and in what manner they may heare your Prayers and Supplications For to build the first point you lay downe two Articles and principles most false The one That this hath alwaies beene the doctrine of the Christian Church to say and teach that this was a thing more then reasonable and most profitable to man to inuocate the Saints yea that the Church hath taught the same for the space of 1605 year unto this day The other How certaine Heretikes which are sprung vp within this fortie or fiftie yeares haue meant to preach and teach the cleane contrarie to wit those whom you call Lutherans and Caluinists who but a few yeares ago endeuoring to â—uerthrow so auncient a doctrine according to your opinion haue said and say still that we must not call vpon any of the Saints but vpon God onely I say that your first foundation is false because as Eckius one of your principall Doctours plainely confesseth in his booke of the worshipping of Saints that it is impossible for you to alledge one onely text either out of the old or new Testament whereby you can prooue that either Christ his Euangelists or Apostles haue commanded vs to adore the Saints or haue recommended this seruice to vs as very profitable or reasonable Also Petrus à Scoto confesseth that the inuocation of Saints is not taught in the bookes of the Prophets and Apostles but is there insinuated And likewise some of the Iesuits say that it is not manifestly represented in them but obscurely and mystically or by certaine consequences which are pretended and not well grounded And for this cause the Councell of Trent recommending it vnto the Christians makes no mention of the authority of the holy Scripture but of the ancient custome only of the consent of fathers and of the decreâ—s of holy Councels From whence followeth that this commandement of inuocating the Saints hath not bene giuen to the Christians as you write a thousand sixe hundred and fiue yeares ago or thereabouts but hath bene a long time after forged as I will prooue in due place by your Predecessors who haue made no conscience to teach for doctrine of saluation their owne traditions and humaine inuentions Which hauing shewed your second foundatioÌ„ wil tumble downe of it selfe that is how this rule of worshipping God alone hath bene inuented by those whom wrongfully you terme Lutherans and Caluinists for wee acknowledge none for our soueraigne Doctour and Master but our Lord Iesus Christ the only perfect wisedome and essential word of his Father who hath spoken heretofore to our Fathers by the auncient Prophets and since being manifested in our flesh hath spoken himselfe by his sacred mouth to his Disciples and after his Ascension by his Apostles who as faithful Secretaries and dispensators of the secrets of God haue left vs in writing the fundamentall points of pure Religion and touching this point haue taught vs that God only and no other ought to bee called vpon by vs in our necessities And although this is as cleere as the Sun shine in a bright day at noone yet because you are blinde and leaders of the blinde as your predecessors the Scribes and Pharisies were in the time of Iesus Christ wee will alleage against you some certaine proofes for that which is abouesaid to the end they may serue as a cleere light to those which wink not with their eyes that they might not see in seeing but open them with a holy desire to behold this light When God saith in the first Commandement of his law giuen by Moses to our Fathers * Thou shalt haue none* other Gods before me what doth hee signifie by this prohibition but only that we ought not to acknowledge any other God and Sauiour but him nor to attribute to any one that honour which is proper to him that is to call vpon him only in our anguishes according to that expresse command which he giueth vs in Deuteronom Thou shall worship the Lord thy God and serue him And by the Prophet Asaph in the 50 Psalme verses 14. 15. Offer vnto God praise and pay thy vowes vnto the most high and call vpon me in the day of trouble and I will deliuer thee and thou shalt glorifie me And to stirre vs vp the more thereunto he denounceth by the Prophet Esay chap. 42. and 8 verse I am the Lord this is my name and my glorie will I not giue to another neither my praise to grauen Images And in the 45 chap. and 21 verse Haue not I the Lord and there is none other God beside me a iust God and a Sauiour there is none beside me And in the 22 verse Looke vnto me and yee shall be saued all the ends of the earth shall be saued for I am God and there is none other If hereupon you object against me that God commandeth not by these places that wee should only worship him and none other beside him The answere is cleere to wit that this commandement of God was so interpreted by the Prophet Samuel and in the fulnesse of time by our Soueraigne Doctor Iesus Christ himselfe For therefore you may see how the Prophet warneth all the house of Israel in the 7 chapter of his booke and third verse where he saith If ye be come againe vnto the Lord with all your heart put away the strange gods from among you and Ashtoroth and direct your hearts vnto the Lord and serue him only and hee shall deliuer you out of the hand of the Philistims By which you may see that the Prophet Samuel sheweth vnto the children of Israel that the meanes and way to conuert and direct themselues vnto the Lord with all their hearts is to serue him only and to take away from before his eyes the Idols of the Heathen which hee calleth the gods of the strangers Euen so also our Lord Iesus Christ being tempted in the wildernesse by the wicked spirit which had transported him vpon a high mountaine and shewed him all the kingdomes of the world and the glorie of them with promise that he would giue them all vnto him if so be he would fall down and worship him he alleageth against Satan that which is written in the sixt chapter of the book of Moses called Deuteronomie expounding the intention of his father as he which is his Counsellour witnesse the Prophet Isaiah in his ninth chapter and fifth verse he addeth thereto this word only when hee answereth Satan that in that place it is written Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serue as though he would haue said That the seruice which is due vnto God only is to worship him and to prostrate our selues before him And to this end and purpose the sonnes of Korah who composed the 44 Psalme teach vs in the 20 and 21 verses that to call vpon any other besides God is to forget and denie him If say they
the Apostle S. Paul which was diuinely inspired into him but in the Bishops assembled in the Councels aboue said In confidence whereof I will come vnto the Councell of Nice which imposed three yeeres penance vpon the Christians who hauing abandoned their Armes afterward returned to the warres againe which rigour is condemned by S. Iohn Baptist who did not commaund souldiers to forsake their Armes but exhorteth them to content themselues with their payes and to demaund nothing beside that which was ordained for them The Fathers assembled in the Arelatan Councell haue prohibited the admitting of a married man into the vocation of the holy Ministerie by an article cleane contrarie to the 〈◊〉 the Apostle S. Paul who saith in the first Epistle to Tim. chap. 3. that a Bishop must be the husband of one wife The second Councell of Nice allowed the adoration and seruice of Images a fault which you will not correct to obey the second commandement of the Lord who saith in Exodus chapter 20. verses 4. 5. Thou shalt make thee no grauen Images neither any similitude of things that are in heauen aboue neither that are in the earth beneath nor that are in the waters vnder the earth thou shalt not bow downe to them neither serue them In the Lateran Councell which was held vnder Pope Innocentius the third it was decreed that men should beleeue that the bread and wine was changed into the substance of the bodie and blood of Iesus Christ by the vertue of these fiue words Hoc est enim corpus meum Which is a false opinion and easie to be ouerthrowne by many places of holy scripture and especially by the 11. chapter of Saint Pauls first Epistle to the Corinth where after he had recited the institution of the Lords Supper and treated of the consecration of the bread and wine by these very words of our Lord Iesus Christ This is my body c. he retaineth those same words of bread and wine For he saith as often as ye shall eate this bread and drinke this cup ye shew the Lords death till he come Againe Whosoeuer shall eate this bread finally let a man therefore examine himselfe and so let him eate of this bread and drinke of this cup. By which manner of speech he teacheth vs that there is no transubstantiation in the holy Supper but that the bread remaineth bread and the wine keepeth it owne naturall propertie They also which were present in the Councell of Toledo haue they not iudged that he which in stead of being espoused to any honest woman kept a concubine ought neuerthelesse not to bee cast out of the communion of the Lords Supper Doth not this sentence ouerthrow the institution of holy Matrimonie which by the Apostle S. Paul is called an vndefiled bed and honourable among all men Heb. 13. 