before the iudgement of a whole Church and in this sense I graunt your minor yet is it not vnlawfull for him to examine what any or all Churches teach or to dissent from it if he haue the Scripture for his warrant A. D. §. 7. But you may perhaps say that in Scripture we are willed not to beleeue euery priuate spirit but to trie spirits whether they be of God or no and that therefore we must examine and trie the spirit of the Church by looking into euery particular point of doctrine which it teacheth I answer that in that place of Scripture it is not meant that it belongeth to euery particular man to trie all spirits but in generall the Scripture giueth the Church warning not to accept euery one that boasteth himselfe to haue the Spirit and willeth that they should trie those spirits not that euery simple or priuate man should take vpon him to trie them but that those of the Church to whom the office of trying spirits doth appertaine to wit the Doctors and Pastors which Almightie God hath put in his Church of purpose Vt non circumferamur omni vento doctrinae that we may not be caried away with euery wind of doctrine and Vt non simus paruuli fluctuantes that we may not be little ones wauering with euerie blast of those that boast themselues to be singularly taught by the spirit So that this trying of spirits is onely meant of those spirits of which men may well doubt whether they be of God or no and then also this triall belongeth to the Pastors of the true church But when it is certaine that the spirit is of God we neither neede nor ought doubtfully to examine or presumptuously to iudge of it but submitting obediently the iudgement of our owne sense
reason not only against Scripture were ordained properly as the ministery of the word the seruice of Angels for their sakes that are to be saued according to the election of God Secondly and as it were accidentally for the hardening of them that will not beleeue to leaue them without excuse To make your matter the more likely you tell vs of our Sauiours loue to mankind which in your diuinity is without exception or respect of persons How then can it sute with the purpose of God his Father who hath chosen some to glory refused other meerly of his owne iust will without respect of difference in the parties so chosen refused As for I that loue of mankind wherupon some men conclude that either all or the greatest part of men are loued by God to eternal life it is not to be vnderstood by comparison of men to men but partly of men to the Angels that fell in which respect the Apostle amplifies the mercy of God to vs He tooke not the Angels but he tooke the seed of Abraham partly of men to all other creatures none of which besides man is vouchsafed the honour to be ioyned in vnity of person with the Sonne of God and so to be made heire of euerlasting glory It is needlesse to repeat what I answered before to this place of Isay onely I will say thus much of your exposition that though all that see the Church may know it yet it doth not follow that therefore all men may see it which you make the end of planting a visible Church that euerie man may learne how to be saued We denie not that the markes of the Church are such as that any man who hath the meanes and will vse them with conscience and diligence may come by the grace of God to the acknowledging of it and by the ministerie of it to saluation Such is the truth of doctrine wherein euerie man may be instructed who will submit his reason to the euidence of truth conteined in the holy Scriptures and not wilfully resist or carelesly neglect the worke of the spirit in the ministerie of the word The bands and chaines Austin speaketh of are not said to draw a man out of the world vnto the Church but to hold him in it that is in already And surely he were vnreasonably absurd that being borne in the profession of Christianitie or by any other occasion brought to ioyne himselfe vnto this or that Church would not cōtinue his beleefe vpon those groūds that Austin there mentions as long as there could be no sufficiēt reason brought to the contrarie yea though he could not discerne the truth of many points which he held as he had bene taught But Austin in the same place professeth that the markes he names and all other whatsoeuer whereby he is held in the Catholicke Church are nothing worth in comparison of truth manifestly prooued out of the Scripture But of this matter I shall haue occasion to speake againe hereafter where you propound some of Austins words more at large A. D. §. 2. Of these markes diuers authors haue written at large I for breuitie sake haue chosen out onely these foure Vna Sancta Catholica Apostolica One Holy Catholicke Apostolicke because I hope these will be sufficient and because I finde these especially set forth in Scriptures commended by Councels and generally admitted of all sorts both Catholickes and Protestants as now I am to declare First for the generall admittance of these properties of the true Church I need no other proofe but that both Catholicks and Protestants allow of the Nicene and Constantinopolitane Creed wherein we professe to beleeue the true Church the which Church is there described with those onely foure properties which before I named as though by those onely euery man might sufficiently know that Church which in euerie point they are bound to beleeue Now if besides this proofe out of the generally receiued Counsels some precise man would haue me prooue these properties to agree to the true Church out of the Scripture it selfe this also I may easily doe A. W. So many and diuers are the markes of the Church propounded by your Popish writers that you had good cause to giue some reason why you cull these foure out of all the rest First you alledge breuitie wherof if you had beene so desirous you would not so often haue repeated the same matters You adde the sufficiencie of these their being mentioned in the Scripture commended by Councels and generally admitted by all sorts both Catholickes and Protestants All which taking them in your sense are generally false as shall appeare in the particular handling of them But indeed the true cause is though you will not be knowne of it that Bellarmine out of whom you haue patched vp your whole discourse though he bring fifteene yet confesseth that they may all after a sort be reduced to these foure There are two faults in this proofe whereby you labour to perswade vs that these properties are generally admitted both by Protestants and Papists First though both admit them yet in diuers senses we according to the true meaning of those Councels you according to those phantasies you haue deuised for the establishing of your Apostaticall Synagogue Secondly we admit them not all as markes of the or a visible Church but as hidden properties of the Catholicke Church the mysticall bodie of Iesus Christ which are not to be discerned by the eye of the bodie but by the light of faith as all other articles in the same Creed are What though there be no more properties but those foure there set downe will it follow thence that therefore they are named as though by those onely euerie man might sufficiently know the Church Is that the vse of those points which are deliuered concerning the Father the Sonne and the holy Ghost Or rather are they not set before vs as principall matters to be beleeued of them So are also these properties of the Church If any man be so simple as to take your former proofe for good whereas it faileth in the chiefe point you would prooue by it as I haue shewed he is fitter to be pittied then instructed But is it a note of precisenesse to desire proofe for matters of faith out of the scripture Doubtlesse it was then no lesse precisenesse to appoint the scripture for a rule of our faith and as great for our Sauiour Christ and the Apostles to confirme their doctrine out of the scripture For this course of theirs makes vs the bolder to require the like of you whose authoritie we more doubt of whereas if they had stood vpon their priuiledge and neuer troubled themselues with proouing that they deliuered or leauing their doctrine in writing we should easily haue perswaded our selues to rest vpon mens authoritie and not to looke for any proofe by scripture But giue me leaue a little to consider of this