4. Doth it not also fauour whoremongers which possesse the vessels of their bodie in dishonour and are condemned by God as well in the seuenth Commandement of his law as by many holie remonstrances of the Prophets and Apostles Moreouer the 72 Canon of the 6. generall Councel approued by Pope Adrian doth it not say that men ought to breake the promises of Mariage which the Catholikes haue made with heretikes and to hold them for nought as though they neuer had been made Is not this too too dangerous a Canon forged by the spirit of disloyaltie and dissension For the spirit of truth which guided the penne of the Apostle S. Paul doth it not signifie to vs in the first Epistle to the Corinthians the 7. chapter and 15. verse that God hath called the married in peace and that to entertaine and keep it If any brother haue a wife that beleeueth not if she be content to dwell with him he ought not to forsake her and if any woman hath an husband that beleeueth not if hee be content to dwell with her she ought not to forsake him neither Whereunto the Apostle addeth this reason as most worthy of consideration namely the vnbeleeuing husband is sanctified by the wife and the vnbeleeuing wife is sanctified by the husband and that through this coniunction their children are holy which else would be vncleane The Councell of Wormes abusing that admonition of the Apostle S. Paul in the 1. Epistle to the Cor. chap. 11. 28 where he saith Let a man therefore examine himselfe and so let him eate of this bread and drinke of this cup thought it a matter of no moment to admit theeues and other scandalous persons vnto the Lords holy table vpon the trial and testimonie of their owne consciences These are the Councels very words It oftentimes happeneth that the Monkes in their Cloisters doe commit some crime of theft behold wee therefore iudge that these brethren being accused of such a fact ought to cleere themselues thereof and ordaine to this effect that the Abbat or some one among them of their brethren celebrate the Masse and that all trying and prouing themselues doe participate the same And in another Canon If any one hath charged the Bishop or Priest with some mischieuous deed he ought to celebrate the Masse and to shew thereby that he knowes himselfe innocent and guiltlesse of that crime which is laid vnto his charge This canon hath not only been approued but also put in practise by Pope Gregory the seuenth named before his popedome Hildebrand who being aduertised by letters that he was accused of sorcerie and simonicall heresie answered that to satisfie euery man according to that good canon of the Councell of Wormes and to take away that scandalous report of him out of y e Catholike Church he would receiue the body of our Lord in token of his innocencie True it is that afterward as Bellarmine writeth the Bishops thought good to abolish that pernicious canon whereby their predecessors had prostituted the communion of the bodie and blood of our Lord Iesus Christ to all sorts of leaud persons to be vnworthily trampled vnder their feete and prophaned But Bellarmine notwithstanding is driuen to confesse so much that it was receiued and allowed for some time in your Church To come now vnto the errors of some other Councels The Councels of Carthage and of Florence haue inrolled for canonicall bookes and as diuinely inspired to serue all men in the points of religion for a rule and as a law for their discourses the bookes of Tobit Iudith Wisedome Ecclesiasticus and the Maccabees which neuerthelesse according to Cardinall Caietans owne confession are accounted by S. Ierome among the Apocrypha and not receiueable for to ground vpon them any article of faith and to the end the Reader may not be troubled in that the abouesaid Councels and the Popes Innocentius and Gelasius haue reckoned these bookes among the Canonicall the said Cardinall giueth him this counsell in his obseruations vpon the tenth chapter of Ester to reduce them to the rule and correction of
S. Ierome Charles the Great speaking of the two Councels of Constantinople and of Nice in a book made at the Councel of Franckford touching the adoration of Images blameth the Councell of Nice of impietie and idolatrie forbidden by God in his holy word when he complaineth that not only the Kings of the Easterne prouinces but also the Priests and Prelates reiecting that which is said by the Apostle that if any one preach otherwise then that which hath been preached though he were an Angel from heauen let him be accursed haue sought to bring into the Church through Councels fond and infamous things one knowes not what which neither the Sauiour nor any of his Apostles haue euer brought in that is as hee himselfe expoundeth them Nouelties of words and the foolish inuention of the worshipping of Images and afterward hee rebuketh the temeritie and boldnes of Irene mother vnto Constantine the Emperour in that she had borne the chiefe sway in that Councell of Nice saying The Empresse did there all in all a woman vnto whom it was forbidden to teach in the Church hath taught and ordained she there intruded her selfe with the Bishops and all Ecclesiasticall Orders teaching things vnprofitable Thirdly he accuseth that Councell in that they admitted thereunto Tharasius Patriarch of Constantinople and gaue too much credit vnto him who as he speaketh was at a iumpe come from the vulgar conuersation into the dignitie of Priesthood from the life of a Souldier to a religious life from the noise of the market to the preaching and distributing of holy mysteries and that in summe hee was of an ill iudgement and spake not well concerning the holie Ghost Whereunto hee addeth beside that for the rest of all this Councell they were ignorant barbarous insufficient fond and vnapt both in their sense and in their words and neuerthelesse proud beyond all pride which durst command that which neuer the Apostles nor their successors ordained and in one part of the Church to condemne and accurse all the Churches in the world which he proueth in that they made it to bee called a vniuersall Councell held for the worshipping of Images without the consent of many other faithfull and Catholike Churches of God and were so audacious euen rashly to accurse so many and so great Churches which are the body of Iesus Christ and to attempt to establish the worship and seruice of insensible things against the institution of diuine scripture Now like as Charles the Great who was present in the aforesaid Councell of Franckford assaulted the Councel of Nice so likewise S. Austin with many other of the ancient Fathers haue reprooued oftentimes the writings of their companions in the work of the Lord and the ordinance of their Councels in calling them back to be tried by the holy Scripture and admonishing them that through many of their false conclusions they were gone astray from the same which S. Austin testifieth in his second booke and third chapter of Baptisme against the Donatists The Epistles saith he of the particular Bishops are corrected by the Prouinciall Councels and the Prouinciall Councels by the vniuersall and the first vniuersall Councels by the latter when by experience that which was locked is opened and that which was hid is brought into light This is the cause wherefore one Councell hath oftentimes retracted and repealed that which a former had decreed As for example the generall Councell of Nice permitted the Priests to marrie which afterward the Councels of Neccesarea of Magence and the second of Carthage forbad them to do The Councell of Carthage in which S. Cyprian was present decreed that such as were baptized by Heretikes should be rebaptized which was shortly after broken and disanulled by another Councell of Carthage The second generall Councell of Ephesus approoued the error of Euryches who acknowledged but one only nature in Christ to wit the diuine but the general Councel of Chalcedon refuted and condemned that heresie You are not ignorant also how the Bracharean Councell condemned and accursed those which abstaine themselues from eating of flesh and how the third Councell of Toledo hauing confirmed that decree the cleane contrarie was ordained by the Councell of Rome forbidding the vse of flesh vpon certaine daies i the yeere The Councell of Constantinople decreed that they should throw and breake downe all the Images which were put vp in Churches but this ordinance and decree was ouer throwne againe by the second Councell of Nice assembled by Irene mother vnto Constantine the Emperour in which was commanded to reestablish and set vp those Images againe These examples may suffice to shew that Councels may erre and that oftentimes there hath been great dissension betweene Councels and contrarietie in the articles of the ancient Synods and that many things haue been proposed receiued and maintained in them without and beside the holy scripture which as S. Tertullian saith in his Treatise against Praxeas is not in danger of saying things contrarie but alwaies is consonant and agreeth in it selfe as appeareth by the mutuall correspondencie of the texts aswell of the old as of the new Testament which is alone without error and exempt froÌ„ lying as Cardinall Baronius also himselfe teacheth you in his Annals tom 2. This warre and manifest contradiction of the ancient Councels doth it not aduertise vs as it were of it selfe that we ought not to equall the canons of Councels with the rules of holy Scripture and yet neuerthelesse your ancestors haue done it who haue equalled the decretall epistles of their Popes with the epistles of the Apostle S. Paul and the decrees of the foure Councels of Nice Constantinople Ephesus and Chalcedon with the bookes of the foure Euangelists Now in this great diuersitie of Councels to which I pray you shall we haue our recourse to assure our consciences but to the word of God which is the touchstone and ballance whereby wee must proue and weigh all the traditions of men As S. Austin did in his dispute against Maximine Bishop of the Arrians lib. 3. cap. 3. I ought not to alleage saith he the Councel of Nice thereby to preiudice thee nor thou against me that of Rimini I am not bound nor tied vnto the authoritie of that Councel ner thou vnto the other It is by the authoritie of the Scriptures which are not partâ—all to either of vs but are common witnesses aswell to the one as to the other and that by them we ought to dispute in alleaging cause against cause and reason against reason According to which rule S. Bernard in his 9â— Epistle signified to the Bishops which in his time were assembled to handle ecclesiasticall affaires that he was very desirous to be present in their Councell and in their assemblies where the traditions of men were not obstmatelâ— maintained nor superstitiously obserued but where the good and persit will of God was sought after in all humilitie and diligence there am I
euery man must haue his recourse to the Scriptures that he may finde assurance in all things Wee haue faith Irenaeus in his third booke chap. 1. knowne the disposition of our saluation by no others but by those by whom the Gospell is come vnto vs which in their time they also preached and afterward through the will of God haue giuen it to vs in the Scriptures to the intent it might be the pillar and foundation of our faith Againe Iustine the Martyr saith in his exposition of true faith that among the children of the Church diuine things ought not to be comprehended within humane reasons and discourses but that diuine words ought to be expounded according to the will instruction and doctrine of the holy Ghost S. Tertullian in like manner in his dispute touching the flesh of Iesus Christ saith I receiue not this which thou bringest of thine owne beside the Scripture if thou art Apostolicall then follow the Apostles doctrine Likewise S. Ierome in his Annot. vpon the fifth chapter of Saint Pauls Epistle to the Galathians saith plainly Nulli kne verbo dei esse credendum that is We must not giue beleefe to any one without the word of God Also S. Cyril which was Bishop of Ierusalem Cath. 4. saith That it is not necessarie to teach any thing rashly touching the secrets of faith without the holy Scripture If then I should teach thee these things simply and without any proofe beleeue me not vnlesse thou receiuest some demonstration thereof by the Scripture for the saluation of our faith proceedeth not from a well composed discourse but from the demonstration of diuine Scripture By these sentences our Fathers reduced themselues to the holy Scripture commanding vs seriously to examine their sayings and writings by them and if wee found them not agreeable and correspondent to that vniuersall rule of all sorts of Ecclesiasticall doctrines to hold them in suspition and without any difficultie to reiect them wherein wee cannot bee too rigorous seeing that S. Paul with his companions and the Angels make themselues subiect to that ballance saying in his epistle to the Galathians the first chapter and 8. verse Though that we or an Angel from heauen preach vnto you otherwise then that which we haue preached vnto you let him be accursed Whereupon the Abbat Vincent Lirinensis made an excellent obseruation in his Treatise of the holy Scriptures Canon chap. 22. That the Apostle S. Paul would spare no man no not himselfe nor Peter nor Andrew nor Iohn nor all the rest of the Apostles but hath denounced that all those which would publish beyond that which the Apostles haue published these are the Abbats very words should be accursed thereby to maintaine the first faith stedfastly and strictly Wherein according to the very iudgement of your owne Doctor Canus we do no wrong to our Fathers For hee confesseth freely in the Centur. 3. that al the Saints except those which haue written the canonicall bookes haue spoken by a humane spirit and at sometimes haue erred both in word and in writing euen in the points of faith what learning or innocencie soeuer wee might conceiue in them Behold therefore some of your Doctors make no bones to reproue our Fathers whensoeuer they are of an opinion that they are gone neuer so little astray from the naturall sense of the holy Scripture Without going any further Robert Bellarmine reiecteth the opinion of S. Austin expounding that which S. Luke writeth of the fruite of the vine and saith therein he hath not well obserued the Euangelist text Also he accuseth Durand and Rupert of error as appeareth by the 13. and 15. chapters of his third booke de Eucharistia Whereunto I will adde some of the ancient Fathers directly contrary to yours whereby they wholly reiect the inuocation of Saints as superstitious and hauing no ground in the holy Scripture To begin then with Ignatius the disciple of S. Iohn he giueth this exhortatiō to virgins in his sixth epistle to the Philadelphians Virgins set before your eyes in your prayers one only Iesus Christ and his Father being illuminated through his holy spirit And in his third epistle to the Magnesians Assemble together to pray in one place let your prayer be common one spirit one hope in charitie and faith without spot in Christ runne together as it were one man to the temple of Christ the high priest of God Also Eusebius reciteth in his historie lib. 4. cap. 14. that the other disciple of S. Iohn named Polycarpus being bound to a stake there to be burned for the name of Iesus Christ he calleth not to minde his master in Christ S. Iohn nor any of the Martyrs or holy men which had been before him to pray them to make intercession for him but hee prayed vnto God alone through Christ the only Mediatour and high Priest betweene the iustice of God and the sinnes of his people saying Father of Iesus Christ thy Sonne by whom we haue had knowledge of thee God of Angels and Powers God of euery creature and of all the righteous and of all sorts of races which liue before thy face I giue thankes that thou hast vouchsafed to grant vnto me this happie day and this blessed houre wherein I shall be in the number of the Martyrs and made partaker of the cup and passion of thy Christ vnto the resurrection of eternall