spirit of Christ. For Christ saith he is as the soule giuing life by the holy Ghost to his whole mysticall bodie But the holy Ghost quickens onely the elect not the reprobate too In the latter of the two places the same Cardinall expounds that being one in respect of charitie and Catharin a learned Popish Bishop vnderstands this bodie to be the holy Church consisting of them that are predestinate and called and iustified and glorified holy and faithfull Of the last place I spake sufficiently before Agreement in the truth is the marke we looke at This you adde to proue that to professe one and the same faith that is to be one is proper to the true church Your proofe is that Tertulliā saith that all heresies if they be wel looked into are found to differ in many things from their first founders Tertullian might truly say so of al heresies then known yet there may haue bin some since his time perhaps that haue kept alwayes the same errors without any change worth the speaking of But as I noted before since all heresies for a time hold their first errors continuance in the same profession can be no good marke of the true church vnles you can set downe a certaine number of yeares during which they must continue in one and the same faith or else be held for hereticks because of their changing Now in conclusion of this first marke I must obserue a few points for the Readers instruction First I desire it may be noted that whereas vnitie is made a principal marke by your writers they vnderstand as well vnitie of loue as of faith you require but the one of them and so giue vs but halfe a marke Secondly let it be obserued that this marke is either no marke at all or all one with ours so that whereas you trouble vs with more then this you make it much harder then we do to find out the true Church In the third place it would be considered what you meane by one and the same faith I presse you with your owne argument Continuing in one and the same faith in regard of some points only is no good marke because heretickes continue in some points of truth Continuing in all points can be no good mark for it is not only hard but vnpossible for a simple vnlearned man to be assured that any church hath alwayes continued in profession of one and the same faith in euery point yea this is infinitely harder then to discerne of all truth because the one is to be learned out of the Scriptures the other cannot be known but by searching the records of the church from time to time Of the one there is certaine knowledge to be had because the Scriptures are the word of God of the other the best assurance we can haue is but the testimonie of men that might erre by ignorance or partialitie Whatsoeuer doubts or difficulties you can imagine concerning the false translation or misunderstanding of the Scriptures the same wil accompanie all the writings of men touching the doctrine of the Church in all ages Then let any reasonable man iudge whether you or we shew them a better marke to know the true Church by A. D. §. 4. The true Church is also proued to be holy by that of S. Paul Templum Dei sanctum est quod estis vos The temple of God is holy which temple you are By which place notwithstanding S. Paul did not meane to signifie that euery one of this companie was holy For a little after in the same Epistle he saith to the same companie Omnino auditur inter vos fornicatio talis fornicatio qualis nec inter gentes There is plainly heard fornication among you and such fornication as the like is not among the heathen He doth not therefore I say meane that euery one of the Church is holy but that the whole companie is to be termed holy because the profession thereof doth of it selfe wholy tend to holinesse the doctrine being such as withdraweth from all vice and instructeth and moueth men to vertue the Sacraments also do not onely signifie but in the vertue which they haue from Christ his passion they also worke in vs as instrumentall causes true and inward sanctitie Wherefore although euery one that is in the Church be not holy yet no doubt alwayes some are the which their holinesse it pleaseth Almightie God to testifie and make knowne sometime by miracle and ordinarily he vseth to make it apparent enough by the light of their vertuous actions which at all times in many members of the true Church do so shine before men that by it men are moued to glorifie God and sometimes to imitate in their owne life that which in others they admire And whatsoeuer member of the Church faileth from this holinesse of life it is euident that the fault is onely in himself who liueth not according to the prescript of his professiō nor vseth in due sort those means which it hath of the holy Sacraments which as I said before are effectuall instruments of sanctification Contrariwise no sect of hereticks is truly holy neither was there euer any person that did inuent or obstinatly adhere vnto any sect of heresie which had in him true sanctitie And no maruel because the very profession and doctrine it selfe of euery heresie is opposite to the very rootes of true sanctitie the which rootes be true Christian faith and humilitie For how can he be truly holy and iust who being possessed with the spirit of heresie must needs be depriued of true faith without which the iust man cannot liue according to that saying of S. Paul Iustus ex fide viuit Or how can he be holy that doth not only not humble himselfe like a little one submitting himselfe to euery humane creature for Gods sake but doth proudly oppose himselfe against the vniuersall Church it selfe whom God hath willed and commanded vs to heare no otherwise then himselfe For wanting this humilitie and consequently the grace of God which is denied to the proud and giuen to the humble there is no doubt but that howsoeuer such a man seemeth in his outward behauiour he can haue no true sanctitie within him the which true sanctitie failing inwardly it is hard for him to beare himselfe so but that sometime or other by one occasion or other he shall euen outwardly manifest this his inward want as in these our daies heretickes commonly do in such apparent manner that it is no hard matter to discerne that they be not as some of them would haue the Church defined a companie of Saints A. W. Hauing shewed before that this discourse proceedeth not orderly as it should to the proofe of that which is propounded by you and denied by vs I will not stand to lay out the fault in euery particular but content my selfe with hauing done it once for all It
the Gospell he saw his kingdome againe in hazard he betooke himselfe to his former shifts and spread abroad the poyson of heresie in diuers countries that he might giue you his vassals occasion to slaunder the doctrine of the Gospell as if from it these heresies had risen This is one of his delusions wherby he deceiues and misleades many to damnation though the children of God perceiue his subtilty and rest vpon the manifest truth of the Scripture for all Sathans practises to discredit it by this and such other inconueniences with which he endeauours to haue the preaching of the Gospell accompanied for the disgrace thereof This course also he tooke in the first beginning of the Gospell as it is manifest by the multitude and grossenesse of those heresies which brake out within the first 400 yeares and were neuer since equalled for number or haynousnesse in twice so long a time that the likenesse of Sathans dealing may be an argument of the like truth he now laboreth to ouerthrow or discredit A. D. §. 3. My chiefe question and comparison therefore shall be betwixt the Romane Church that is to say that companie which communicateth agreeth in profession of faith with the Church of Rome and liueth vnder the obedience as touching spirituall matters of the Bishop of Rome and other Bishops and Pastours vnder him and the Protestants that is to say that companie which from Luther his time hitherward haue opposed themselues against the Romane Church either all or any one sect of them my question I say or comparison shal be to which of those two the foure forenamed marks agree and consequently which of them is the true Church A. W. Here you propound the matter and argument of this chapter which you call a comparison as if the question were whether of the Churches be beautified with those foure properties consequently whether of them is the true Church But to speak properly there is no comparison intended therein For our question is not whether your Synagogue or our congregations come nearer the state of true Churches which seemeth to be implied in making a comparison betwixt them but whether of them are indeed true Churches If I should compare your Church of Rome with the Synagogues of the Iewes the profession of the Mahometans or the companies of Anabaptists or other Hereticks I might finde that your doctrine came nearer to the truth in many points and so were more likely to shew me the true Church or that these foure properties agreed better to you then to them But this comparison would not settle me in the knowledge of a true Church The point is as before I shewed the proofe of your Minor that the Church of Rome is she to whom those properties belong For the further confirmation whereof you vndertake to prooue that our congregations haue no interest to these titles and this you do not by way of comparison but by an argument of contraries But let vs take it as it is and fall to the examination of your proofes yet still with this prouiso that the Church of Rome cannot be concluded to be the true Church nor our congregations false Churches though you had and we wanted all these markes as you vnderstand them A. D. §. 