life both in soule and body through the immortall vertue of thy holy spirit among which Martyrs I pray thee that I may be received before thy face as a fat and pleasant offering And for all these things I praise thee I blesse thee and I glorifie thee through Iesus Christ thy most deare Sonne and high priest through whom vnto thee with him and with thy holy spirit be glory now and for euermore Also this same Historian sheweth vs in his 4. booke and 14. chapter that the Iewes and Gentiles came to pray the Gouernour Nicetes not to deliuer the bodie of Polycarpus to the Christians lest in forsaking their Christ crucified they should religiously begin to honour him Whereunto the author answereth that these sillie superstitious men had therein through their ignorance deceiued themselues and considered not that true Christians can neuer forsake Iesus Christ who suffered for the saluation of the world neither will they honour religiously any other as God because they know the true God and him which alone as hee addeth ought to bee serued religiously Likewise Clement according to your opinion successor vnto the Apostle S. Peter teacheth vs in his recognitions and Apostolicall institutions that it is not lawfull for the Christians to pray vnto the departed as the Heathen did but that all our meditations and prayers ought to bee addressed onely vnto God and that no man is permitted to come vnto him but through his Sonne and our Aduocate Iesus Christ. Also Irenaeus testifieth in his second booke and 57. chapter
answere I neuer knew you To this end also S. Gregorie Bishop of Rome saith Because oft times miracles are done through the inspiration of the diuell my brethren loue not those signes as are common with the reprobate And S. Austin saith The diuels doe miracles like vnto those which were done by the seruants of God c. Considering therefore that the wicked Spirit hath often times done miracles among the Iewes and Gentiles and that it was foretold that Antichrist and his supporters shall in great number doe them in the latter daies to establish their errors and seduce the elect of God if it were possible it is a follie in you to conclude that the miracles done through the inuocation of the departed Saints is a seruice pure and approued by God But to reproue the course of your fine discourse adorned with this figure of preuention There is one thing will some man say which troubleth much these heretikes and what is it how they cannot vnderstand nor imagine that the Saints doe heare vs affirming that it is vnpossible for a man praying beneath on earth to be heard of the departed Saints into heauen Which according to the scope of your writing is the second point which wee haue yet to examine It were to be wished that in this examination you were more discreet and sincere You consider not that in tearming vs heretikes because we will not beleeue that the Saints deceased vnderstand and heare the prayers of those which call vpon them you also reproue Salomon the wise of heresie who teacheth vs in the first booke of Kings and 8. chapter that there is none but God only who knoweth the hearts of all men and that that is one of the principall causes wherefore we should call vpon him and to expect from him alone the accomplishment of our desires Lord saith he what prayer and supplication soeuer shall be made of any man or of all thy people Israel when euery one shall know the plague in his owne heart and stretch foorth his hand in this house Heare thou then in heauen in thy dwelling place and be mercifull and doe and giue euery man according to all his waies as thou knowest his heart for thou only knowest the hearts of all the children of men Moreouer in stead of speaking seriously you at your pleasure flout at Caluin and our arguments You say that our strongest arguments and that which we most set by is that which wee hold from our Captaine Caluin who asketh you in the third booke of his Institutions chap. 20. sect 24. Who hath reuealed to you this secret that the departed Saints haue so long eares to stretch them downe vnto your words and so sharp eyes that they can behold your necessities It is maruell that you who so diligently set foorth your tongue with the colours of Rhetorique vnderstand not that hee maketh this demaund of you by an Ironia or manner of mockage and laugheth at your foolish imagination that the Saints which are aboue in heauen heare and see what is done here beneath on earth For without searching any further Caluin confesseth in that very section that the soules of the blessed albeit they are separated from their bodies and vse no more the instruments of eyes and eares yet vnderstand many things which concerne the aduancement of the glorie of God and his kingdome Yea and that they seeke it with a setled and vnmoued will which may bee proued by some texts out of the Bible but hee condemneth the boldnesse of your Sophists who without any testimonie of holie Scripture dare affirme that the brightnesse of Gods face is so great that in the contemplation thereof the Saints may behold as in a mirrour the things which in this world do happen But whilest you bark against this demand of Caluins you dissemble our arguments and accuse your selues of falsehood and deliberate malice seeing you vaunt that you haue read the writings of our Ministers and haue therein obserued the reasons which they propound against the second point of your doctrine If it be true that you haue perused the principall reasons of our Pastors why then do you let passe in silence that which they haue drawne out of the fountaine of the holy Scriptures and namely in the 9. chapter of Ecclesiastes vers 6. That the loue and the hatred of the dead is now perished and they haue no more portion for euer in all that is done vnder the Sunne And in the 63. chapter of Esay and 16. verse Lord thou art our Father though Abraham be ignorant of vs and Israel know vs not Whereupon this argument of our Teachers is grounded The holy Scripture manifestly instructeth vs in those aboue said texts y ◠the Saints deceased this world haue no more portion in the things which are done vnder the cope of heauen nor any knowledge of our affaires Therfore it is a folly in them which yet walk in this vaile of miserie to call vpon them But to proceed on with the course of your inuectiue you say that the disciples of Caluin and Luther to shew themselues wiser then their Masters haue begun since that to demaund of the Catholiques some expresse texts and examples taken out of the holy Scripture whereby it might appeare that the Saints aboue in Paradise vnderstand heare our prayers Whereunto I replie that Luther and Caluin haue not required of you any expresse texts by the which it might appeare that the deceased Saints heare our Prayers because they knew exceeding well that there could not be found for it so much as one only word in the Word of God For what saith Caluin thereof in his 3. booke and 20. chapter sect 21 What angell or diuell euer reueiled to any man any one syllable of this intercessiō of Saints which these men haue forged For in the Scripture there is nothing said thereof What reason had he then to seeke it there And as for vs which are none of Luthers or Caluins disciples but Christs wee require of you some proofes taken out of the marrow of the holy Scripture not for that wee thinke it is possible for you but because wee might haue the greater occasion to confute you of leasing euen by your own consciences And when all is said and when we come to that ye feare the blowes to saue your selues from them you answere vs reciprocally by a demaund whether wee can proue our negatiue by some text to wit that the Scripture teacheth vs not that the Saints which are in heauen can heare our prayers In your inuectiue against Caluin you reproch him in that hee wanteth Philosophie but herein I may rebuke you by an argument farre more forcible that you haue not learned the lawes Dialecticae that is of Logick which teacheth vs Quod affirmanti incumbat probatio to wit that he which affirmeth any thing is bound to proue his affirmation So it is
poore Lazarus had there endured Thirdly hee saw and knew the estate and condition of that wicked wretch and heard his prayer although he was not heard when he cried Father Abraham haue mercie on me and send Lazarus c. Notwithstanding there was a great distance betweene the one and the other as Abraham answered him finally albeit that the rich Glutton was damned saw he not Abraham heard he not his answere gaue he not his replies albeit there was a great gulfe set betweene them Now there is no man that dares deny all this because it is the Gospell and a storie pronounced by the mouth of him which cannot lie but is the very truth himselfe euen Iesus Christ. And if this thing and storie be true as it is I now charge all the Caluinian and Lutherian Ministers and say vnto them If Abrahâ—m my Masters being shut vp in Limbo and not enioying at that time the sight of God nor being blessed but through hope knew notwithstanding the things of this world the estate and miserie of the rich Glutton and heard him make his prayer and demaund will you thinke that the Saints in Paradise beholding God and his most bright sight are better priuiledged then Abraham I will reduce your paradox and superfluitie of words into this summarie If say you Abraham in Limbo being not yet blessed but through hope knew the things of this world as appeareth by the historie thereof contained in the 16. chapter of S. Luke the Saints in paradise enioying the most glorious countenance of God are not lesse priuiledged in that then Abraham Now you presuppose that this is a sure foundation that Abraham after his death knew the affaires of this world and from thence you conclude that the consequence which you draw from it is good and true I say that in your discourse you interlarde many things false and vncertaine For first you presuppose that Abraham was in Limbo and in the place of such as are not blessed but through hope when Christ spake of him and Lazarus to his disciples Whereof we can shew you the contrarie in the 8. chapter of S. Matthew and eleuenth verse where Christ saith that many shall come from the East and West and shall sit downe with Abraham and Isaac and Iacob in the kingdome of heauen In which text you may see that Iesus Christ promiseth all those which shall beleeue in his doctrine that their soules shall be transported into the kingdome of heauen where were then at that time the soules of Abraham Isaac and Iacob From whence one may easily gather that Iesus Christ vnderstood in S. Luke by the bosome of Abraham that which in S. Matthew hee calleth the kingdome of heauen In consideration whereof sundrie of the ancient Fathers haue expressed those words of Abrahams bosome by the name of Paradise Likewise there are some of them which haue concluded from the abouesaid chapter of S. Luke and some other places of holy Scripture that men at their departure out of this life enter as touching their soules either into eternall rest or into eternal torment and so consequently there is neither Limbo or Purgatorie There are two waies saith Lactantius in his sixth booke of Baptisme by which it is necessary that humane life must passe the one will carrie and lift men vp into heauen the other will cast them downe headlong into hell And Origen saith in his booke of Workes that soules which depart this world are either distributed into hell or into the bosome of Abraham In like manner S. Epiphanius in his Treatise of Heresie saith in his 19. chapter that after death there is no succour no pitie no repentance For Lazarus commeth not to the rich Glutton nor the rich Glutton to Lazarus neither doth Abraham let fall his robes from on high to inrich that wofull wretch nor the rich Glutton obtaineth not also his request though hee besought it of pitifull Abraham with many prayers For the chambers are sealed vp the time accomplished the combat atchieued the lists made voide the Crowne giuen and those which haue fought doe rest and those which haue not gained before are departed from thence and those which haue not fought cannot offer themselues any more for that purpose and those which haue lost it in the lists are put out and all things are fully accomplished after our departure out of this world S. Ierome teacheth vs the like in his discourse vpon the death of Paula Let it not grieue vs saith he for hauing lost her or rather for hauing her still for all things liue to God and all they which returne to the Lord be as in the number of his familie we account that we haue lost her but she is lodged in heauen For when Paula was in her bodie she was absent from the Lord saying I am a pilgrim and a stranger here as all my Fathers were I desire to be separated from this body and to bee with Christ. She now enioyeth the blessings which no eye hath seene no eare hath heard nor which euer could enter into the heart of man Whereof Iustine the Martyr also speaketh very cleerely in his 60 and 75. questions In the storie saith hee of Lazarus and the rich Glutton there is a declaration which conteineth this doctrine that after the soule is issued foorth of the body men cannot receiue any further succour by any care or prudence After the soule is dislodged from the body there is presently a distinction made betweene the righteous and the vnrighteous For the soules of the righteous are carried by the Angels into the places of Paradise whereof they are worthy where they haue the conuersation and view of Angels and Archangels yea euen the sight of our Lord Iesus Christ according to that which is said Being absent from the body we are present with the Lord But the soules of the vnrighteous goe into the places of hell as it is said of Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon Hell beneath is moued against thy comming and that which followeth And all soules are kept in these two places till the houre of the resurrection Whereunto S. Ambrose subscribeth by the exhortation which hee made to Christians in his Treatise of the Good of Death chap. 12. When the day of our death shal come saith he let vs march straight forward without feare into the companie of the Saints for we shall goe to our fathers and to those which haue taught vs the faith to the intent that if our workes doe faile vs our faith may succour vs and our inheritance may defend vs. Also the soule flies from hence on high she goeth to dwell with that pure good which is both perpetuall and immortall c. The soules rest is in the land of the liuing whereunto no sinnes can penetrate where liueth the glorie of vertues According to which saying S. Austine giueth vs this remonstrance in his 80. Epistle to
or which happen in the life of man These are the words of S. Austin which purposely you haue omitted to deceiue the ignorant and to take an occasion from an imperfect allegation of his discourse touching the obscuritie and difficultie of this matter of rising vp furiously against vs and falsely to impose vpō vs by a great medley of vaine words that which we cannot nor will not beleeue with S. Austin to wit that this surpasseth the capacitie of our vnderstanding For as we beleeue the creation of the world the mysterie of the holy Trinity and the resurrection of the flesh though we cānot mete them by the measure of our vnderstanding and that because they are plainly taught vs in the holy Scripture so when you shall prooue vnto vs by expresse tearmes out of the writings of the Prophets that the Saints heare vs and ought to be adored and called vpon by vs that are here beneath on earth then wee will be obedient to your counsell and will subscribe in all humilitie and reuerence to that article But what you would not that men should rebuke you nor likewise should thinke that you seeke an escape through the bogges and besides in stead of bringing in some authenticall testimonie of the Bible you begin againe to alleage to vs three manner of waies whereby S. Austin which might erre and by his retractations roundly confesseth his errors thought that the departed Saints might heare our requests The first is By the arriuall of those which depart this life and goe from hence to them who may aduertise them of the things which happen on earth and especially of that which concernes them most The second By the report of the Angels which sometimes mount vp into heauen and sometimes againe euen in an instant are about vs. The third By the reuelation of Gods spirit which may comport I retaine your fine speeches or beare it selfe with the soules of the blessed in heauen neither more nor lesse then heretofore it did comport it selfe with the Prophets on earth reuealing to them secret things and that which should be done a long while after them as the Scripture testifieth it Whereunto you adde yet a fourth manner of speech inuented by Saint Gregorie which is this That the Saints