4. § SECT I. That the Romane Church onely is one First I finde that the Protestants Church is not perfectly One or vniforme in dogmaticall points of faith but variable according to the varietie of times and persons now holding one thing then an other and that the learned men thereof are so much at iarre among themselues in matters of faith that it is hard to finde three in all points of one opinion and which is chiefely to be pondered as principally appertaining to the marke of Vnitie they haue no meanes to end their controuersies so to returne to Vnitie and to continue therein For while as they admit no rule of faith but only Scripture which scriptures diuers men expoūd diuersly according to the diuers humours and affections opinions and phantasies of euerie one neuer one admitting any one head or chiefe ruler infallibly guided by the holy Ghost in his doctrine to whose censure in matters of faith euerie one should of necessitie submit themselues Vt capite constituto schismatis tollatur occasio that as Saint Ierome speaketh a head or chiefe ruler being ordained occasion of schisme or diuision may be taken away Whilest they do thus as they all doe thus all proclaiming to be ruled by onely Scripture and yet almost in euerie one in one point or other expounding Scripture diuersly and one contrarie to an other according to the diuers seeming of euerie ones sense and neuer one admitting any one superiour infallibly guided by the holy Ghost to whose definitiue sentence he and the rest will be bound to submit their doctrine and expositions whilest I say they doe thus it is vnpossible that they should In fidei occurrere vnitatem meet as Saint Hierome counselleth in the vnitie of faith The which vnitie in profession of faith notwithstanding is one principall thing pertaining to the vnitie of the Church and vnitie of the Church is one chiefe marke by which we must discerne which is the true Church Contrariwise the Romane Church is alwaies one and vniforme in faith neuer varying or holding any dogmaticall point contrarie to that which in former times from the beginning it did hold The learned men thereof though sometimes differing in opinion in matters not defined by the Church yet inmatters of faith all conspire in one And no marueile because they haue a most conuenient meanes to keepe vnitie in profession of faith sith they do acknowledge one chiefe Pastor appointed ouer them to wit the successour of Saint Peter to whose definitiue censure in matters concerning religion they wholly submit themselues knowing that to Saint Peter and his successours Christ our Sauiour promised the keyes of the kingdome of Heauen and that he would vpon him and his successours as vpon a sure rocke build his Church Knowing also that the same our Sauiour did specially pray for Saint Peter and euerie one his lawfull successour that this faith should not faile at least so farre as to teach the Church a false faith to the intent that he might be alwaies able to confirme his brethren if at any time they should faile in the doctrine of faith Knowing lastly that to Saint Peter and his successours which word I adde not without sufficient authoritie and reason Christ our Lord gaue most ample power ouer his vniuersall Church saying Pasce oues meas feed my sheepe that is to say Rule or gouerne as chiefe Pastour vnder me my sheepe that is all those that pertaine to the sheepfold which is the Church giuing him and his successours charge to feed them with the food of true doctrine of faith and consequently binding these his sheepe to receiue obediently this food of true doctrine of faith at
which we pleade not guiltie and looke to heare what euidence commeth against vs to proue the enditement But you rather like the foreman of the grand enquest then the plaintiffe that endites vs instead of prouing come in with I find that the Protestants Church is not perfectly one This will not serue the turne we must know how you finde it or at least be assured that you haue found it Who would not laugh at such an euidence But though you leaue the two former points to the credulousnesse of your Popish followers yet you attempt the proofe of the last by this Syllogisme They that admit no rule of faith but onely Scriptures and allow no infallible interpreter thereof to whose iudgement they will stand haue no meanes to end their controuersies and returne to vnitie But the Protestant Churches admit no rule of faith but onely Scriptures and allow no infallible interpreter thereof to whose iudgement they will stand Therefore the Protestant Churches haue no meanes to end their controuersies and returne to vnitie I denie your maior for the Scripture alone containes all truth necessarie to be beleeued and that so plainly that without any such soueraigne iudgement of any man it is possible for a reasonable man to discerne truth from falshood But if any man will be contentious we haue the sword of the magistrate and the censure of excommunication to bring him into order or to cut him off if he be incurable that the vnitie of our Churches be not dissolued either by heresic or schisme But to confirme your proposition you alledge Ieromes authoritie that there must be a head or chiefe ruler that occasion of schisme may be taken away The danger of schisme that Ierome speakes of in his first booke against Iouinian not as your Printer quotes it in the second was not in respect of doctrine but of outward peace Neither was this course held from the beginning as Ierome saith but in discretion appointed vpon occasion Before that by the malice of the diuell saith Ierome the Church was deuided into factions and one man held of Paul another of Apollo another of Cephas Churches were gouerned by common consent of the Presbyters but after that euery man began to thinke that those which hee had baptized were his and not Christs it was decreed ouer all the world that one chosen from among the Presbyters should be set ouer the rest to whom the whole care of the Church should appertaine and that the seeds of schismes might be taken away Out of which sentence of Ierome we may obserue these points First that this meanes of procuring vnitie belongeth not necessarily to the nature of the Church for then it must needs haue bene as auncient as the Church But Ierome telleth vs that there was a time when the Church was without it and that in her best estate while the Apostles liued By little and little saith Ierome afterward that the plants of dissention might be plucked vp the whole care was layed vpon one Secondly whereas in the place alledged by you Ierome acknowledgeth such a superioritie in Peter aboue the other Apostles in respect of age for which as he saith he was preferred before Iohn yet there is more heede to be taken to his iudgement in this place where he disputes the question without all passion then to that which hee speakes in the heate of disputation against Iouinian But what neede we any better proofe of this point then Saint Paul affoords vs He blameth the Corinthians because some held of Paul some of Apollos some of Cephas Cephas or Peter is the last why not the first rather if he were as you say the head Or why should the Corinthians be reproued for cleauing to him especially if he were appointed to be the chiefe It might be a fault to depend on Paule or on Apollos who were in your iudgement vnderlings but it was a great vertue to hang vpon Cephas the head How forgetfull was the Apostle Paul both of his dutie to Peter his head and of so readie a meanes to end that schisme that would not tell them that Peter was appointed head to the end all occasion of schisme might be taken away Thirdly we are not so to vnderstand Ierome as if he had said that there was one head appointed ouer the whole world but that in all places where there were multitudes of Presbyters order was taken that some one chosen from among the rest should be chiefe and principall in that Diocesse as I may speake and ouer all them which were in some sort accounted to be but one bodie This agreeth with the practise of those times and with that of Cyprian Here of spring heresies and schismes arise that the Priest of the Lord is not obeyed Which Cyprian speakes of euery seuerall Bishop in his Diocesse Whereunto also belongs that of Ierome There be seuerall Bishops of Churches seuerall Archbishops and seuerall Archdeacons and all the Ecclesiasticall order is stayed by the gouernours Whereby saith the Glosse Ierome proueth that there may not be two or more Bishops in one Church but that there must be a seuerall Bishop in euery seuerall Church To which purpose I may farther alledge another place of Ierome Vnlesse saith Ierome the Bishop haue a speciall power aboue other there will be as many schismes in the Church as there be Priests This course then of authorizing some one of the Presbyters aboue the rest was for the preseruing of order and keeping out of schisme not for the determining of controuersies in Religion as if all must haue stood to one mans iudgement in questions of Diuinitie which either may be ended by the authoritie of the Scriptures if they be necessary to be determined or if they be not may be forbidden to be proceeded in without any danger to the Churches libertie So that the Protestant Churches fully agree in matters of substance and want not meanes to settle peace in questions of lesse importance or if they did might easily haue as good meanes as your Church by appointing a Pope ouer themselues as in policie you haue done But as yet they finde no such need especially where the remedie is worse then the disease as it must needs be in so lawlesse a tyrannie Is it not more for the glory of God good of the Church as I haue said otherwhere that there should be continuall disagreement in some matters of Religion then that all should beleeue maintain false doctrine Were not our Sauiour Christ better haue a troubled church thē none at all Honorable war is to be preferred before dishonorable peace in the iudgement of any wise states-man And can it be more glorious to God to haue outward quietnesse in the Church with heresy yea with Antichristianisme then truth with contention True Christian vnitie consists principally in truth of religion without which the greatest agreement is but a conspiracy against God