seeing the face of God see whatsoeuer appertaines to them in any sort and consequently heare also our prayers From whence you conclude that by the doctrine of the Fathers we may conceiue somewhat how the blessed ones heare vs when we call vpon them We now come to refute this fourth meane forged out of mens braines without any ground of holy Scripture First I will only aduertise the reader that it is not likely this sentence to wit that the departed Saints beholding the face of God doe see all things was forged by S. Gregorie seeing in the same chapter that you haue alleaged in your Epistle he saith the contrarie to wit that as they which are liuing know not the estate of soules departed so likewise is vnknowne vnto the dead the manner of life which those leade that remaine after them in the flesh For the life saith he of the spirit is farre different from the life of the flesh and as things corporall and spirituall are differing in nature so are they likewise in knowledge Now it resteth that we should examine those three former waies of the particular knowledge which you attribute to the Saints departed I answere then to the first that nothing is written thereof by the ancient Prophets nor Apostles and therefore wee are not bound to beleeue it Moreouer it often happeneth that the citizens which dwel in one citie know not the affaires of one another how can they then after their departure declare them to the soules of the blessed which they finde in heauen Besides there are many which in praying cast their eyes vp towards heauen whilest none of their neighbours happen to decease who is it then that should doe their message to the Saints departed And notwithstanding if so be there should be at that instant some one ready to die when one prayeth and to carry the newes to heauen what man among you can shew me by diuine scripture that God hath enioyned to him that speciall charge not one Or if you would that one should approue your first manner you necessarily must grant me that there is no Purgatory For if that soules must passe through Purgatory and stay there for some time according to the number of Masses which are caused to be said for their deliuerance how can it be possible for them to aduertise in time the departed Saints of the prayers which were made vnto them so long before Your second and third meanes are of no more certaintie then the others because it is neither written in the old Testament nor in the new that the departed Saints know our necessities by the report of the Angels neither that God indueth y e Saints after their departure with the spirit of prophecie and reuelation as at sometimes hee did to his holy seruants according as the necessitie did require to make them capable of their extraordinarie calling whereunto he had called them Now followeth your last argument which you your selfe calles least of all and that for a good reason For you number vp many of the Fathers which haue inuocated the Saints departed and afterward you close vp your Epistle with flouts against the Ministers of the reformed Churches But whatsoeuer you heape vp against them is 〈◊〉 winde and smoake yea dung in respect of the puritie and excellencie of the word of Iesus Christ and his Apostles which we had rather follow then that of men for we haue no certaine testimonie that their doctrine was diuinely inspired as we haue of the Prophets and Apostles and that these men of God were not led by a humane wil but were moued thereunto by the spirit of our principall Pastor and Bishop Iesus Christ in whose name I admonish you no more to protest so lightly before God his Father that whatsoeuer you haue said tendeth to his honour and the saluation of him to whom you haue sent your Epistle most preiudiciall and contrarie to the glorie of God and the repose of the true members of Iesus Christ vnto whom I pray to giue me his grace constantly to maintaine his pure truth and to accompanie this mine answere with the vertue of his holie Spirit to the end that thereby hee may moue your heart to conceiue your errors and to renounce them for the aduancement of his glorie the acquitting of your conscience and the augmentation of his kingdome FINIS Iames 1. 17. Heb. 11. 6. Psal. 124. 8. Esay 42. 8. 2. Cor. 13. 8. 1. Epist. chap. 4. vers 1. The summe of the demand The answere thereof diuided into two parts Although that Christ be our only mediator yet the Saints are called mediators for three reasons In French Sequestre Other proofes taken from the
saith he rauished with all my affection there will I attend with my deuotion There through loue do I take all my delight and thereunto will I hold my selfe by consent Now although this zeale of S. Austin and S. Bernard hath been followed and obserued badly by their successors who since their time gaue too much credit to their owne Councels and humane fantasies yet Gerson neuerthelesle sought to remedie this abuse through his wholesome aduertisements For in his booke of the spirituall life of the soule he sheweth that the sayings of the Apostles and their disciples were of another kinde of authoritie namely in things which purely concerne our faith then the instructions of their successors and consequently that the authoritie of the Primitiue Church is farre greater then that which is at this day and that there is neither Pope nor Councell that can abate any thing of that which was giuen vs by the Euangelists and S. Paul or which hath the like authoritie to make that any thing should bee of faith as some men dreame And in another place vpon this question if in points of faith one might be called before the Pope No particular man saith he not the Pope himselfe neither the Bishops can make a proposition which is hereticall to be catholicall or which is catholicall to be hereticall And againe in the triall of doctrines Consider 5. Tom. 1. That in case of doctrine more credit is to be giuen to one simple lay man excellently skilfull in the Scripture then to the Popes declaration insomuch as it is certaine that one ought to beleeue the Gospell rather then the Pope Also that such a learned man ought to oppose himselfe against a whole Councell if he be there present and seeth the greater partie to be inclined either through malice or ignorance to that which is contrarie to the Gospell according to the example of S. Hilary Whereunto doth agree that which the Abbat Panorma wrote in his chapter intituled Significat extra de Elect. to wit that in things which concerne faith the saying of a priuate person ought to be preferred before the saying of the Pope if so be it is fortified with better reasons out of the old and new Testament Franciscus Picus de Mirandula saith If in a whole Councell the greater partie would ordaine some things which are â—ontrarie to the holy Scriptures and against things that are not lawfull to bee violated the other which are of the lesser number opposing themselues against the greater wee must rather cleaue vnto the lesser number as it happened in the Councels of Rimini and the second of Ephesus Yea euen a simple countriman a childe or an old woman are more worthie to bee beleeued then the Pope and a thousand Bishops if they should speake against the Gospell Now that which wee haue spoken of the authoritie of Councels ought to be appropriated to the censure of our fathers pastors of the ancient Church to wit that wee ought not to receiue their writings with such a reuerence and obedience of faith as wee receiue the doctrine of the Prophets and Apostles but to iudge and examine them by the Scriptures according to that good counsell and example of some faithfull Doctors of the Primitiue Church We ought not saith S. Ierome inter cap. 9 on the 98. Psalme to follow the errors of our Fathers but the Scriptures authoritie and the commandements of God which â—nctruct vs. Euery other thing which shall be spoken after the Apostles time ought to bee cut off let it haue no authoritie then though the author thereof be holy or eloquent Reade me those things saith S. Austin in his booke of the Church chap. 6. in the Law in the Prophets in the Psalmes or in the Epistles reade them there and we will beleeue them All others saith he how holy or learned soeuer they be I may reade them not to beleeue what they say is true because they say it but in so much as they proue it by those canonicall authors or by probable reason And in his epistle to Fortunatus We ought not saith he to esteeme of all disputes though