as you taught vs before of necessitie to saluation that we beleeue entirely all points of faith without misbeleeuing any one what hope of saluation shall be left to any Papist who cannot by any meanes know what is determined by the Church and what is not Or if he may be sure that matters defined by the Pope and a Councell are decided by the Church yet since it is not so determined whether the Pope alone be sufficient to determine of points in controuersie he may refuse to obey some constitutions of the Pope or to beleeue some questions decided by him and thereby shut himselfe out of heauen for not giuing credit to the determination of the Church if that authoritie of determining be in the Pope and he commaund men so to beleeue But if this determination of the Church be ioyntly in the Pope and Councels and that nothing is a matter of faith but that which is so determined to be then was there almost no matter of faith at all in the Church till within these last 800 yeares For it is more then euident to any man that will not be wilfully contentious that the Pope neuer bare any extraordinarie sway in Councels till he had proclaimed himselfe vniuersall Bishop which was by the grant of the murtherer Phocas six hundred yeares after the beginning of the Gospell What shall we thinke of the Churches in the Apostles times and so forward till the Councell of Nice in which the Popes supremacie was not heard of Had Christians then no matters of faith to beleeue How should they if all depend vpon the Pope and a general Councel Let me grant that those Councels in the Acts were generall what was there determined but that the Gentiles were to abstaine from things offered to Idols and bloud and that which is strangled and from fornication VVas nothing a matter of faith but these few points which also till this time were not matters of faith Either shew some good reason why matters of faith were not at this time of the Apostles liuing to be tied to generall Councels and the Pope yet now must be or confesse the truth to the glorie of God that matters of faith haue their authoritie to be matters of faith from the word of God and not from the determination of Pope or Councell or both Neither thinke to shift of the matter by saying they are indeed matters of faith in themselues but not to vs. For so it will come to passe that we shall say the first Christians had no points that were matters of faith to them because they had none determined by the Church in a Councell which opinion is I know not whether of more absurditie or impietie Now that you agreement in matters of faith after the determination of the Church is not so great as you would make the world beleeue it may appeare by the verie ground of religion the Canon of the Scripture which was determined of by your iudgement in the Councell of Carthage wherein the Apocryphall bookes say you were allowed for Canonical yet saith Bellarmine Nicholas Lyra Denys the Carthusiā Hugo de sancto victore Thomas de Vio both these at least the last Cardinals follow Ierom in reiecting thē as Apocryphal But if this Councel may be excepted against sure in your iudgment the Councell of Trent may not which hath receiued those books into the canō of the scripture Yet for all that Sixtus Senensis keeper of the Popes library maketh bold to deny thē such authority euen since that Coūcel as Bellarmine himself confesseth And Arias Montanus since that time doubteth not to say that the Orthodoxe or true Church following the Canon of the Hebrewes accounteth those bookes of the old Testament written in Greeke to be Apocryphal What say you to your Bishop Catharin who being one of the Councell of Trent after the determination of the Councell against assurance of saluation defendeth that such assurance notwithstanding that decree of the Councell may ordinarily be had by them that beleeue You would perswade vs that it is a ruled case of your Church long ago that the Scriptures are not sufficient without tradition What saith Scotus in this case Whatsoeuer pertaineth to heauenly and supernaturall knowledge and is necessarie to be knowne of men in this life is sufficiently deliuered in the holy scriptures The holy scripture saith Gerson is sufficient for the gouernment of the Church or else was Christ an vnperfect Lawgiuer I might runne on in the like course touching other points but these shal serue for a tast and so I passe ouer to your proofe that the learned on your side cannot possibly dissent one from another They which acknowledge that the definitiue sentence of the Pope is to be rested vpon as an vndoubted truth cannot possibly dissent in matters of faith But all Catholick learned men acknowledge that the Popes sentence is such Therefore no Catholicke learned men can possibly dissent in matters of faith All you conclude is that in matters determined by the Pope and a Councell your learned men cannot disagree because they hold that such a determination is certainly true yet for all this as I haue shewed your Church may be rent in peeces with contrarie opinions in matters of as great moment as most are in religion if for all this it cease not to be a true Church why should not the Protestants haue the like priuiledge who haue the same opinion of the Scriptures that you haue of the Pope Be not so iniurious to reason or blasphemous against God as to auouch that no controuersie can be ended by the word because diuers men will expound it diuersly For it is contrarie both to religion and sense to imagine that the Lord would giue his people such a Scripture as cannot be certainely vnderstood in all points necessarie to saluation but by I know not what reuelation to some one man More particularly I denie your Maior They that acknowledge such an authoritie in the Pope may yet differ in opinion about matters of faith I bring you example in that point of assurance wherein Catharin disputed against that doctrine which Sotus and your writers generally since the Councell of Trent affirme to haue bene the certaine decree of the Councell Yet were they both present in the Councell and none of the meanest there assembed The reason of that their dissent and the possibilitie of the like betwixt other men ariseth from this that decrees of Councels and Popes being set downe in writing may be diuersly interpreted and so the meaning of them mistaken as Catharin saith that he foresaw some men would misunderstand the Councell of Trent in that point This is all the inconueniences you can alledge in admitting the Scripture for Iudge and this followeth the decrees of Councels and Popes at the least as much as the writings of the holy Ghost
absolution if they doe the pennaunce appoynted by their ghostly Father they are as free from all their sinnes as when they were newly baptised Now concerning our doctrine though we teach men that assurance is to be had yet we withall instruct them that it is neuer in this life absolutely without doubting at all times and that no man can be assured that his sinnes are forgiuen but he that with feare and trembling maketh conscience of falling into sinne which are especiall meanes prouided by God to keepe men from sinning and without which sinne will so ouertake vs and the sense of Gods wrath so follow vexe vs that a man were better frie a yeare in your Purgatory knowing that he shall one day get out of it then lie one moneth vnder the heauie hand of God pressing him with the remembrance of his sinne and for the time hiding his gracious countenance from him If you neuer fealt this offer not to iudge of the extremitie thereof for you will neuer come to giue any reasonable gesse of the terriblenesse of it To prescribe lawes of fasting and praier as you do that A man refraine vpon such and such daies from flesh or patter ouer a number of Paternosters Aues and Creeds is so farre from teaching men to auoid sinne that it thrusts them necessarily into it For both the opinion and doing of it as a seruice of God is a grieuous sinne as if the Lord hated flesh more then fish or cared for such vaine lip-labour and also the verie conceit that men haue of doing such extraordinarie seruice maketh them presume that God will beare with them though they chance to sinne against him The like I say of confession but of these two I spake before in defence of our doctrine With what fitnesse your remedies are applied or rather penance is inioyned the veriest child may see when for the most part they are such as I named ere while abstaining from flesh mumbling vp a certaine number of praiers going on pilgrimage to some shrine or such like As for true comfort in affliction of conscience or good direction in time of temptation or wise instruction for a mans spirituall behauiour few of your ordinarie Priestes Sir Iohns Lacke-Latine haue any knowledge or care of them This last point concerneth you no more then vs. For who knoweth not that we continually teach that God hath called Christians to holinesse whereof they make profession and wherein if they do not daily exercise themselues they can haue no sufficient assurance nor reasonable perswasion that they are iustified by the bloud of Christ Because as many as haue any part of redemption by him haue receiued his spirit and If the spirit of him that raised vp Iesus from the dead dwell in vs our mortall bodies shall be quickened by the spirit dwelling in vs. Onely it may seeme that your disgrace and danger should be the more if you liue not holily because you brag that you are able perfectly to keepe the Law and your Plea for heauen is the desert of your good works together with the inward grace of faith hope and charitie Because there is nothing in this glorious conclusion but a heaping vp of those false assertions which I haue alreadie confuted I will neuer make the Reader more worke then needs by repeating of that which hath bene formerly deliuered A. D. §. 6. § III. That the Romane Church onely is Catholicke Thirdly I finde that the Protestants companie is not Catholicke that is to say vniuersall neither in time nor in place for it came vp of late and is but in few places of Christendome neither in points of doctrine for their doctrine consisteth chiefely of negatiues that is to say in denying diuers points which haue bene generally held in former ages as appeareth by the Chronicles of the Magdeburgenses their owne Doctors who confesse that the ancient Fathers held this and that which they now denie And there is no learned Protestant vnlesse he be too too impudent but he will confesse that there cannot be assigned a visible companie of men professing the same faith which they do euer since Christ his time continuing without interruption till now And therefore will he nill he he must confesse that the Protestants Church is not vniuersall and therefore not Catholicke as out of Scripture I shewed Christs true Church must be But the Romane Church is Catholicke For first it hath bene continually without ceasing since Christ and his Apostles time still visibly though sometimes in persecution professing the same faith which is receiued from the Apostles without change till this day It is therefore Catholicke or vniuersall in time It hath also had and hath at this day some in euerie countrey where there are any Christians which is almost if not absolutely euerie where that communicateth and agreeth with it in profession of faith Therefore it is also Catholicke or vniuersall in place It teacheth also an vniuersall and most ample vniforme doctrine of God of Angels of all other creatures and specially of man of mans first framing of his finall end of things pertaining to his nature of his fall by sinne of his reparation by grace of lawes prescribed vnto him of vertues which he ought to embrace of vices which he ought to eschew of Christ our Redeemer his Incarnation life death resurrection ascension and comming againe to iudgement of Sacraments and all other things that any way pertaine to Christian religion Neither doth it at this day denie any one point of doctrine of faith which in former times was vniuersally receiued for a veritie of the Catholicke Church The which if any man will take vpon him to gainesay let him shew and prooue if he can what point of doctrine the Romane Church doth denie or holde contrarie to that which by the Church was vniuersally held before as we can shew diuers points that the Protestants so hold or denie Let him I say shew and prooue by setting downe the point of doctrine the author the time the place and what companie did oppose themselues against it and who they were that did continue as the true Church must still continue in the profession of the former faith lineally without interruption till these our daies as we can shew and prooue against them Let him also shew what countrey there is or hath bene where Christian faith either was first planted or afterwards continued where some at least haue not holden the Romane faith as we can shew euen at this day diuers places where their religion is scarce heard of especially in the Indian Iaponian and China countries which were not long since first conuerted to the Christian faith onely by those who were members of the Romane Church and chiefly by Iesuites sent thither by the authoritie of the Pope And to go no further then our deare countrie England we shall finde in the Chronicles that it was conuerted by Augustine a Monke sent
yeares after Christ found out the true faith and the right way to heauen haue all the rest liued in blindnesse darknesse and errour consequently are you onely they that please God and shall be saued for as I haue prooued before without true and entire faith none can be saued and were then all the rest so many millions your owne forefathers and ancestors many of which were most innocent men and vertuous liuers and some of which shed their bloud for Christs sake were I say all these hated of God did all these perish were they all damned shall all these endure vnspeakable paines in hell for euer O impious cruell and incredible assertion Nay surely I am rather to thinke that you are vnwise who pretending to trauell toward the happie kingdome of heauen and to go to that glorious citie the heauenly Ierusalem wil leaue the beaten street in which all those haue walked that euer heretofore went thither who by miracles sometimes as it were by letters sent from thence haue giuen testimonie to vs that remaine behind that they are safely arriued there You I say are vnwise that will leaue this way and will aduenture the liues not onely of your bodies but of your soules in a path found out of late by your selues neuer tracked before in which whosoeuer haue yet gone God knowes what is become of them sith we neuer had letter of miracle or any other euident token or euer heard any word from them to assure vs that they safely passed that way me thinks I may account you most vnwise men that will aduenture such a precious iewell as your soule is to be transported by such an vncertaine and dangerous way I must needs thinke that sith there is but one right way and that the way of the Catholicke Church is a sure and approued safe way you are very vnaduised who with the aduenture of the irreparable losse of your dearest and peerlesse treasure your soule will leaue this safe and secure way to seeke out a new vncertaine and perillous way I must needs think sith the Catholick Romane Church is as I haue proued the light of the world the rule of faith the pillar sure ground of truth that you leauing it leaue the light and therefore walke in darknesse forsaking it forsake the direct path of true faith and therefore are misled in the mist of incredulitie into the wildernesse of misbeleefe and finally that you hauing thus lost the sure ground of truth do fall into the miry ditch of many absurdities and must needs be drowned in the pit of innumerable errors and erring thus from the way the veritie and the life which is Christ Iesus residing according to his promise in the Catholicke Church must needs vnlesse you wil which I hartily wish returne to the vnitie of the same Church incur your owne perdition death and damnation of body and soule from which sweet Iesus deliuer you and vs all to the honor and perpetuall praise of his holy name Amen A. W. To these idle questions of yours I answer first in generall that we may with reason enough perswade our selues that we haue the true faith and true Churches because we see that the very quintessence of Bellarmines sophistry distilled againe in your limbeck is of no force to purge out or alter such perswasion This appeares in the particulars viewed and examined To which I answer seuerally in a word The doctrine of the true Church we gladly admit and receiue yet not vpon the authoritie thereof but because it is agreeable to the Scriptures If you ask vs then why we are perswaded that we haue true faith we returne you answer that we are therefore so perswaded because we finde that which we beleeue auowed in Scripture and confirmed in our hearts by the witnesse of the holy Ghost Hereupon we conclude as well we may that we are members of the true Church our congregations true Christiā churches For wheras you charge some of vs but craftily forbeare to name them with chalenging to our selues the title of the true Church it is a slaunder of yours and no challenge of ours saue only thus far that we affirme there is no true Church which agreeth not with vs in the fundamentall points of the Gospell But we are far frō appropriating the Church to our congregations as if all true Churches depended vpon vs according to that you teach of your Romish synagogue And whereas you condemne vs for no true Churches because we want the markes of true Churches we say that you take those for markes which are not so as you vnderstand them and farther that euery one of them rightly conceiued is to be found in our seuerall congregations It is one because it holdeth that one meanes of saluation preached by the Apostles euen faith in Iesus Christ without mingling of any workes therewith of the ceremoniall or moral law before or after grace to deserue iustification of congruitie or euerlasting life of condignitie The contrary errors held by your synagogue make and proue it to be no true Church But how foolish is the reason you bring against vs