they proceed from praise worthie and catholike men as the canonicall Scripture but that in such a sort as is lawfull with the honour due vnto such men to gainsay them or to reiect some things in their writings if per aduenture we finde they iudged otherwise then stands with the truth found out through the helpe of God either by others or by our selues For I am such a one in the writings of other men as I would they should be in mine Doe not stand saith he in his preface of the third booke of the Trinitie vpon my words and writings as vpon the canonical Scripture What soeuer in them thou shalt finde beleeue it without doubting but in my writings that which thou holdest not for very certaine or if thou vnderstaÌ„dest it not hold it not as firme The like saith he of S. Cyprians bookes in his second booke against Crescon chap. 32. I hold not S. Cyprians bookes for canonicall that which agreeth with the authoritie of holy Scripture I receiue it with his praise but that which agreeth not with them I reiect by his good leaue and we doe him no wrong to make a distinction betweene his writings and the canonicall For this wholesome canon of the Church was not without cause established whereunto were brought certain bookes of the Prophets and Apostles which wee dare not at all iudge and according vnto which we freely iudge of all other bookes either of beleeuers or Infidels The like saith he also of S. Ieroms books of S. Ambroses and of the rest of the Fathers which haue written since the Apostles time in his epistle 112 and 11 booke against Faustus Manichean cap. 5. I would not bring in the opinions of those great personages lest thou shouldest thinke that it behoueth me to follow the iudgement of any man as the authoritie of the Scripture In all their bookes the reader or hearer hath a free iudgement to approue or reiect them without the necessitie of beleeuing them but with freedome to iudge thereof From thence it commeth that hee exhorteth Vincent his friend in his 48. epistle that hee should take heed of gathering against so many holy cleere and vndoubted testimonies some cauils out of the writings of the Bishops whether saith he of our owne or of Hilaries Cyprians or Agrippines for such writings ought to be distinguished from the authoritie of the canon for men reade them not so is it were to draw any testimonie from them contrary to which it should not be lawfull to deeme if peraduenture their opinion were otherwise then the truth requires Wherewith the sentences of our Fathers agree We haue no commandement frÌ„o Christ saith Iustine the Martyr in Triph. pag. 207 to beleeue in humane doctrines but in those which his Apostles haue preached and himselfe hath taught Therefore
Hesichius In such a case saith he as thy last day findeth thee euen such will the last day of this world take thee Such as man dieth in that very day such shall he be iudged in the other And in his 10. Sermon vpon the Apostles words There are two homes the one in eternall fire the other in an eternall kingdome Likewise in his 232. Serm. intituled De Tempore Brethrē saith he let no man deceiue himselfe for there are but two places and no third for any one Whereunto his exposition serueth which in another place he speaketh of in disputing against the Pelagians The Catholique faith saith he by diuine authoritie beleeueth that the first place is the kingdome of heauen the second hell where all apostates and reuolters from the faith in Christ shall feele euerlasting torments As touching a third we are wholly ignorant of and which is more wee finde by the holy scripture that there is none Besides in the 9. booke of his Confessions he maintaineth y ◠one seeth God in Abrahams bosome and thereby he sheweth as a thing most certaine that the soule of Abraham and the faithfull fathers departed this world was in heauen and not in Limbo or Purgatorie where none can behold God but in the alone seate of the blessed according to that sentence of our Sauiour contained in the fifth chapter of S. Matthew and 8. verse Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God On the other side the same Doctor saith of the Fathers of the old Testament that they which beleeued in Christ before hee came in the flesh haue been saued through their faith in Christ Iesus I could here alleage a sentence of S. Gregorie Nazianzen whereby he comforted himselfe at his brothers death saying that he was ascended vp into heauen and rested in the bosome of Abraham and many others to the same effect but because I will not be too tedious I will now examine the second point of your opinion which is that that which Christ teacheth of the rich Glutton and Lazarus is a historie which wee denie because there are sundry circumstances which shew also that it is partly a parable For in that storie we cannot take the things literally which are recited in them neither can it be possible in all that which Christ heretofore did preach of the rich Glutton and poore Lazarus because Christ therein attributeth tongues fingers and eyes to the soules of the departed which hee doth by a manner of speech which is called historicall but is parabolicall by which spirituall things are made cleere by the comparison and similitude of corporall Now although wee shall approue that which wee haue denied to wit that Abraham heard the complaints of the rich man yet cannot you solidly conclude from thence that the departed Saints also doe heare the prayers of such as liue vpon the face of the earth For Bellarmine your Doctor describeth the distance which is between Limbus and Hell in such a sort as if he had bin there himselfe to haue measured the one and the other place where hee saith there is betwixt them a great opening neither more nor lesse then is betweene two places separated only by the aire so that from the one part of this gulfe one may see and heare what is done in the other By this reckoning then the distance is not so great betweene those places as it is betweene heauen and earth seeing that these two places are shut vp on all sides and so farre separated from each other that it is not possible that the Saints which are in heauen and we which are here beneath on earth can heare or see each other Neuerthelesse to giue some colour to your opinion you bring in S. Austin vpon this point speaking in this manner Quid non vident qui videntem omnia vident What saith he doe not the Saints aboue in heauen see in seeing him which seeth all things to wit God But wherefore haue you not marked that place is it not because you dare not openly gainsay those which attribute these words to S. Gregory But howsoeuer if they were his he forgot himselfe in pronouncing these words for albeit that God seeth all things yet it followeth not from thence that the Saints which behold God should see all things likewise If you should propound such an argument in Schooles to Aristotles disciples they would presently confute you by the like argument which an ignorant person might make you of the Sunne and of vs which daily doe behold it to wit sith that the Sunne which is the eye of the world as Philosophers tearme it seeth and discouereth all things which are vnder the cope of heauen that wee likewise in beholding the Sunne should see all things which are vnder the Sunne What man is it that perceiueth not this consequence to be bad And if it were good yet yours would remaine false naughtily grounded because wee denie that which you affirme without any testimonie of holy Scripture that is that God or the Trinitie serue as a mirror to the soules of the departed thereby to behold all things as the Sunne and Moone which are as spectacles to our bodily eyes to perceiue by them the things which are represented to our sight Besides this it is an easie matter to stop your mouth and to shew by the testimonie of Christ and his Apostle in the sixth chapter of the Reuelation that the Angels and the spirits of the departed though they behold the face of God yet they see not nor know the day and houre of the last comming of Christ. Moreouer wee can conuince you thereof euen by your predecessors and can proue by their owne writings how they taught that the soules of the departed see not any thing which is done vpon the earth for you may see what Albertus Bishop of Ratisbone writeth thereof who was Master to Thomas of Aquin in his booke of our Coniunction with God and 8. chapter The departed Saints saith he busie not themselues about the affaires of this world neither care for the estate thereof neither of peace nor warre neither of faire weather or raine nor in summe for any man here below but are wholly deuoted to one God and all of them vnited and employed to apply and accommodate themselues to him Finally from the blessed you descend to the damned and as though you had heard their discourses and sounded their spirits you reason without reason aswell of their knowledge as of their charitie towards God and men suruiuing them for thus you discourse If the damned doe likewise heare those speake which are so farre distant from them as the rich man heard Abraham and shewed himselfe mindfull and carefull for his brethren which yet remaine vpon the earth being afraid left they should come into the same place of torment where he was as you may see in the Gospell by that which he spake vnto Abraham should we