The Protestants Church is not one because it hath no meanes to keepe vnitie It hath meanes sufficient viz. the truth of the Scriptures and teaching of the spirit of God Put case it wanted meanes to continue vnitie would it follow thereupon that it is not One Surely no more then that a man is not aliue because he hath not means to keepe himselfe aliue Our Church hath had and by the blessing of God hath many holy men and women whose workes haue giuen and dayly do giue cleare testimonies of their inward graces Indeed we want vnholy legendaries to deuise and publish monstrous lies for miracles by which you haue gotten the aduantage of vs in the conceits of them to whom God hath sent strong delusions that they might beleeue lies But wisedome is iustified of her children though you proud Pharises despise her Our doctrine teacheth nothing but holinesse that we were chosen to be holy that we are freed from our sinnes to the end we might sinne no more that we are washed iustified and sanctified by the bloud of Christ buried with him in baptisme that we might die to sinne raised from sinne to righteousnesse by the power of his resurrection that holines of life is a part of our glorie without which no man shall euer see God that he which saith he is iustified and shewes himselfe to be vnsanctified deceiues his owne soule and is in the state of damnation Onely we neither giue the glorie of our saluation to our selues as if by the power of our freewill without speciall inclination thereof by the holy Ghost we had receiued faith which other men haue refused though they might haue embraced it as well as we for ought God did for or to vs more then for or to them nor looke to merit heauen by the worthinesse of our workes as
man should beleeue them but he that is giuen vp by God to strong delusions that he may beleeue lies Bethinke your selues and returne ere it be too late The Lord will be mercifull to your former ignorance if at the last you embrace the loue of the truth Leauing those euident proofes you speake of proofes indeed of your manifold errours you assay to draw vs by reason because it is more likelie that the vniuersall companie of Catholickes deserueth credit then any particular man or his followers First you beg that which is in question No true Catholicke euer held all the errours that your Antichristian Church maintaineth nor any one of those whereby you cast downe the foundation of religion Secondly the comparison is not betwixt the authoritie of a multitude or a few wherein number may either helpe or hinder but the reasons of each side are to be weighed all other respects whatsoeuer set apart And yet if we looke to reason are not the greatest number for the most part the worst Christs true flocke is a little one Feare not little flocke Not many wise men after the flesh not many mightie not many noble Was not the voice of the people euen of Gods people Make vs Gods to go before vs The voice of God is to be heard in the Scriptures One man that speaketh according thereunto is to be preferred before the whole world speaking otherwise Those obiections made to Luther in his priuate meditations proceeded from the same spirit by which the Pharisies spake to Nicodemus in their Councell Doth any of the Rulers or of the Pharisies beleeue in him This was that communicating with flesh and blood which the Apostle would not once hearken to Luther in his weaknesse was drawne into it and had perished in it if the Lord of his infinite mercy had not drawne him out of it with a worthie and admirable resolution VVith the like that it may appeare whose schollers you are you Iesuits and Priests set vpon simple people ticing them on in their ignorance your owne though the broad way that leadeth to destruction But let vs consider this your fleshly eloquence and answer to it You aske if we onelie be wise and all the rest in former ages were fooles As if we did not acknowledge that it is the mercie of God and not our wisedome that hath giuen vs the abilitie and will to vnderstand his truth We are not wiser then any other but haue found more mercy then many haue done at the hands of God for our saluation Many in former times haue bene partakers of the like mercie and bene made wise to saluation by the same truth we now professe yea it was generally held many hundred yeares til your master Antichrist draue it into holes and deserts After the reuealing of his pride and tyrannie the true way to heauen ceased not to be found though not so commonly till it pleased God to scatter those clowdie mists of ignorance and idolatrie by which you had hidden it that it could very hardly be knowne Diuers heretofore and more now adaies finde fauour with God to discerne and walke through it to the certaine and euerlasting saluation of their soules and bodies So iudge we as it becommeth vs in charitie of our forefathers that he which hath looked in compassion vpon vs their seed did not faile to shew mercy vnto them who neuer vnderstood the mysterie of your iniquitie but in the singlenesse of their hearts embraced the generall doctrine of the Gospell concerning saluation by faith in Christ This is the onely way by which all men haue gone that euer came to heauen and in this way we trauell with danger of the liues of our bodies as you speake because we are continually in hazard by reason of your conspiracies treasons massacres vnderminings and fier-works but with assurance of the saluation of our soules if we hold fast the shoot-Anchor of our hope and renouncing our owne righteousnesse repose our selues by faith vpon the gracious mercy of God our Father in Iesus Christ This doing we haue better certificate both for the securitie of our way and the end of our iourney out of the Scriptures and by the witnesse of the Spirit of God in our hearts then that lying Carier the diuel can bring by any shew of your counterfeit miracles whatsoeuer I must needs perswade my selfe sith that Apostolicall Romish Synagogue is as I haue shewed the seducer of the world by shew of authority without reason the ouerthrow and destruction of truth by denying the sufficiency of the Scripture and taking the vse of it from the people of God that all you which cleaue to it plunge your selues in hellish darknesse by refusing to see the light of Gods word and by drinking of the cup of abhomination presented to you by that strumpet of Rome loose the taste of truth and runne forward in wilfull ignorance to most certaine damnation The Lord is my witnesse whom I serue weakly as I can in the Gospell of his Son Iesus Christ that if it were possible and lawfull for me I could be content to procure your saluation by pouring out my heart bloud for euerie one of you that Iesus Christ my master might haue the glory of your true conuersion To that purpose and for the establishing of them which alreadie beleeue I first vndertooke and haue now at the last by the mercifull assistance of God finished my answer to this subtill Treatise Let me now earnestly intreat you by the care of your owne saluation by the zeale you haue in ignorance to glorifie God by the infinite loue of Iesus Christ by the vndeserued mercy of God the Father by the continuall gracious motions of the holy Ghost and by whatsoeuer is or ought to be deare vnto you that you would vouchsafe seriously in the sinceritie of your hearts without preiudice to consider whether it be not more ageeable both to the Scriptures and the light of reason to giue the whole glorie of our saluation to the mercie of God in Iesus Christ then to ascribe the enabling of vs to saue our soules to God and the vse or imploying of this abilitie to the choise of our owne free-will If your opinion be true euerie man that is saued is more beholding to himselfe then to God for his saluation For though he haue power from God to be saued if he will yet neither hath he this power but vpon preparation depending on his free-will and when he hath it the vsing of it well is from himselfe and not from God You will say he could not vse it well vnlesse he were assisted continually by the grace of God I answer that for all this assistance by that grace to vse it well the well or ill vsing of it when God hath done all he will do ariseth from the choise of a mans owne will That it was possible for me to be saued it was Gods doing that
not all one but diuers p. 156. Credere Deum Credere in Deum differ very much p. 156. The perpetuall couenant p. 178. Christians how called Saints p. 349. What makes a man cease to be a Christian p. 273. There is no constraint vsed toward the will either in good or in euill pag. 344. How Constraint and Necessitie differ p. 344. 345. Councels may erre p. 260. Are hard to be vnderstood and may be misunderstood p. 11. 12. 323. Are bound to vse all meanes of disputation to find out the truth p. 13. Deliuer some things as probable coniectures p. 12. The course that hath bene and must alwayes be held by Popish generall Councels p. 330. Whether the Councell be aboue the Pope or no it is not determined p. 14 15. 375. The Councell hath often deposed the Pope 324. 325. The Councell of Constance makes the Pope subiect to the decrees of Councels p. 325. The Councell of the Elders among the Iewes p. 148. D What it is to denie Christ p. 190. 191. Alwayes damnable p. 190. Most deuotion in Popery where there is least vnderstanding p. 27. Disputation about points of Diuinitie necessary p. 13. Dissention among Papists about matters of faith p. 321. 322. 324. Bellarmine dissents in one point or other from almost all learned Papists before him p. 319. Euery dissent in opiniō makes not churches cease to be churches or holy p. 273. Dissention is better then maintaining of false doctrine or worship p. 319. Doubting of some points how it ouerthrowes not religion p. 50. How farre the doctrine of one that is lawfully sent may be examined pa. 253. E 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 what it signifieth p. 128. Any assembly pag. ead Especially about matters of religion p. ead Generally all beleeuers p. 129. 201. 210. Particularly seuerall congregations p. 129. How arguments may be drawne from those places where the word is vsed p. 129. 130. Ecclesiasticall gouernours to be obeyed when they commaund that which is right p. 37. The Elect before the coming of Christ were chosen ordinarily out of the Iews since out of the Gentiles p. 207. The Elect onely are truly called p. 210. 211. May fall into grieuous sin and yet not cease to be elect p. 211. England not conuerted but peruerted by Austin the monke p. 377. Popish errors crept in by little and little vnperceiued p. 382. 383. 387. F Diuers significations of faith p. 6. 22. 28. Faith is absolutely necessary to saluatiō p. 22. 25. 26. Faith for assent to the truth what it is p. 35. 319. May be had without the autoritie of the Church p. 104. 113. Is in some greater in some lesse p. 31. Goeth before iustifying faith p. 33. Is accompanied with doubting p. 32. 33 Perfection thereof is to be labored for p. 32. Is tied to the Scripture not to y e church p. 46. May come by the preaching of the schismaticks or heretickes p. 34. Not to be built on the testimonie of man p. 329. How it is one p. 30. 31. 47. 51. Entire and infallible faith necessarie to saluation p. 73. How faith may be begotten p. 25. 26. 33 34. 60. 66. 75. 76. 113. 114. 235. Is to be learned of the Ministers not of the Church p. 234. Matters of faith according to Poperie 311. 320. Are indeede to be proued by scripture p. 250. 319. 320. Fundamentall points of faith p. 40. 239. Obstinately not beleeuing them damnable p. 40. No matter of faith according to Poperie till within these last 800 yeares 320. 321. All popish faith dependeth vpon the authoritie of the Church p. 25. The rule of faith what properties it must haue p. 61. 63. 64. 94. 108. Easinesse to be vnderstood no propertie of the rule p. 74 94. How farre the rule need be vnderstood p. 65 94. All truth must be prooued by the rule p. 84. 87. 115. What points the rule must resolue and how farre p. 84. Naturall wit and learning cannot be the rule of faith p. 98 99 100. No priuate spirit can be the rule of faith 105. The teaching of the Catholicke Church the rule of faith p. 61. 122. 42. He that hath Popish faith may be damned p. 23. Iustifying faith what it is p. 24. It is in the wil. p. 33. The iust liues by faith and where there is faith there is life p. 273. Liuely faith may be in him that is ignorant or misinstructed in many points p 274. The foundation of the Apostles doctrin is ouerthrowne by Poperie p. 375. Fasting not condemned but especially commended by Protestants p. 342. A Popish fast may be kept with gluttonie and drunkennesse p. 342. 366. The interpretations of the Fathers reuerenced by the Protestants p. 80. Frieries and monasteries p. 357. Saint Francis fiue wounds p. 358. G God calleth all men from damnation p. 56. Decreed all things that are or shal come to passe p. 345. Worketh not alike in good and euill actions p. 345. The glorie of God is the end of all religion p. 290. 296. The heathen had one soueraigne God aboue all the rest p. 387. To whom the rest were mediators of intercession for their fauorites as the Popish Saints are p. 387. How we may know that there is a gospell p. 245. The doctrine of the Gospell is simply necessarie to saluation not the books of the foure Gospels p. 243. The Gospell hung about the necke for a preseruatiue p. 78. Many nations in Austins time had not heard the Gospell p. 55. The Fathers thought the world should end presently after the preaching of the Gospell in all places p. 55. Many thousands died in the Apostles time ere they could by any meanes heare of the Gospell p. 181. 182. 183. H Herefie what it is p. 220. A worke of the flesh p. 52. 118. May be more generall for a time then true religion p. 293. No man can certainly know how long any heresie shall continue p. 293. Heresies spring from misunderstanding the Scripture p. 119 300. May by it be conuinced p. 119. Great hereticks haue had lawfull calling to the ministerie p. 36. 411. Hereticks pleade all for themselues that Papists do p. 119. They that refuse to make triall of their doctrine by Scripture are hereticks p. 220. Some hereticks haue continued a long time in one and the same doctrine p. 263. Hereticks may be free from all grosse outward sinne p. 275. The first 400. yeares were most fruitfull in monstrous heresies p. 305. Some hereticall Churches may be true Churches p. 219. Some heretickes could pleade personall succession from the Apostles p. 299. Any hereticall Church may haue as good meanes to end controuersies as the Church of Rome hath p. 313. Holinesse whence it springeth p. 21. 360. Onely true inward holinesse can make a man a true Christian p. 269. Holinesse is resident onely in seuerall persons not in a companie p. 270. 249. Is inuested in the Popes person p. 356. I Comparison betwixt heathenish Popish Idolatrie p. 386. 387. Distinction
Ambrose to enquire after the faith of the Church and that especially in which Church if Christ be a dweller it is doubtlesse to be made choise of But if the people be vnfaithful if an heretical teacher deforme the dwelling the communion of heretickes is to be auoided the congregation must be shunned And a little after If there be any Church that refuseth the faith and holds not the foundation of the Apostles preaching it is to be left lest it taint vs with some spot of vnbeliefe or vnfaithfulnesse Neither will it serue the turne that you referre vs to that which is generally holden by the Church for both the generall faith depends vpon the particular beliefe of the Church or Pope of Rome and is not to be taken for truth because it is generally receiued but because it agrees with the Romane faith as we learned before of your Monkes of Bourdeaux who make the Catholique Church to haue communion with the Church of Rome as the fountaine of truth and of greater authoritie in their iudgement then the Catholicke Church But let vs admit that you desire of beleeuing whatsoeuer is generally holden by the Church I am half afraid this conceit be it neuer so strong wil not procure the quietnes you promise vs. The causes of my feare are these two First I may doubt of such a point as is not yet determined by the Church for example I make question of the Popes authority aboue Councels or theirs aboue him How shall I most certainly be instructed in the truth of this question Enquire say you and find what is generally holden by the Church What if the Doctors of your Church cannot agree about this point That they cannot it appeares by your owne doubting where you make it questionable whether the Pope alone or the Pope with a general Councell be free from error And Bellarmine is faine to take a great deale of paines in answering the arguments of diuers Papists some of them equall to himselfe for learning iudgement and authoritie who make the Pope subiect to generall Councels But of this in due place Say it were generally agreed on Could I thereby be most certainly instructed what is truth in this point May not all saue the Pope be deceiued and perhaps he to without the aduice and assent of a general Councell at least if he haue not in his consistory vpon good deliberation resolued of the matter What shall it auaile me then to know that generally it is thought the Pope is aboue any Councell Supposing this point were generally held to be true though indeed as I said before it is denyed both by priuate men by 2. councels that of Basil the other of Constance which deposed two Popes Iohn the three and twentieth and Benedict the thirteenth And Bellarmine saith that to this day it remaines in question euen among the Catholikes Well put case all men thought as Bellarmine and all such Popish parasites would haue it what were I the nearer as long as there can be no certainty of truth in your opinion where nothing is iudicially determined by a Pope Coūcell The second resō of my doubt is that I know not how to find out either easily as you say euery man may or certainly though with some paines what is generally holdē by the Church for truth in al particular points wherof I doubt Shall I looke into the confessions of seuerall Churches Where are they to be found Shall I trauail into euery particular country to learne what they hold of this or that poynt What assurance can I get hereby but from some speciall men And it is a venture but they will not all agree in euery point What remaines Forsooth that which is all in all I must beleeue Watsō or Clarke or Blackwel the archpriest or if al these will not content me Gerrard Tesmond Hall or without all doubting