Whosoeuer is called ought to come vnto God without waiting for any other name The sighes of the heart penetrate the heauens We ought to woâ—ship in the Temple but not the TeÌ„ple The Father hath exalted his Sonne aboue all creatures by that voyce which speake fâ—oÌ„ heauen Heare him The sinne of those which pray in another name then Iesus participates not so much of ignorance as of scorne God will neuer reiect the requests which himselfe hath commanded vs to addresse vnto him It is the humanitie in our Mediatour which prayeth for vs and his Godhead which decreeeth vpon our prayers Christ being true man commeth vnto his equals and through his righteousnes he reuniteth theÌ„ with God There is no way to come vnto God but by the Sonne of God himself The Apostle saith we haue and not you haue to shew that he himself hath need of a Mediatour The dignitie of the Apostles hath not exempted them from the necessitie of falling downe at the feete of God The Apostle desired to be assisted with the prayer of the Saints for asmuch as they were addressed to him who is the head of the Saints It is to dishonor the Saints and to grieue them â—o attribute to them that which they know appertaines vnto God Reuel 19. 10. The Angels and the faithful which know that God will not giue his â—onor to another of which he is iealous will neuer present theÌ„selues to haue part thereof If Iesus Christ were but simply men hee could not be capable to bring vs vnto God By the vaile of Christs humanitie we enter into the Sanctuary We ought not to flie from the meanes of him who hath suffred for our miseries As from ill manner good lawes are proceeded so are calumnies against the truth of the constitutions of Councels and good Doctors What prudeÌ„ce cannot take away patience doth beare withall Satan letteth slip no opportunitie to sow his cockle Satan seekeâ—h euermore to authorize his Ragins to the preiudice of the truth The time wherein S. Denys Areopagite liued The celebration of the vertues of some is charitable but it is impietie to pray vnto theÌ„ The conâ—ereÌ„nce of these words of S. Irenaeus with that which the Iesuite imposeth discouereth more plainly his impudency Impudencie discouered We ought not to alleage that which is done for that which ought to be done Leasings would faine couer themselues Iohn Damâ—soenus S. Ambrose and S. Ierome c. haue passed their limits and we ought to note but not to imitate that which they haue said As the ancieÌ„ts did often bring in the Saints speaking so spake they sometimes to them as if they had been present The aduersary is driuen into absurditie by good strong reasons The soule of him which shal haue sinned shall be that which shal die Wise words of two women in great extremitie The Papistical Doctors make no conscience to discouer the shame of their fathers seeing they attribute to them such shamefull matters We auouch that superstition got the vpper hand but we denie that we ought to cleaue vnto it A formular of Anselmus his prayers A similitude Our demerits are forgiuen through the merit of the Sonne of God Another forme of Anselmus to comfort the sick S. Bernard sends vs to Christ. As we are of Christ and not of another so ought we to stay with Christ. The Virgin Mary seeketh not to disrobe her sonne or to be clothed with his robes The wel-spring of our merits is in the grace of God and not in the righteousnesse of meÌ„ The time and place when S. Bernard florished A double dishonor done to Origen Albeit that Origen was an impure writer in some other points yet he hath shewed himselfe pure in the article of inuocation There is no likelihood that Origen who sent vs vnto God only should addresse himself to meÌ„ The words of Origen are very expresse against the inuocation of Saints What might haue been the offence of the Vrgin Mary The Papists imposture appeareth not only in that they aâ—de and diminish to the word of God but in that they make the Doctors of the Church to say what iâ— pleaseth them The Papists take delight in troubling the â—ountaine of liuing waters The mysterie of Satan appeaâ—eth notably in the lesuits Index exâ—urgatory Shreds of the abouesaid Index whereby one may haue knowledge of the whole peece As Rauâ—ns turne aside froÌ„ the sound parts of a carkesse and fall vpon the rotten so the Iâ—suâ—ts reiect that which is most holy in the writings of the Fathers and stand vpon the impure It is an easie matter for the Iesuits to fight with the bones of the dead which cannot speake Those which are proued falsiâ—iers ought to be no more reputed as worthie of credit and beleefe Mariners in the obscuritie of a tempest haue their recourse to their compasse and needle and Christians to the law A saying of S. Austins very worthie to be noted Deut. 13. 1. The reprobats theÌ„selues haue done guilefull miracles Matth. 24. 23. 24. 25. 2. Thess. 2. By how many meanes Satan shal exalt himselâ—e against the faithfull Why Antichrists signes are called lies A notable sentence of Charles the Great touching miracles The pretended miracles of Popedome are rather a presumption of a false then of a true seruice The subiect for which the Papists tearme vs heretikeâ— declareth them to be imposters and heretikes themselues 1. Kings 8. 38. Caluin speaketh to the foolish according to their folly If the Saints see all things within the mirrour of eternitie it would follow that they should see the day of the comming of our Lord Iesus Christ which is false Eccles. 9. 6. Esay 63. 16. Luther and Caluin haue not bound their aduersaries to proue the inuocation of Saints by the Scripture The Papists are to make good that which they affirme and not in vs which denie disproue the inuocation of Saints We neither denie nor affirme any thing of our own sense but from the authoritie of the holy Scripture Eccle. 9. 16. Esâ—y 63. 16. Two false principles and grounds of the Papisticall Doctors The Papists caÌ„ neuer proue that the Angels are the reporters of the prayers of the Saints before God Our conformitie with the Angels is not yet but when we shal be glorified From things or persons which are vnlike we ought not to draw like conclusions An argument from the least to the greatest which hath more colour then strength It is impietie to say Abraham was in Limbo Matth. 8. 11. Lactantius Origen Epiphanius S. Ierome A notable saying of Iustine the Martyr An excellent doctrine of S. Ambroses The doctrine of S. Austin touching the place of our retreate at our departing this world Neither the holy Scripture nor the Catholike Fathers giue any third places to soules after their decease The historie of Lazarus is parabolicall Though Abraham should haue heard the complaints of the rich Glutton it followeth not from thence that the Saints heare our prayers The Trinitie serueth not as a mirror in heauen to coÌ„template all things therein Albert Master vnto Thomas of Aquin denieth that which other of the Popish Doctors his successors doe affirme Charitie is the marke of the children of God and not of the reprobate The aduersaries argument retorted VpoÌ„ bad foundation theâ—e can be made no good building Places suspected of S. Austins S. Austin doth absolutely deny that the Saints meddle with our affaires A good argument from the greater to the lesser Absurdities that followe if we should grant that the Saints departed haue to do with our affaires Three pretended meanes of the Papists whereby the Saints might heare our prayers There is no likelihood that S. Gregorie took pleasure in coÌ„tradicting himselfe The examination of those three meanes abouesaid of the vnderstanding of our prayers