Garnet the superior of the Iesuites who questionlesse is as void of error as the Pope himselfe Haue I not trow you a sound foundation to build my faith vpon when I haue the word of these equiuocating traitours Priests and Iesuits And yet this is the most I can haue in this case if I be a man vnlearned especially vnable to reade Is it possible any man should be so senslesse as to hazzard his euerlasting saluation vpon such an vncertainty to beleeue he knowes not what because a Priest or a Iesuit tels him that the Church generally doth so beleeue But what if it fall out as it may do that the Priests perswade him the Church holds one thing and the Iesuites affirme it maintaines the contrary how shall a poore soule either settle his iudgement or quiet his conscience Quid sequar aut quem Were it not a directer and certainer course to hold nothing for truth in religion but that which is proued to vs by plaine testimonies of Scripture or certaine consequence of reason drawne from principles euidently exprest or apparētly contained in the knowne word of God The difficulties of translation and interpretation shal be handled in their places which also as I shewed ere while accompany al your writings of priuate men Popes or Councels Now then if their be many particular points of cōtrouersies whereof I may doubt which are not resolued of by any iudgement of the Church nor agreed vpon by the learned of your owne side if I cannot certainly know what is generally held for truth by the Church but as I giue credit to the report of a Priest or Iesuit whom I know to be partiall in the matter because he is one of the Popes vassals subiect to erre because he is a priuate man likely enough to lye because he maintaines equiuocation what madnesse were it for me to forbeare searching and studying of the Scriptures where I am sure the truth of God is to be found and to lose my time and labour in seeking what the Church generally holds and that of those men who perhaps vnderstand not what is held but as they haue bene informed by others who may themselues haue mistaken the true meaning of the Church in that it holds A. D. §. 10. Of which points also If they be desirous they may haue sufficient authority and reason yeelded by the learned of the same Church though they should not so desire reason to be yeelded that without reason be giuen they would not beleeue at all or as grounding their faith vpon the reason giuen sith Christian beliefe ought onely to be grounded vpon the authoritie of God speaking by the mouth of the Church who ought to be beleeued in all matters without giuing any reason A. W. There is no sufficient authoritie for a man to ground his faith vpon but the truth of God reuealed Whatsoeuer is taught without that authoritie is as easily contēned as alleadged Therfore Iustine wils him that would be setled in
Peter as we heard Bellarmine say signifieth no more but that God keepes no man from being saued but hath vouchsafed the word and sacraments in common to all Your Glosse restraines that Any to them that are to be conuerted that is to the elect That other which are to be conuerted may be conuertea Thomas and Holkot interprete it de voluntate signi of that wil of God which we may gather by the signes he sheweth as for example God calleth all men from danger of damnation by precepts counsels threatnings rewards These are signes to vs that God would haue all men to be saued but there is another will called volunt as beneplaciti the good pleasure of God which is indeed truly that which God intendeth Thomas addeth also a second exposition out of Damascen but it can proue nothing because it cannot be necessarily enforced out of the text rather then the other which is also more warrantable for the truth of it as I will shew another time vpon more iust occasion if it please God Caietan alledgeth three seuerall interpretations that of Damascens a second of All kind of men whereof before and a third of the elect which also he doth exemplifie in the person of Peter Thus I haue shewed that the maine foundation you build vpon is but weak wanting ground of warrant from the word of God But admit it were neuer so true that God would haue euery man to be saued which in some sense as I haue said indeed is most true yet were not the consequence of your proposition proued For there might be sufficient meanes for euery mans saluation though there were no meanes to bring him to that same one infallible entire faith which you conceit but onely to so much faith and knowledge as is necessary to saluation by which he might be sufficiently instructed in matters of faith which is all that you craftily seeme to require in the conclusion of this section whereas before in your proposition no lesse would serue the turne then infallible instruction in all points questions and doubts of faith A. D. §. 2. To this purpose saith S. Austin Si Dei prouidentia praesidet rebus humanis non est desperandum ab eodem ipso Deo auctoritatem aliquam constitutam esse qua velut certo gradu nitentes attollamur in Deum If Gods prouidence saith he rule and gouerne humane matters as he proueth that it doth we may not despaire but that there is a certain authoritie appointed by the same God vpon which staying our selues as vpon a sure step we may be lifted vp to God Saint Austin therefore doth acknowledge some authoritie to be needfull as a meanes whereby we may be lifted vp to God The which lifting vp to God is first begun by true faith And because this authoritie is so needfull a meanes he would not haue vs doubt but that God whose prouidence stretcheth it selfe to all humane matters hath not failed to prouide this meanes for vs it being a principal matter and so principall as vpon which according to the ordinary course dependeth the summe of our saluation We are not therefore I say to doubt but that Almghtie God hath prouided a meanes whereby Animalis homo qui non percipit ea que sunt spiritus Dei a sensuall man who hath no vnderstanding of the diuine mysteries of faith may come to know them by a firme and infallible beleefe A. W. To what purpose doth Saint Austine bring this To proue that God hath appointed a rule by which all men may come to your infallible faith Nothing lesse but to shew that where truth is not euident as to men ordinarily it is not there God hath prouided meanes to stirre them vp to a diligent enquiry after it or rather as he plainly affirmeth to a ridding of themselues of the cares and pleasures of this life which he cals purging of the soule that so they may be fit to embrace the truth Authoritie saith Austin is at hand for a man that is not able to discerne the truth that he may be fitted to it and suffer himselfe to be purged What is this authoritie what is the vse of it Miracles multitude make vp this authoritie whereby men not able to see truth in it self are moued to a reuerend respect of the Church so to an examination of the doctrine which vpon triall is found true Thus doth the wisedome of God prouide for mens ignorance that authoritie of miracles and multitude may draw them to a consideration of the truth which whensoeuer it shewes it selfe so plainly that it cannot be doubted of is to be preferred before all other meanes of perswading a man to beleeue or holding him in beleefe whatsoeuer as the same Austin saith we denie not these to be good helpes and strong meanes to the searching and finding of the truth but to be sufficient and infallible grounds of religion that a man should relie vpon them without trying the doctrine by the truth of God reuealed in the Scriptures It is indeed out of doubt among Christians that God hath prouided some meanes by which a naturall man whom you absurdly call sensuall whereas the Apostle meaneth a man in his best natural estate since his fal who cānot discerne of Gods truth nor admit of it may come to the knowledge thereof Because it was impossible saith Irenaeus to learne God without God he teacheth men by his word his sonne to know God It is he that hath vouchsafed vs this knowledge by the ministery of men worke of the spirit in their hearts that beleeue according to the word of God in the Scriptures Let vs not heare saith Austin This I say This thou sayest but let vs heare This saith the Lord there are the Lords bookes extant to the authoritie whereof both of vs consent both of vs giue credit both of vs obey there let vs seeke the Church there let vs discusse our question Other meanes of triall then by the Scripture he accounteth and calleth deceitfull The Scriptures are the bounds of the Church beyond which she may not wander Whatsoeuer any man since the Apostles hath seene without warrant of Scripture let him be neuer so holy neuer so eloquent it is of no authoritie but onely to mooue vs to a consideration of that he saith A. D. §. 3. Onely the question is what manner of thing this meanes must be and where euerie man must seeke and finde it that hauing found it he may as S. Austen speaketh stay himselfe vpon it as vpon a sure step thereby to be lifted vp to a true faith and by faith to God The which question being of so great consequence that it being well determined a man need neuer make more question in matters of faith I wil God willing in the chapters following endeuor to resolue it as clearely as I can And this I purpose to do first by